Surface Deposit Mining

i

Draft

This article is still being written and may be incomplete.

Uncertain: Commodity-specific deposit behavior still needs direct Live-game verification.

Status

Draft

Last reviewed

2026-08-23

Reviewer

Sythan

Game mode

Both

Version coverage

unspecified

Source quality

Research-backed draft using current mining loop and EDCD mining equipment data

Known uncertainty

Commodity-specific deposit behavior still needs direct Live-game verification.

EDFM // Mining

Surface deposit mining removes visible deposits from an asteroid with an abrasion blaster.

Surface deposit mining is the use of an Abrasion Blaster to break visible deposits from an asteroid. It often appears as the collection stage after core mining, but the technique is distinct from normal laser mining because it targets named deposits rather than ordinary laser fragments.

Draft: This article is still a work in progress and may be incomplete. You can help improve it by adding or expanding its content.

Equipment

A surface-deposit setup needs an abrasion blaster, collector limpets, a refinery, limpets, and cargo space. A prospector limpet helps identify asteroid contents, while a pulse wave analyser is useful when searching for core-style targets.

Workflow summary

1. Identify an asteroid with visible surface deposits.
2. Target a deposit and fire the abrasion blaster to dislodge it.
3. Let collector limpets retrieve the released resource.
4. Refine the collected material into cargo where applicable.
5. Ignore or vent unwanted refinery contents before they block useful fragments.

Related Field Procedures

• How to Mine Surface Deposits (Draft) — Break surface deposits from asteroids with an abrasion blaster and collect the resulting materials or commodities.