Raw resources are the basic materials you pull from the world in Dyson Sphere Program, and most of what you build starts with them. They include ores dug from veins, liquids pumped from oceans and oil seeps, gases gathered from giant planets, plants cleared by hand, and drops from Dark Fog units. Smelters, refineries and factories turn them into the parts you need, so knowing where each one comes from and how to collect it is the first step to a working setup.
Type
Common Ores
Iron Ore
- Where It Comes From
- Iron Ore is mined from ore veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Smelt it into Iron Ingots or Magnets for construction and production.
Copper Ore
- Where It Comes From
- Copper Ore is mined from ore veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Smelt it into Copper Ingots for electronics and other components.
Stone
- Where It Comes From
- Stone is mined from stone veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Smelt it into Stone Bricks, or process it into Glass and Sulfuric Acid; Silicon Ore can also be made from Stone.
Coal
- Where It Comes From
- Coal is mined from ore veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Burn it for power or process it into Energetic Graphite, fuel and proliferator ingredients.
Silicon Ore
- Where It Comes From
- Silicon Ore comes from veins, and Stone can be smelted into it.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or smelt Stone into it.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves; Stone conversion is available as a slow alternate source.
- Main Uses
- Smelt it into High-purity Silicon for advanced electronics.
Titanium Ore
- Where It Comes From
- Titanium Ore is mined from ore veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Smelt it into Titanium Ingots for advanced buildings, components and fuel rods.
Type
Rare Veins
Fire Ice
- Where It Comes From
- Fire Ice comes from veins and ice giants.
- How to Get It
- Mine a Fire Ice vein, or collect it from an ice giant with an Orbital Collector.
- Supply
- Veins are finite; ice-giant collection is continuous.
- Main Uses
- Process it into Graphene and Hydrogen, or burn it as fuel.
Kimberlite Ore
- Where It Comes From
- Kimberlite Ore is mined from rare veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Smelt it directly into Diamond.
Fractal Silicon
- Where It Comes From
- Fractal Silicon is mined from rare veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Process it into Crystal Silicon.
Optical Grating Crystal
- Where It Comes From
- Mined from rare veins, usually outside the starting system.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Used in Advanced Mining Machines, Photon Combiners and an alternate Casimir Crystal recipe.
Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal
- Where It Comes From
- Mined from rare veins.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or gather it by hand.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves.
- Main Uses
- Process it into Carbon Nanotubes.
Unipolar Magnet
- Where It Comes From
- Unipolar Magnets come from rare veins and level 24+ Dark Fog drops.
- How to Get It
- Mine with a Mining Machine or Advanced Mining Machine, or collect it from level 24+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves; Dark Fog drops provide another repeatable source.
- Main Uses
- Used in Particle Containers and Plane Smelters.
Organic Crystal
- Where It Comes From
- Organic Crystal comes from veins and a Chemical Plant recipe.
- How to Get It
- Mine it from a rare vein, or make it in a Chemical Plant.
- Supply
- Finite vein reserves; chemical production is an alternate source.
- Main Uses
- Used to make Titanium Crystals.
Type
Liquids
Water
- Where It Comes From
- Water is pumped from water oceans.
- How to Get It
- Use a Water Pump on a water ocean.
- Supply
- Ocean supply can be pumped continuously.
- Main Uses
- Used in chemical recipes and other production chains.
Crude Oil
- Where It Comes From
- Crude Oil comes from oil seeps, which can also appear in oceans.
- How to Get It
- Use an Oil Extractor on an oil seep.
- Supply
- Oil extraction continues, but a seep’s output rate declines with extraction.
- Main Uses
- Refine it into Refined Oil and Hydrogen; it also feeds Sulfuric Acid and Organic Crystal recipes.
Sulfuric Acid
- Where It Comes From
- Sulfuric Acid is pumped from acid oceans or made in a Chemical Plant.
- How to Get It
- Use a Water Pump on a Sulfuric Acid ocean.
- Supply
- Ocean supply can be pumped continuously; chemical production uses ingredients.
- Main Uses
- Used in Graphene, Titanium Alloy and other chemical recipes.
Type
Gas Giant Resources
Hydrogen
- Where It Comes From
- Hydrogen comes from gas giants and ice giants, and from recipes including oil refining, Fire Ice processing and X-ray Cracking.
- How to Get It
- Collect it with an Orbital Collector from a gas giant or ice giant.
