Build:Mining Equipment

Mining Laser

A typical mining laser is a combination of a laser, tractor beam, and mineral processing system capable of lasering portions of material from a source location (such as an asteroid or planetary mine), tractoring it into an initial processing unit, in its unrefined form, for later extraction processing. A Class A mining laser rig is capable of pulling 0.1 metric tons of ore to the surface/into the ship per round (5 seconds), though only a percentage of that ore will be the intended resource.

Table

Mining laser rigs

Class	SU	Output	Year
Class A	5	0.1 mt/round	"22nd century"
Class B	7	0.2 mt/round	"late 22nd century"
Class C	9	0.4 mt/round	"early 23rd century"
Class D	12	0.8 mt/round	"mid to late 23rd century"
Class E	13	1.6 mt/round	"early 24th century"

Note: the years need to be better defined and are based on the rapid adoption of the originating fanon rules.

Ore Extractor

Cost: Rating + 5 for processor, +10 for a fully automated systems, +2 for (mandatory) computer monitoring, plus storage capacity for all materials (ore and raw).

The purpose of the ore extractor is to separate as much of the resource(s) from the naked rock in which it was mined, for easier storage and transporting (to a refinery). In a given location (asteroid, mine), a set percentage of the ore mined will contain resource materials. Roll 1d100, modified by the values in the below table, to determine that percentage:

Normal metals: n/a

Special metals (pergium, topalin, ryetalyn, etc): -35

Radioactives (uranium, etc): -20

Gem stones (diamonds, rubies, flame gems, etc): -30

Industrial crystals (dilithium, special silicates, etc): -45

A final value can be 0, indicating that the targeted category does not exist in the specific location.

Ore extractors are specific to the category (though not necessarily the exact material intended) they will be handling. For example, a normal metals extractor may only handle normal metals.

For each Rating of the extractor, the equipment can extract 0.1 metric tons of raw material per 12 rounds (1 minute). Therefore, a Rating 6 may extract 0.6 metric tons every minute (or 36 metric tons per hour).

Ore Processor/Refinery

Cost: Rating + 12 for base processor, +20% (minimum 2 SU) for additional product produced, +10 for a fully automated system, plus storage capacity for all materials (raw and processed). The cost for increased purity of refining is explained below.

Crew: 4 per total SU (for one 8-hour shift) for manual processors, 2 for automated units

Not all stations are designed for glamorous military mission, nor do the majority of the remainder operate as bastions of scientific research. Some are working stations, and ore processing is one example of a more commercial design. The item being processed and refined can be most anything, from raw mineral ore to rare gases to animal and plant sources being processed into edible products.

A processor/refinery unit can be built to any required size, reflected as a Rating amount. Each unit of Rating allows for the processing of 1 kg of raw product each round (5 seconds), which accounts for 720 kgs per hour or about 17.25 mt per 24-hour period. There is no upper limit to a Rating, allowing for small portable processors, processor units aboard ships or stations or massive refineries on an asteroid or planetside.

The refining process removes a percentage of the delivered raw product as impure waste. The more precise the refinery equipment, the more pure the material (and less waste) processed (though never exceeding 90% pure). A basic refinery will produce 10% refined material, with 90% waste; for each additional 10% of purity achieved, an additional SU cost is required:

Purity Enhancements

Purity	Waste	Cost
20%	80%	+2
30%	70%	+6
40%	60%	+8
50%	50%	+10
60%	40%	+12
70%	30%	+14
80%	20%	+16
90%	10%	+18

Therefore, a refinery that can produce 40% refined material from the raw material will cost an additional 16 SUs (2 + 6 + 8). The remaining 60% amount is waste product.

Ex: For every 25 metric tons of raw uridium delivered to the refinery for processing, a 40% refinery will produce 10 metric tons of pure uridium and 15 of impure uridium waste.

As a side effect of the processing, some portion, usually no more than 10% (roll 1d10) of the waste materials, can be considered hazardous due to the refining process and will need to be separated and segregated, until disposed. Similarly, another portion of the waste product, usually no more than 20% (roll 1d20%), can be processed by the same refinery as a secondary useful product, if the equipment is designed to refine that secondary material.

Ex: Of the 15 metric tons of impure processed waste remaining, 8% is determined to be hazardous and 17% can be processed into pure feldomite. If the processing unit had a secondary feldomite refinery capacity, then—all told—the total refinery unit would have processed 10 mts of uridium (25 mt x 40% = 10), 2.55 mts of feldomite (15 mt x 17% = 2.55), 1.2 mts of hazardous materials (15 mt x 8% = 1.2), and 11.25 tons of waste material (25 mt - 10 mt - 2.55 mt - 1.2 mt = 11.25).

The resulting materials—primary & secondary products, hazardous, and waste materials—have to be stored until shipped away. Take into account raw material storage and segmented storage for the three to four processed materials.

Due to the hazardous and unhealthy conditions associated with manual operation of ore processing, most Federation industrial concerns invest in automated processors, which do not require manual labor, instead requiring only two workers per SU, usually operating the advanced computer monitoring systems and providing maintenance.

The cost of a complete unit is equal to its Rating, plus an additional 12 SU for superstructure and computer monitoring. The capacity to refine a secondary product from the waste material costs an additional 20% of the base cost (a minimum of 2 SU) and automated processors cost an additional 10 SUs. Purity refinement above 10% requires the sum of increment enhancements indicated in the above table.