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BalduursGATE Field ManualMining – Basics4.10.0 (11644) · Version 2 · Sourced
FM · MINING · MINING-GRUNDLAGEN · guide.mining-grundlagenOnline version: https://oldmensclub.de/citizen-hub/academy/mining-grundlagen.en.html
BalduursGATE Field Manual · Academy · Edition 2
MiningLevel: Beginner

Mining – Basics

Getting started with ship mining: what the game data says about ships, lasers, modules, ores and refining – and what is not yet confirmed.

Valid from patch
4.10.0
Game data version
4.10.0 (11644)
Version
2
Updated
2026-09-11
Review statusSourced

Every control function and game object used exists in the current game version. The statements come from the sources listed.

Review path and sources

Editorial in-game review

Nobody from the editorial team has flown it in game yet. The information comes from the sources listed below.

What you will learn

  • Understand what ship mining consists of and which ships carry a mining laser according to the game data.
  • Read the mining laser values we actually have from the game data – and know what is still missing.
  • Know the matching control functions for scanning and mining.

Prerequisites

What is mining?

In ship mining you break rock with a mining laser and take the ore you gain on for processing. The game data lists mining lasers as ship components of their own,q1 and the controls have a dedicated mining mode and a dedicated scanning mode.q3

The game data also has mining on foot and with ground vehicles – each with its own resource groups.q1 This guide only covers mining with a ship. The other ways get guides of their own.

Solo or crew?

For mining laser slots the game data shows a clear difference: the Prospector and the Golem carry one mining laser each, the MOLE carries several.q2 The exact slots are listed further down under mining ships.

How many people a MOLE needs in operation and how well the Prospector can be flown alone is not something we can read from the game data. We will add it after a test of our own.

The typical workflow

  1. Search – find a deposit.
  2. Scan – the controls have a dedicated scanning mode with an adjustable scanning angle.q3 The functions in detail: Scanning – Basics.
  3. Assess – decide whether the rock is worth it.
  4. Break – in mining mode, fire the laser and raise or lower its power.q3
  5. Collect – take the ore on board. The blueprints list ore pods of their own for the MOLE and the Golem.q1
  6. Refine or sell – the game data knows nine refining methods.q1
How best to find a deposit, how to tell during assessment that a rock is worth it, and how breaking works in detail – such as the right power window – is not in our data. We will describe these steps only after an in-game test.

Mining ships

In our game data, three ships have a mining laser slot: the MISC Prospector, the Argo MOLE and the Drake Golem.q2 There are also special variants with “BTALA” in their identifier; they are not listed here.

Ships with mining lasers q2From the game data · 4.10.0 (11644)

“Stock” is the laser the ship comes with according to the game data.

NameSlots: Bergbaulaser
MISC Prospector1 × size 1 · stock: Arbor-MH1-Bergbaulaser
Argo MOLE3 × size 2 · stock: Arbor-MH2-Bergbaulaser
Drake Golem1 × size 1 · stock: Pitman Mining Laser

Mining lasers: what we actually know

For each mining laser we read size, manufacturer, mining power, range (optimal and maximum) and power draw from the game data.q1

Mining lasers, size 1 q1From the game data · 4.10.0 (11644)
NameManufacturerMining powerRange opt.Range max.Power
Arbor-MH1-BergbaulaserMusashi Industrial & Starflight Concern2,340601801
Helix-I-BergbaulaserThermyte Concern3,90015451
Hofstede-GR1-BergbaulaserShubin Interstellar2,600451351
Impakt-I-BergbaulaserThermyte Concern2,775451351
Klein-GR1-BergbaulaserShubin Interstellar3,120451351
Lancet-MH1-BergbaulaserGreycat Industrial3,12030901

Numbers are game values; where the data names no unit, neither do we.

Mining lasers, size 2 q1From the game data · 4.10.0 (11644)
NameManufacturerMining powerRange opt.Range max.Power
Arbor-MH2-BergbaulaserMusashi Industrial & Starflight Concern2,900902702
Helix-II-BergbaulaserThermyte Concern4,93030902
Hofstede-GR2-BergbaulaserShubin Interstellar4,060601802
Klein-GR2-BergbaulaserShubin Interstellar4,350601802
Lancet-MH2-BergbaulaserGreycat Industrial4,350451352

Numbers are game values; where the data names no unit, neither do we.

Not in our data: values for instability and resistance, or module slots on the laser. As long as we cannot source them, we write nothing about them. Two entries from the game data are left out of the tables on purpose: a laser that only appears under a test identifier, and a size 0 laser.