- Supply
- Orbital collection continues while the collector is operating.
- Main Uses
- Used in fuel, chemical production, fractionation and particle-collider recipes.
Deuterium
- Where It Comes From
- Deuterium comes from gas giants and can be produced by fractionating Hydrogen or processing it in a Miniature Particle Collider.
- How to Get It
- Collect it with an Orbital Collector from a deuterium-bearing gas giant, or make it by fractionating Hydrogen or processing Hydrogen in a Miniature Particle Collider.
- Supply
- Orbital collection continues while the collector is operating; recipes provide alternate sources.
- Main Uses
- Used in Strange Matter, Deuteron Fuel Rods and other advanced recipes.
Type
Plants
Log
- Where It Comes From
- Logs come from manually harvested trees.
- How to Get It
- Clear trees and plants by hand.
- Supply
- Cleared vegetation can be replanted.
- Main Uses
- Used in the original Organic Crystal recipe and as a burnable fuel.
Plant Fuel
- Where It Comes From
- Plant Fuel comes from manually harvested vegetation.
- How to Get It
- Clear trees and plants by hand.
- Supply
- Cleared vegetation can be replanted.
- Main Uses
- Used as fuel and in the original Organic Crystal recipe.
Type
Dark Fog Drops
Energy Shard
- Where It Comes From
- Energy Shards drop from Dark Fog at level 3 or higher.
- How to Get It
- Defeat level 3+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Repeatable while Dark Fog units remain available.
- Main Uses
- Burn it as fuel; it also increases Icarus’s hand-crafting speed while burning.
Silicon-based Neuron
- Where It Comes From
- Silicon-based Neurons drop from Dark Fog at level 18 or higher.
- How to Get It
- Defeat level 18+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Repeatable while Dark Fog units remain available.
- Main Uses
- Unlocks and supplies the Self-evolution Lab.
Negentropy Singularity
- Where It Comes From
- Negentropy Singularities drop from Dark Fog at level 21 or higher.
- How to Get It
- Defeat level 21+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Repeatable while Dark Fog units remain available.
- Main Uses
- Used in Negentropy Smelters.
Matter Recombinator
- Where It Comes From
- Matter Recombinators drop from Dark Fog at level 15 or higher.
- How to Get It
- Defeat level 15+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Repeatable while Dark Fog units remain available.
- Main Uses
- Used in Re-composing Assemblers.
Core Element
- Where It Comes From
- Core Elements drop from Dark Fog at level 24 or higher.
- How to Get It
- Defeat level 24+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Repeatable while Dark Fog units remain available.
- Main Uses
- Used to make Strange Annihilation Fuel Rods.
Dark Fog Matrix
- Where It Comes From
- Dark Fog Matrices drop from Dark Fog at level 12 or higher.
- How to Get It
- Defeat level 12+ Dark Fog.
- Supply
- Repeatable while Dark Fog units remain available.
- Main Uses
- Used for Dark Fog technology research and in Self-evolution Lab production.
How Raw Resources Work in Dyson Sphere Program
Where a raw resource comes from decides how long it lasts. Ore and rare vein deposits are finite, so a vein will eventually run out and you'll want a plan for what comes next. Gas giants and oceans keep supplying you over time, and Dark Fog drops come from enemies rather than the ground.
This matters early on, because a factory built around a vein may need a new supply once that vein is empty. A line fed from an ocean or a giant can keep running without that worry.
How to Mine Ores and Rare Veins
Vein resources, from common ores to rare materials, come out of the ground with a Mining Machine. Each machine collects from the vein nodes inside its coverage area, so it produces more when it covers more of them. You can place several machines over the same vein to raise output, and each one needs power and can send its output onto belts.
The Advanced Mining Machine is the bigger version. It has a larger footprint, higher capacity and a storage buffer, and it can work with logistics drones. It can also run faster for extra power, so you can trade power for output when you need more.
Rare veins are handled by the same machines, so you don't need separate equipment for them. Icarus can also gather many mineral deposits by hand, which helps when you need a bit of material before your machines are running.
How to Pump Liquids and Collect Gases
Liquids and gases don't come out of veins, so they need different equipment. A Water Pump draws Water from a water ocean and Sulfuric Acid from an acid ocean, and ocean supply can be pumped continuously. Water feeds chemical recipes and other production chains, while Sulfuric Acid goes into Graphene, Titanium Alloy and other chemical recipes. A Chemical Plant can also make Sulfuric Acid, so the ocean is a shortcut rather than the only route.
