GEOLOGY & REFINING • 5 TOOL TIERS
Materials & Mining Progression Guide
Mining in Permafrost is governed by rigid pickaxe tier requirements. Striking high-tier nodes with inadequate tools will shatter your tool without extracting ore.
The 5-Tier Pickaxe Hierarchy
Tier 1: Primitive Stone
Stone Pickaxe
4x Wood, 2x Small Stone Ores Mined: Surface Boulders, Flint Nodes, Basic Clay
Cannot mine metals. Strictly for building stones and initial flint gathering.
Tier 2: Flint
Flint Pickaxe
4x Wood, 2x Flint (Crafting Bench) Ores Mined: Copper Ore Veins, Coal Veins, Limestone
Unlocks the Bronze Age. Essential for entering eastern cave networks.
Tier 3: Copper
Copper Pickaxe
4x Timber, 2x Copper Ingot, 1x Rope Ores Mined: Iron Ore Veins, Sulfur Crystals, Granite
Forged from smelted copper ingots. Enables railway iron harvesting.
Tier 4: Iron
Iron Pickaxe
4x Timber, 2x Iron Ingot, 2x Wire Ores Mined: Deep Iron, Heavy Industrial Scrapped Machinery
High durability and maximum scrap yields in urban ruins.
Tier 5: Moonrock
Moonrock Pickaxe
4x Hardwood, 2x Moonrock Shards, 1x Power Cell Ores Mined: Iridescent Moonrock, Ancient Lunar Impact Cores
Extracted exclusively within the Northwestern Crater cold anomaly.
Stone Furnace Smelting Ratios
| Refined Ingot | Input Ore | Fuel Cost | Duration | Primary Uses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Ingot | 3x Copper Ore | 5x Coal (or 8x Wood) | 45s | Conductive wiring, tier 3 tools, 9mm bullet casings |
| Iron Ingot | 3x Iron Ore | 3x Coal | 60s | Weapon Bench, firearms, heavy doors, reinforce walls |
| Charcoal (x2) | 4x Timber | Smelter internal heat | 30s | Gunpowder compounding, prolonged furnace smelting |
| Purified Water | 1x Snow Block | 1x Kindling | 15s | Hydration flask, herbal teas, preventing sickness |