Modules and consumables

The controls provide three slots on which you activate mining modules.q3 The blueprints list five mining modules; their internal identifier calls two of them “active” and three “passive”.q1

Mining modules in the blueprints q1From the game data · 4.10.0 (11644)
NameCrafting time
Modules Active Clearcut1 min 35 s
Modules Active Stampede1 min 35 s
Modules Passive Deluge1 min 35 s
Modules Passive Torrent MK31 min 35 s
Overrun Module1 min 35 s
What the individual modules do is not in our data. The Chronist currently has no consumables for mining – so on purpose, nothing here.

Materials

The game data describes which ores occur in ship mining. Their internal identifier sorts them into groups from “common” to “legendary”.q1 That does not yet say what these groups mean in game.

Ores from ship mining q1From the game data · 4.10.0 (11644)

The group is part of the internal name in the game data – not a rating by us.

  • Aluminium (Erz)common
  • Kupfer (Erz)common
  • Korund (roh)common
  • Hephaestanit (roh)common
  • Ironcommon
  • Quarz (roh)common
  • Siliconcommon
  • Tin (Ore)common
  • Agricium (Erz)uncommon
  • Aslarite (Raw)uncommon
  • Laranit (roh)uncommon
  • Titan (Erz)uncommon
  • Torite (Ore)uncommon
  • Wolfram (Erz)uncommon
  • Beryll (roh)rare
  • Bexalit (roh)rare
  • Borase (Erz)rare
  • Taranit (roh)rare
  • Lindinium (Ore)epic
  • Ouratiteepic
  • Riccite (Ore)epic
  • Quantanium (roh)legendary
  • Savrilium (Ore)legendary
  • Stileronlegendary
  • Gold (Erz)

In our records, scan signatures and ore locations come from the community collection MineCalc,q4 not from the game data. A separate guide will link them to this list later.

Refining

The game data lists nine refining methods.q1

Refining methods q1From the game data · 4.10.0 (11644)
  • Cormack Method
  • Pyrometric Chromalysis
  • Gaskin Process
  • XCR Reaction
  • Ferron Exchange
  • Electrostarolysis
  • Dinyx Solventation
  • Thermonatic Deposition
  • Kazen Winnowing
Which method suits what, how long it takes and what it costs, we will only source with our own data or an official source.
If something goes wrong: the MAYDAY key in the BalduursGATE client sends a distress call with your location to the crew.

Checklist

  • Picked a ship with a mining laser slot (table “Ships with mining lasers”).
  • You know which laser is fitted – the stock laser is listed in the same table.
  • Scanning mode, mining mode, fire laser and power + / − are on keys or on your Stream Deck.
  • If you use mining modules: you know the three activation slots.
  • You know how to jettison cargo.
  • A destination for refining or selling is planned.
  • You know the MAYDAY key in the BalduursGATE client or on the Stream Deck.

On your Stream Deck

These functions belong to this topic. Which key that is for you is shown by the BalduursGATE plugin based on your own bindings – on purpose, no key is listed here.

Profile page SCANNING

  • Toggle Scanning Operator Mode
  • Increase Scanning Angle
  • Decrease Scanning Angle

Profile page MINING

  • Toggle Mining Operator Mode
  • Fire Mining Laser (Toggle)
  • Switch Mining Laser (Toggle)
  • Increase Mining Laser Power
  • Decrease Mining Laser Power
  • Activate Mining Module (Slot 1)
  • Activate Mining Module (Slot 2)
  • Activate Mining Module (Slot 3)
  • Jettison Cargo

Profile page BalduursGATE Live

  • MAYDAY – distress call

The profile page CARGO is part of OMC Stream Deck 0.9.0. Go to the Download Center →

Read next

Links are stored in the hub entry – the index computes the reverse direction. No address is hard-coded here.

← Back to the Academy

Sources

  1. q1GAME DATAChronist – Auszug aus der Data.p4k: Schiffsbauteile, Rohstoffe, Raffinerieverfahren, Baupläne (chronist/index.json)Build 4.10.0-hotfix (55227)Gelesen, nicht gedeutet. Namen teils aus der deutschen global.ini, teils englisch.
  2. q2GAME DATAChronist – Steckplätze und Werksbestückung je Schiff (chronist/steckplaetze.json)Build 4.10.0-hotfix (55227)
  3. q3GAME DATAACTION-MASTER – Steuerungsfunktionen aus defaultProfile.xml und global.ini (SC-4.10-ACTION-MASTER.json)Build 4.10.0-hotfix (55227)
  4. q4COMMUNITYMineCalc – Community-Sammlung zu Erzsignaturen, Vorkommen und Raffineriehttps://github.com/itssilly4u/MineCalc · retrieved 2026-08-04 · License: MITIn unserem Bestand als chronist/erz-tabellen.json. Nicht aus den Spieldaten gelesen.

Patch and version information

Valid from
4.10.0
Valid until
open
Game data version
4.10.0 (11644)
Version
2 · EN Version 2
Review entries
none
Identifier
guide.mining-grundlagen
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