Sandustry Copper — Mine, Smelt, and Build Power Bricks

Where to find copper

Copper Ore spawns in brown veins deep underground. It never appears on the surface layer where you start. There is no recipe to craft it and no shop to buy it from — digging down is the only way.

• Stone caverns near spawn — easy, low yield.
• Underground labyrinths — medium difficulty, higher yield.
• Areas near water deposits — convenient for steam turbine setup nearby.
• Deep caverns past the frost bed — highest yield, requires upgraded drill.

Tip. Sand and Copper Ore are often found together — run a single digging route and split them with a Filter.

Mining copper

• Drill upgrades matter. Increasing terrain damage on your drill significantly speeds up extraction from stone.
• Energy management is key. The drill only consumes energy when actively drilling, not when moving through empty space.
• Use a Grabber for loose bits. After drilling large deposits, use an upgraded Grabber to collect scattered copper chunks quickly.
• Set up conveyors early. Run a conveyor belt from your mining area to a launcher, then route it back to your base.

Smelting pipeline

The chain from ore to Power Brick:

1. Route copper to the smelter. Place an advanced filter set to allow copper only. Block everything else.
2. Set up thermal buffers. Place thermal buffers adjacent to the smelter.
3. Create lava for heat. Place cinder in the bottom of your thermal buffer area and ignite it.
4. Wait for smelting. The heated thermal blocks slowly melt the copper on top into liquid copper.
5. Collect liquid copper. Pump/pipe it to the Copper Mold.

Power Bricks and steam turbines

Copper molds filled with liquid copper become Power Bricks. Connect via Energy Connector to Steam Turbines for a sustainable loop.

• Plan your mold layout before pouring. Copper molds cannot be extended downward once filled.
• Connect energy connectors first. Turbines only generate when connected to filled batteries — not empty molds.
• Leave space for snow. Steam turbines require snow at the top of the condenser area.
• Use lava as a permanent heat source. A lava pool stored underground persists indefinitely.

Note. Snow is the fuel that keeps steam turbines running — once it runs out, the turbine stops. Research Snow Maker to keep it topped up automatically.

Troubleshooting