| Mines, Common Ore and Rare Ore |
Mine, Common Ore
| Eden Common Ore Mine
|
Plymouth Common Ore Mine
|
| Common Metals Cost | none | Rare Metals Cost | none |
| Build Time | very short | Tube Connection Required | no |
| Power Required | none | Size | small |
| Workers Required | none | Hit Points | medium |
| Scientists Required | none | Armor | medium |
Mine, Rare Ore
| Eden Rare Ore Mine
|
Plymouth Rare Ore Mine
|
| Common Metals Cost | none | Rare Metals Cost | none |
| Build Time | very short | Tube Connection Required | no |
| Power Required | none | Size | small |
| Workers Required | none | Hit Points | medium |
| Scientists Required | none | Armor | medium |
Both the Common Ore Mine and Rare Ore Mine begin their lives as a vehicle, a Robo-Miner. Like the off-shore oil-platforms on old Earth, these mine structures are designed to be built in one location, then moved to a promising site to put down roots and fulfill their main function. While the Common and Rare Ore Mines use a common mining technology, the Robo-Miner is also capable of being deployed in a Magma Well configuration, which is described elsewhere.
Both Common and Rare Ore Mines use "Robo-Mole" technology. This technology employs remote-controlled robot mining heads connected to the Robo-Miner by an umbilical. These Robo-Moles burrow into rock and soil, extracting useful ore and returning it in the form of a suspended slurry, which is pumped through the umbilical to the Robo-Miner for further processing. The umbilical also provides power and control linkages to the surface facility.
Operational Notes: The Common Ore Mine produces Common Ore and the Rare Ore Mine produces Rare Ore . These structures do not require structure kits; they are deployed at surveyed mining beacons by Robo-Miners. Empty Cargo Trucks may dock at the mines to load ore.
Tales from New Terra
Wu Chen slammed the access panel shut and stepped back from the Robo-Mole. The machine was a two-meter-long silver torpedo, terminated in its front end by a strip of sharp-toothed cutting heads and at the other by a flexible metal umbilical as thick as his thigh.
"Ready," he called, and in response, an overhead crane moved in to pick up the Robo-Miner and move it to the drill-face. Once positioned, it began to chew its way into the rock, kicking out clouds of dust and a spray of rock chips. The seismic instruments he'd just installed in the unit would provide invaluable data about the movement of the Blight.
He thought back to the days when geology had been just an enjoyable field of study, and not a serious matter of life and death. The Blight had changed all that. Now his work had taken on a new tone, like monitoring the pulse of a dying patient.
"Bring on the next one," he called out to the crane operator. There'd be time enough for a wake later.
