Minerals
Minerals are the foundation of Aurora 4X’s trans‑Newtonian economy. Every ship, missile, installation, ground unit, and industrial structure is built from specific combinations of the eleven TN minerals. Mineral availability determines the pace of expansion, the scale of military production, and the long‑term viability of an empire. Each deposit has a finite quantity and an accessibility rating that directly affects mining output; high‑accessibility deposits provide full yield, while low‑accessibility deposits require many more mines to extract useful amounts. As deposits deplete, accessibility declines after the 50% mark, reducing efficiency and forcing empires to expand outward in search of new sources. Strategic mineral management—surveying, prioritizing high‑value deposits, establishing remote mining colonies, and balancing consumption across shipbuilding, weapons, research, and infrastructure—is one of the core challenges of Aurora C#.
Below is a summary of each mineral, its primary uses, and notes to help guide early‑ and mid‑game planning.
| Mineral | Primary Uses (links) | Notes / Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Duranium | Ship Components • Armour • Installations • Infrastructure • Maintenance Supplies | Backbone mineral; nearly everything consumes it. Early shortages cripple production. |
| Neutronium | Construction Factory • Maintenance Facility • Shipyards • Railguns | Heavy industrial mineral. |
| Corbomite | Shields • Advanced Armour • Sensors • Fire Controls • Cloaking • Decoys | Required for defensive tech and CI→Financial Centre conversions. |
| Tritanium | Missile Launcher • Magazine • Ordnance Factory | Missile‑heavy doctrines consume large amounts; watch magazine scaling. |
| Boronide | Power Plants • Fuel Refinery • Energy Weapon Components | Direct fire weapons (excluding Gauss) require power plants; Boronide shortages stall fleet growth. |
| Mercassium | Research Facility • Infrastructure • Planetary Installations | Not a sensor mineral for ships; mainly used for colony development. |
| Vendarite | Ground Forces • CIWS • Gauss Cannons | Only ground‑force mineral (excluding STOs); also used in some point‑defense systems. |
| Sorium | Fuel • Jump Drives | Fuel bottlenecks halt fleets; gas giant harvesting is essential mid‑game. Sorium is needed for Components, Fuel is needed for Fleets and Missiles. |
| Uridium | Active Sensors • Passive Sensors • Fire Controls • Maintenance Supplies | Core sensor mineral; demand rises with tech level and fleet size. |
| Corundium | Mines • Lasers • Particle Beams • Mesons • Plasma Carronade • High-Powered Microwave | Critical mineral: required for mines and energy weapons (other than railguns). Shortages are devastating. |
| Gallicite | Every Engine • Maintenance Supplies | The engine mineral; most common mid‑game crisis. Limits shipbuilding speed. |