Prospecting

Main / Skills / Prospecting

Prospecting is a mining subskill for locating ore veins, flint, and salt in rock. To prospect, activate a pickaxe, right-click a rock tile, and select "Mining > Prospect".

Notes

• Ore veins can't be searched for by means of prospecting when being inside a cave; the player has to be on the surface. Surface prospecting of flint and salt is only for the single tile prospected; nearby flint/salt tiles can't be prospected.
• Gems appear randomly during all mining, and cannot be prospected.
• All ores are slightly regional. Thus, if an ore vein is located, it is likely there will be other veins of the same ore type nearby.

Skill levels

Anyone can detect veins within 3 tiles. At higher skill levels, additional abilities are unlocked:

• 20 (not on GV anyway): Estimate the quality of a vein or rock tile and detect flint
• 40: Detect salt
• 60: Estimate the remaining amount of ore in a vein

Vein quality

Rock tiles and ore veins have a maximum quality level.

When prospecting inside a cave, both "poor" and "acceptable" are displayed as "pretty bad".

• Poor: 20-29
• Acceptable: 30-39
• Normal: 40-59
• Good: 60-79
• Very good: 80-92
• Utmost: 93-99

Vein depletion

Ordered by decreasing ore supply. Some estimated values of the message added by Gavin.

• "Only a few weeks mining remain here"
• "The ore is starting to deplete"
• "You should start to prospect for another vein of this ore" (Definitely under 5,000)
• "The ore will run out soon" (Definitely under 2,000. Likely under 1,000.)
• "The ore will run out any hour (100 left)"

"The estimated values are not to be accepted as 'true', There could be all kinds of factors like it might be a message of total vein capacity, Not just 'whats left'. I noticed these numbers on a silver vein."

Guides

Prospecting guide (large rock face)

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   | o |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ 
|   |   |   | 3 | 2 | 1 |<--| X |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

X = no prospect of that ore
<-- = last tile you did get a prospect
3 = I recommend you start mining here

Realize that the world is 2 dimensional. All the rock and ore tiles are pillars, they are not cubes. You can ignore the height of mountains when prospecting. Only North/South/West/East matter.

When you prospect on the surface, you can detect ore in an area of 7x7 area around you. That's 3 tiles in all directions from the tile you are prospecting. Prospecting inside a cave is not done to find ores, but to tell specific details about the tile you are prospecting.

When you prospect e.g. iron ore on the surface that means that somewhere within a range of 3 tiles around you (including the tiles behind you) an iron vein is located. You then try to find the tiles where you can no longer prospect the ore. You need to find one North or South edge, and one East or West edge.

Then count 3 tiles from both those edges and the tile you end up with is the ore vein.

You cannot mine the vein tile directly from the surface. If you try to mine the vein tile from the surface you will get the message You fail to produce anything, the rock is stone hard, or You cannot keep mining here, the rock is unusually hard (only when you were supposed to get a stone shard, otherwise you'll get You chip away at the rock as usual. You will have to start tunneling in the tile next to vein.

Sometimes grass, dirt or other tile types hinder the prospecting. Try to find a large rockface to ease prospecting.

Or you can try this program out as well [1]

Uzetaab's Guide

Alternative for if you do not have a large rock face to prospect.

+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   | X |   |   |   | 3
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   | X |   |   |   | 2
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| X | X | X | X | X | X |X  | 1
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|   |   |   | o |   |   |   |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
  3   2   1 | # | 1   2   3
            +---+

You will have to reveal all the tiles in a 7x7 area to find the vein.

• ‘O’ the tile you prospected
• ‘X’ tiles that need to be mined out
• ‘#’ you

Note that I left 2 rows of tiles unmined between mined rows. This increases your chances of finding a 2nd vein that is beyond the reach of prospect. As you expand your mine, this pattern should be continued and expanded to reveal all the tiles in your mine's area.

--Uzetaab 15:10, February 19, 2006 (CST)

Kiro's guide

• Kiro's mining guide

Tools

Player-made tools to help find veins.

• Prospector
• Grid Maker

Titles

• 50 = Prospector
• 70 = Geologist
• 90 = Goldsniffer

See also

• Mining