An ore hotspot does not create usable fuel by itself. A stock KSP mining operation must scan the body, reach a workable site, keep drills powered and thermally stable, store ore, convert it into the exact propellant the client needs, and move that propellant to the vessel that will burn it. If any handoff is missing, the base becomes heavy scenery.
The scope is the original game’s stock resource system on PC, identified by Steam App 220200 and checked against build 1.12.5. Ore distribution is save-specific, so the route uses a repeatable selection and test method rather than universal hotspot coordinates. The old community mining reference remains useful for the system chain, but exact part performance and resource readbacks should come from the installed client.
Choose the fuel destination before the mining site
Decide where another craft will receive fuel:
- on the surface: the consumer lands beside the refinery or meets a fuel rover;
- in low orbit: a tanker lifts propellant to a depot;
- on an asteroid: a refinery travels with or anchors to a finite resource body;
- inside one reusable lander: the same vessel mines, converts, and departs.
The destination determines the expensive parts. A surface-only station needs an accessible docking or grabbing interface. An orbital depot also needs a tanker with ascent delta-v, docking control, and a safe return. A self-refueling lander must lift drills, converter, thermal control, tanks, and power hardware on every trip. Do not select the highest ore concentration before comparing that transport cost.
Unlock one complete resource chain
A functional operation needs every role below. Part names and sizes vary with the researched technology, so inspect the current editor descriptions:
- survey: an M700 Survey Scanner for the body-wide resource overlay;
- refinement: a narrow-band or surface scanner when more local detail is required;
- extraction: a Drill-O-Matic unit that can reach the surface;
- ore storage: a tank with free capacity between extraction and conversion;
- conversion: an ISRU converter with the recipe needed by the mission;
- product storage: tanks for liquid fuel, oxidizer, or monopropellant as required;
- power and thermal control: generation, batteries, and cooling sized for sustained operation;
- delivery: a docking port, grabbing unit, rover, tanker, or integrated consumer.
If one role is missing from the technology tree, postpone the refinery. Launching a drill without ore storage or a converter without destination tanks creates another mission before producing value.
Scan from a permitted orbit and trust the live status
Build the survey satellite with control, communication, electric charge, an antenna, the M700 scanner, and enough propulsion to reach the intended body and establish the required orbit. A polar orbit provides full latitude access and is a sensible survey geometry. The scanner’s part menu reports whether altitude and situation are valid; use that current message instead of copying one altitude range to every moon and planet.
Run the orbital survey and transmit the scan when the antenna and power state can complete it. Then open the resource overlay from the vessel or Tracking Station. Raise the cutoff to hide weaker concentrations, but do not automatically choose the last colored pixel. The overlay is a regional filter, not a landing-site photograph.
If the scanner will not operate, read the exact state:
- too high or too low means the orbit must be changed;
- no control or connection means the probe cannot execute or transmit the survey;
- insufficient electric charge means generation and storage were sized only for idle load;
- the wrong body or unscanned save means a familiar hotspot from another game is irrelevant.
Trade a little ore for a much safer landing site
Use a narrow-band scanner or a small surface rover to refine candidate areas. Evaluate four variables together:
| Variable | Why it matters | Reject the site when |
|---|---|---|
| Ore concentration | Changes extraction rate and operating time | The live surface readback is too low for the planned throughput |
| Slope and terrain | Affects landing, drill contact, docking, and rover travel | The base rocks, slides, or cannot present a level interface |
| Lighting and power cycle | Determines solar availability and battery demand | The night or shadow interval exceeds stored energy |
| Latitude and orbital access | Changes the plane-change and tanker ascent cost | Fuel delivery consumes the advantage gained by richer ore |
A flat moderate deposit near the depot’s orbital plane can outperform a rich polar slope. Quicksave before committing the full base, and land a cheap scout first when the payload is difficult to move.
Design the refinery around its worst operating minute
Mining and conversion create a sustained load rather than a short engine burn. Size the system for the moment when drills and the selected ISRU recipe operate together, batteries are not full, and sunlight may be weak or absent.
Place drills so they reach the ground when landing legs compress and the base settles. Keep the center of mass inside a wide support footprint. Provide dedicated thermal control and watch the core-temperature and efficiency readbacks during a long test. If efficiency declines while heat rises, more waiting is not the fix; reduce simultaneous load, improve cooling, or redesign the thermal path.
An engineer aboard can improve resource operations where the current part rules allow it, but crew is not a substitute for power, cooling, storage, or a valid drill contact. If the base is uncrewed, confirm probe control and communication through the full day-night cycle.
