The Mining Camp is an early-settlement gathering building that enables harvesting for a variety of Ore tiles, such as Copper Ore or Iron Ore. While any kind of Ore tile can be mined with a Level 1 Mining Camp, most do not become useful until the accompanying processing knowledges (like Bronze Working) are unlocked at the Foundry and Tool Maker.
Due to the vital role of metals in advancing to new eras, it's common for players to explore their region extensively in search of the best deposits to claim with a City or Outpost. Territories can spawn with up to 4 types of Ore or Quarry tiles, but it's more typical to find 1 - 2 Ores or none at all. Deposits of Tin, Silver, and Gold are considered especially hard to find and often only appear in small quantities.
Buildings[ | ]
| Appearance | Building Level | Unlocked By | Build Cost | Base Efficiency | Tile Radius | Workers | Profession | Movable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 | Metallurgy | 3 Hammers
1 Wood 1 Leather 2 Stone |
1.0 | 4 | 6 | Miner | 
|
|
2 | Mining Tools | 3 Axes
2 Wood 3 Leather 3 Stone |
1.5 | 5 | 6 | Miner |
|
|
Annex
(2+) |
Underground Mining | 5 Shovels
8 Planks 5 Stone |
4 | Any | - | - |
|
|
3 | Pickaxe (Knowledge) | 3 Axes
4 Planks 3 Stone |
3.0 | 6 | 6 | Miner |
|
|
Annex
(3+) |
Ventilation Shafts | 5 Pickaxe
5 Stone 8 Planks |
? | Any | - | - |
|
|
4 | Ore crusher mill | 6 Saws
5 Planks |
4.5 | 7 | 4 | Miner |
|
Rarity[ | ]
The following appearance rates are based on player estimates from carefully exploring standard multiplayer maps and a longtime study on another. Since maps differ in their terrain composition the basic % will only serve as a basic average. Terrain has a huge impact on ore distribution and has to be accounted for. Up to 5 Ore deposits can appear in any territory, including multiples of the same type and excluding climate specific stones. Otherwise it would be 6.
Estimates[ | ]
| Ore Deposit | Territory Appearance | |
|---|---|---|
| Chance | Tier | |
| Copper | 20% | Common |
| Iron | 20% | |
| Coal | 15% | Uncommon |
| Limestone* | 15% | |
| Tin | 5% | Rare |
| Silver | 5% | |
| Gold | 2% | Very Rare |
| Obsidian | 2% | |
| Ash | 2% | |
Long Term Study[ | ]
Terrain spawnchance, ore per terrain and overall chance
* Excluding Mediterranean climates, where Limestone can appear as terrain feature instead of Ore tiles.
Gathering[ | ]
| Resource | Building
Level |
Need per Unit Gathered | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce | Ore | ||
| Coal | 1 | 1.5 | 2 tiles |
| Copper | 1 | 5.0 | 6 tiles |
| Tin | 1 | 6.0 | 6 tiles |
| Iron | 1 | 6.0 | 10 tiles |
| Silver | 1 | 10.0 | 13.3 tiles |
| Gold | 1 | 15.0 | 20 tiles |
Annexes[ | ]
Once unlocked, Mineshafts greatly increase the yield per tile that can be achieved by Level 2+ Mining Camp. However, they can only be constructed on flat, uninterrupted regions of Ore that meet the space and buffer requirements.
| Resource | Gathering Rate | Need per Active Annex | Yield Increase
(tile equivalent) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce | Space | Buffer | |||
| Coal | 10.0 | 6.0 | 2 x 2 tiles | 2 tiles | +32 Coal tiles |
| Copper | 2.5 | 5.0 | 2 x 2 tiles | 2 tiles | +11 Copper tiles |
| Tin | 2.5 | 6.0 | 2 x 2 tiles | 2 tiles | +11 Tin tiles |
| Iron | 2.5 | 6.0 | 2 x 2 tiles | 2 tiles | +21 Iron tiles |
| Silver | 1.5 | 6.0 | 2 x 2 tiles | 2 tiles | +16 Silver tiles |
| Gold | 1.0 | 6.0 | 2 x 2 tiles | 2 tiles | +16 Gold tiles |
Conversion Table[ | ]
The following table shows how many Ore tiles are required for Mining Camps to support a production rate of 1.0 Bars per tick at the Foundry. During smelting, production may pause if you have less than 0.1 Bars worth of resources available (Gold in particular tends to have this issue at less than 16 Ore tiles).
| Recipe | Need for Production Rate of 1.0 Units | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Ore | Tin Ore | Silver Ore | Gold Ore | Iron Ore | |
| Copper | 12 tiles | ||||
| Tin | 12 tiles | ||||
| Silver | 58 tiles | ||||
| Gold | 160 tiles | ||||
| Bronze | 10 tiles | 2.5 tiles | |||
| Iron | 20 tiles | ||||
| Steel | ? tiles | ||||