Mining Robot
Complete guide to the Mining Robot in Starsand Island, covering how to unlock this Expert Crafter automation device, crafting recipe, placement, operation with Robot Terminals, resource collection behavior, durability and maintenance, and strategies for efficient endgame ore farming.
Overview
The Mining Robot is an advanced automation device in Starsand Island that automates the collection of ore and stone from designated mining areas. It is unlocked as part of the Expert Crafter profession tier, making it one of the later progression milestones in the game. Once placed, the Mining Robot continuously harvests mining nodes in its assigned area and deposits all collected resources into a nearby Robot Terminal. For players who have reached the endgame and need large quantities of raw materials, the Mining Robot eliminates hours of repetitive manual mining.
How to Unlock
The Mining Robot blueprint becomes available after you reach the Expert Crafter rank in the Professions system. This is the highest tier of the Crafter profession questline, which progresses through Junior Crafter, Intermediate Crafter, Senior Crafter, and finally Expert Crafter. Each rank requires completing specific crafting tasks and turning in quest items to Zerine at the General Store.
To reach Expert Crafter, you must have already completed every prior Crafter quest, built and used stations like the Ore Analyzer, Worktable upgrades, and various advanced crafting recipes. The blueprint is purchased from Zerine's terminal once Expert Crafter status is achieved.
Crafting Recipe
The Mining Robot is crafted at the Worktable III (the highest-tier worktable). The recipe requires advanced materials that reflect its endgame status:
Material | Quantity | How to Obtain |
|---|---|---|
Steel Plate | 4 | Process Steel Ingots at the Cutter |
Ancient Gear Parts | 6 | Analyze Common Ore Chunks at the Ore Analyzer |
Spirit Cube Fragments | 2 | Analyze Uncommon or Rare Ore Chunks at the Ore Analyzer |
Circuit Board | 1 | Crafted from Copper Wire and Silicon at Worktable III |
Magnet | 2 |
Because the recipe calls for Spirit Cube Fragments, you will need to have progressed deep into the Moonlit Forest to gather Uncommon or Rare Ore Chunks. The Impact Hammer is strongly recommended for mining advanced nodes that drop these higher-tier chunks.
Placement and Setup
After crafting, the Mining Robot is placed from your inventory like any other furniture item. It can be positioned on your Hopeland property or inside Moonlit Forest campsites. For mining purposes, placing the robot in a Moonlit Forest campsite is far more effective because ore nodes are concentrated there. On your Hopeland property, there are no natural mining nodes, so the robot would have nothing to harvest.
The Mining Robot must be placed within range of a Robot Terminal. The Terminal acts as the collection point where all harvested resources are stored. Without a Terminal in range, the robot cannot deposit its output and will stop working once its internal buffer is full. Set up the Terminal first, then place the Mining Robot nearby.
Placement checklist:
Build and place a Robot Terminal at your chosen campsite or Hopeland area.
Place the Mining Robot within the Terminal's connection range (a green indicator shows valid placement).
Interact with the Mining Robot to assign it to the Terminal and confirm its working area.
Check the Terminal periodically to collect deposited resources.
How It Works
Once placed and linked to a Robot Terminal, the Mining Robot operates on a daily cycle. Each in-game day it will:
Patrol its designated area looking for harvestable mining nodes (ore veins, stone deposits).
Mine each node automatically, collecting the same resources you would get from mining by hand.
Deposit all collected materials into the linked Robot Terminal's inventory.
Reset and repeat the cycle the following day.
The types of resources collected depend on the area where the robot is placed. In early Moonlit Forest zones, it will primarily collect Copper Ore, Tin Ore, Stone, and Common Ore Chunks. In deeper zones, you can expect Gold Ore, Primorite, and higher-tier Ore Chunks. The robot collects everything a player could mine manually in its area, including the Ore Chunk byproducts.
Resource Collection by Area
Placement Area | Primary Resources | Ore Chunks |
|---|---|---|
Evernight Forest (early zone) | Copper Ore, Tin Ore, Stone, Fluorite | Common |
Copper Ore, Quartz, Stone | Common | |
Mid-depth zones (near Spiritshade River) | Gold Ore, Aurorite, Stone | Common, Uncommon |
Deep zones | Primorite, Gold Ore, Aurorite | Common, Uncommon, Rare |
Durability and Maintenance
The Mining Robot has a durability meter that decreases with each daily mining cycle. When durability reaches zero, the robot stops operating and must be repaired or replaced. You can check the current durability by interacting with the robot.
Repairing the Mining Robot requires a Repair Kit, which is crafted at Worktable III using Steel Plates and Copper Wire. Each Repair Kit restores the robot to full durability. Keep spare Repair Kits in your inventory or storage so you can maintain your robots without interrupting their operation.
Alternatively, you can craft a new Mining Robot outright and replace the broken one. This costs more materials but avoids the need to carry Repair Kits. For players running multiple robots, maintaining a stockpile of repair materials is more economical than building replacements.
Automation System Integration
The Mining Robot is one of four Expert Crafter automation devices. Together, they form a comprehensive automation system that can handle most repetitive gathering tasks in the game:
Robot | Function | Profession Tier |
|---|---|---|
Mining Robot | Mines ore, stone, and ore chunks | Expert Crafter |
Chops trees and collects wood | Expert Crafter | |
Collects forageable materials | Expert Crafter | |
Catches insects automatically | Expert Crafter |
All four devices deposit their output into Robot Terminals. You can connect multiple robots to a single Terminal as long as they are within range. A common endgame setup is to place one of each robot type around a centralized Terminal in a Moonlit Forest campsite, creating a fully automated gathering hub.
Strategies and Tips
Place Mining Robots in the deepest Moonlit Forest zones you have access to. Deeper zones yield more valuable ores and higher-tier Ore Chunks, maximizing the robot's output.
Run multiple Mining Robots in different zones to diversify your resource intake. One robot in an early zone for Copper and Tin, another in a deep zone for Gold and Primorite.
Check your Robot Terminal every few in-game days. Terminals have limited storage, and if they fill up the robot will pause until space is freed.
Combine Mining Robot output with the Ore Analyzer for a fully automated ore processing pipeline. The robot collects the chunks, and you feed them through the Analyzer for Ancient Gear Parts and Spirit Cube Fragments.
Prioritize repairing over replacing. A Repair Kit costs significantly fewer materials than crafting a new Mining Robot from scratch.
The Mining Robot pairs well with the Logging Robot because many crafting recipes require both metal and wood. Running both in parallel ensures steady supply of both material types.
Craft the Mining Robot early in your Expert Crafter progression. Automated mining frees you to focus on other tasks like farming, ranching, and socializing.