Prove ore flow before turning on the converter
Start with empty ore capacity and the converter off. Deploy one drill and watch three readbacks: surface contact, ore concentration or extraction rate, and ore-tank increase. If the tank remains unchanged, inspect drill deployment, site concentration, available power, heat, and storage capacity.
Only after extraction works should the converter be started. Select one recipe and watch ore fall while the matching product tank rises. A converter can run yet produce nothing useful when the destination tank is full or absent. Keep an empty buffer so a full product tank does not hide whether extraction is still consuming resources.
Run the combined system long enough for temperature and electricity to settle. A successful five-second demonstration can still fail through the night or after thermal saturation.
Match the recipe to the receiving vehicle
Inspect the consumer’s tanks before conversion. A liquid-fuel engine may require only liquid fuel or a liquid-fuel-and-oxidizer mix depending on the engine. RCS may need monopropellant. Producing every resource “just in case” fills mass and tank volume that the logistics chain must move.
Convert the product that has a named destination and leave room in that destination before docking. After transfer, verify both sides: the refinery or tanker tank decreased, and the consumer tank increased. If no transfer controls appear, check that the vessels are actually joined, the correct tanks are selected, and resource-transfer rules allow the connection.
Separate production from delivery when mass demands it
A four-part logistics chain is easy to audit:
- fixed refinery: scans locally, drills, converts, and stores bulk product;
- surface carrier: moves fuel between the refinery and a safe landing interface when direct docking is awkward;
- orbital tanker: loads on the surface, reaches the depot, docks, unloads, and returns;
- orbital depot: buffers fuel for interplanetary craft without forcing them to land.
Each handoff introduces docking, structural, and propellant cost. A small Minmus operation may combine the refinery and tanker; a large surface base may benefit from separate vehicles. Use the rendezvous and docking guide before making the tanker the only source of return fuel.
Budget the tanker’s round trip with the transfer-planning workflow. Fuel delivered to orbit is net product only after subtracting what the tanker burns to lift it and return for another load.
Commission the whole chain with a measured load
Do not declare the base complete when the first fuel unit appears. Run one delivery cycle:
- record starting ore, product, charge, and vehicle propellant;
- mine until a chosen ore quantity is stored;
- convert it and confirm temperatures plateau within an efficient range;
- load the delivery vehicle without draining its required reserve;
- reach the destination, dock or connect, and transfer product;
- return the carrier or verify the depot can serve the next mission;
- compare delivered fuel with the energy and propellant spent.
If the carrier cannot return, the system may be a one-time fuel cache rather than a reusable supply line. That can still be useful, but it should be labeled and planned as such.
Asteroids are finite resource bodies
An asteroid operation does not use a planetary resource overlay in the same way. Inspect the captured object’s current mass and resource readbacks, attach securely, and plan for the combined center of mass to change as material is removed and propellant is created.
The official 1.12 notes adjusted how space-object resource percentages are calculated, so old claims that every asteroid has an extremely high percentage are unsafe. Use the current asteroid’s displayed values. Stop extraction when storage is full; consuming a finite object without room for ore or product wastes the resource and changes the vehicle mass.
A small rich asteroid and a large weaker one can produce different total value because concentration and total mass are separate. Compare recoverable resource with the delta-v needed to intercept, redirect, stabilize, and service it.
Diagnose the stopped part of the chain
| Symptom | Check next |
|---|---|
| No resource overlay | Scanner situation, altitude status, survey completion, communication, and power |
| Drill deployed but no ore | Ground contact, local concentration, free ore capacity, electric charge, and core heat |
| Ore fills but fuel does not | Converter recipe, product tank type and capacity, power, and thermal efficiency |
| Base works only in daylight | Night duration, battery capacity, alternate generation, and idle loads |
| Tanker cannot profitably reach orbit | Site latitude, vehicle dry mass, ascent profile, and fuel spent per delivered unit |
| Docked craft cannot transfer | Dock state, selected source and destination tanks, product type, and transfer restrictions |
In Career mode, the Career guide can help decide whether this infrastructure serves enough contracts and missions to justify its technology and facility cost. A refinery is progression only when another vehicle can use its output.
Official resource and build references
The operational chain was checked against a readable stock mining guide and current official version records. Its old universal altitude ranges and passive-cooling suggestions were not promoted as current rules; the guide directs players to the installed scanner, power, and thermal readbacks.