Crude Oil comes from oil seeps, which an Oil Extractor pulls from, and it's refined into Refined Oil. A seep's output falls the more it's used. It never fully stops, but it slows, so plan for lower output over a long run.
Gases come from giant planets, and an Orbital Collector gathers them from gas giants and ice giants. The mix you get depends on which giant you collect from, so check before you build. Hydrogen is widely used, going into fuel, chemical production, fractionation and particle-collider recipes. Deuterium goes into Strange Matter, Deuteron Fuel Rods and other advanced recipes.
How to Gather Logs and Plant Fuel by Hand
Logs and Plant Fuel come from plants, and you collect them by clearing trees and vegetation yourself. Log can be burned as fuel, and Plant Fuel works as fuel too. Both can also feed the original Organic Crystal recipe.
Cleared vegetation doesn't have to be lost for good. Plants cleared by hand or removed for a foundation are collected, and you can replant them on the planet's surface.
Which Raw Resources Matter Most Early On
The first ores support your earliest factory lines. Iron Ore and Copper Ore feed the common metal and electronics chains, Stone supports bricks, glass and chemistry, and Coal gives you power fuel along with Energetic Graphite.
Silicon Ore and Titanium Ore matter once you move on to advanced parts. Silicon feeds High-purity Silicon for advanced electronics, and Titanium becomes Titanium Ingots for advanced buildings and components. Silicon can be harder to find, since the starting planet may not have a silicon vein, and Stone can be smelted into Silicon Ore at a slow rate as a backup. Titanium Ore is mined away from the starting planet, so you'll need to look beyond it.
Rare Veins and Why They Matter
Rare veins are worth tracking down because they often skip steps or replace a whole chain. Kimberlite Ore is smelted straight into Diamond, Fractal Silicon takes you to Crystal Silicon faster, and Spiniform Stalagmite Crystal, sometimes called Stalagmite Crystal, leads directly to Carbon Nanotubes.
Other rare resources are specialized materials for advanced equipment. Optical Grating Crystal, also called Grating Crystal, goes into Advanced Mining Machines and Photon Combiners and offers another way to make Casimir Crystal. Unipolar Magnet is used in Particle Containers and Plane Smelters. Organic Crystal, which goes into Titanium Crystals, can come from a rare vein or a Chemical Plant recipe, so it replaces a longer chain built on oil.
Fire Ice can be mined from a vein or collected from ice giants. The ice-giant route keeps running, unlike a finite vein, and Fire Ice can be processed into Graphene or burned as fuel.
Rare resources appear on different planet types, and where each one shows up varies by star cluster. A missing vein on one planet doesn't mean it's missing from the whole cluster, so it's worth checking other worlds. Optical Grating Crystal is usually found outside your starting system.
Dark Fog Drops and the Level You Need
Dark Fog drops come from Dark Fog units and structures, and each one has a level it needs. An item only drops when Dark Fog of that level or higher is destroyed, so clearing higher-level Dark Fog opens up more of these items.
Energy Shard is the earliest drop, coming from level 3 and up. It burns as fuel, and while it burns, Icarus crafts by hand faster.
The middle and late drops are used for research and advanced production. Dark Fog Matrix (level 12) supports Dark Fog technology research and Self-evolution Lab production, and Matter Recombinator (level 15) goes into Re-composing Assemblers. Silicon-based Neuron (level 18) unlocks and supplies Self-evolution Labs, while Negentropy Singularity (level 21) is used in Negentropy Smelters. Core Element (level 24) is used for Strange Annihilation Fuel Rods.
Unipolar Magnet, which otherwise comes from rare veins, also drops from level 24 Dark Fog and above. Dark Fog drops are repeatable as long as there are Dark Fog units left to defeat, so they can be a steady supply rather than a one-time pickup.
FAQ
Can you get Hydrogen and Deuterium without gas giants?
Yes. Hydrogen can also come from oil refining, Fire Ice processing and X-ray Cracking, so a giant isn't your only option. Deuterium can be made by fractionating Hydrogen or by processing Hydrogen in a Miniature Particle Collider.
Does crude oil come from oceans too?
Yes. Crude oil seeps can also spawn in oceans, so they aren't limited to land. You collect them with an Oil Extractor, the same way you would a seep on land.
Can you filter which Dark Fog drops you collect?
Yes. Drop filters can help control which loot gets collected from Dark Fog, so you can keep what you need and skip the rest.
