Asteroids and ore

Main article: Mining

Asteroids are large irregular chunks of rock that can be found in many places throughout New Eden. When mined, asteroids yield ore which, when refined, produces minerals of various types that serve as the basic building blocks of almost every craftable item.

Where to find asteroids

An asteroid belt. The ship in the middle is sitting at the warp-in point.

Asteroid belt geometry

Asteroid belts

Virtually every star system in EVE (with the notable exception of Jita) has at least one asteroid belt. Most star systems have several -- up to more than a dozen in some cases. These belts are listed on the overview and the right-click menu, and always have the same geometry: a rough semicircle of asteroids, approximately 50 km in diameter. A ship warping to an asteroid belt's beacon (through the right-click menu or the overview) will warp to the center of the semicircle. Note that mining lasers have an (unboosted) range of only 10-15 km, so in order to mine asteroids a ship has to fly closer to the belt after warping in. If you want to save on travel time, you can warp to mining bookmarks instead.

A given belt will have a mixture of asteroids containing different ores. The mixture and size of the asteroids (i.e. how much ore each asteroid contains) is determined by the system's location in the EVE universe and its security status (see asteroid distribution below). Each asteroid belt contains a finite number of asteroids (which disappear once fully mined), but the asteroids respawn after downtime. The website Dotlan has maps showing the number of belts per system.

Deadspace pockets

Mineable asteroids can also spawn in deadspace pockets, such as the ones created for missions. Unlike asteroid belts, these are not organized into a set shape. Some are composed of dense clumps of asteroids, while others are scattered fields. For a list of which missions' deadspace pockets contain asteroids, see Mission Mining or EVE-survival.

Cosmic anomalies

Lastly, one of the two kinds of cosmic anomaly contains asteroids (the others contains hostile rats). The asteroids in cosmic anomalies tend to be a little larger and contain rarer ore than the normal asteroid belts in a star system. However, unlike asteroid belts, once all the asteroids in the anomaly have been mined, the anomaly disappears after broadcasting a short message in Local. As with all cosmic anomalies, new anomalies spawn semi-randomly.

Note that in many locations you will find decorative asteroids, which cannot be mined or otherwise interacted with. These will have colorful names such as "Snake-shaped Asteroid".

There are different types of asteroid cosmic anomalies, named by what kinds of ores are contained within. Each type comes in three variants (small, average, and large) - the "larger" the anomaly, the more asteroids (and hence the more ore) it contains. A "Small Kernite and Omber Deposit" therefore contains a small number of Kernite and Omber asteroids, while a "Large Bistot Deposit" contains a large number of Bistot asteroids. Ore anomalies will contain all three variants of the ores they contain.

High security space

See also: High-sec

• Omber (small • average • large)
• Kernite and Omber (small • average • large)
• Jaspet, Kernite, and Omber (small • average • large)
• Hemorphite, Jaspet, and Kernite (small • average • large)
• Hedbergite, Hemorphite, and Jaspet (small • average • large)

Low security space

See also: Low-sec

• Gneiss (small • average • large)
• Dark Ochre and Gneiss (small • average • large)
• Crokite, Dark Ochre and Gneiss (small • average • large)
• Spodumain, Crokite and Dark Ochre (small • average • large)

Null security space

See also: Null-sec

• Bistot (small • average • large)
• Arkonor and Bistot (small • average • large)
• Mercoxit, Arkonor and Bistot (small • average • large)

Ore Prospecting Arrays

In player-owned sovereign nullsec, it is possible to deploy Ore Prospecting Arrays, a deployable sovereignty structure which, when deployed in a system, periodically generates asteroid clusters of various sizes at set intervals.

All sizes of asteroid clusters are capable of spawning regardless of system security status, and all clusters of a given size contain the same volume of ore, but asteroid clusters in lower security levels will spawn the more valuable ore variants with greater frequency. With the exception of Small Asteroid Clusters (which lack Mercoxit), all clusters contain varying amounts of all nullsec ore types: Arkonor, Bistot, Crokite, Dark Ochre, Gneiss, Spodumain, and Mercoxit.

Small Asteroid Cluster • Medium Asteroid Cluster • Large Asteroid Cluster • Enormous Asteroid Cluster • Colossal Asteroid Cluster

Asteroid distribution

Asteroid distribution

An asteroid belt, as seen on the overview. Note the belt's warp-in point (marked with an inverted triangle), as well as the variety of different asteroid types (all labelled according to what kind of ore they contain).

For the distribution of ice asteroids, see Ice distribution.

The EVE universe can be divided into four quarters:

• The Amarr quarter (includes systems held by the Amarr, Ammatar, Khanid, Blood Raiders, and Sansha's Nation)
• The Caldari quarter (includes systems held by the Caldari and Guristas)
• The Gallente quarter (includes systems held by the Gallente and Serpentis)
• The Minmatar quarter (includes systems held by the Minmatar and Angel Cartel)

Each of these four quarters has its own set of asteroid types. Additionally, the lower the security rating of a system, the rarer the asteroid types that can be found there. Finally, each system can also include all the asteroid types of same-quarter higher-security systems. For example, a Gallente system with a security rating of 0.7 will have asteroid belts with not only Omber asteroids, but also Veldspar, Scordite, and Plagioclase asteroids.

System security rating	Quarter
█ 1.0 and lower	Veldspar Scordite	Veldspar Scordite	Veldspar Scordite	Veldspar Scordite
█ 0.9 and lower	Pyroxeres	Pyroxeres	Plagioclase	Plagioclase
█ 0.7 and lower	Kernite	Plagioclase	Omber	Omber
█ 0.4 and lower	Jaspet	Kernite	Jaspet	Kernite
█ 0.2 and lower	Hemorphite	Hedbergite	Hemorphite	Hedbergite
█ 0.0 and lower	Spodumain Gneiss Crokite Arkonor Bistot Mercoxit	Dark Ochre Crokite Spodumain Bistot Mercoxit	Dark Ochre Crokite Arkonor Bistot Mercoxit	Spodumain Gneiss Arkonor Bistot Mercoxit

In general, the rarer the ore, the higher its volume per unit (e.g. one unit of Veldspar has a volume of 0.1 m³, whereas one unit of Arkonor has a volume of 16 m³). Since mining lasers mine a given volume of ore per minute, it takes longer to mine the rarer ore types. Additionally, each ore reprocesses into a different set of minerals. For details, see Reprocessing.

Note that mining Mercoxit requires the Deep Core Mining skill as well as special mining modules (Deep Core Miners or Deep Core Strip Miners). All other ore types can be mined with all types of ore mining lasers or strip miners.

Ore variants

Each asteroid type has two further subtypes that yield more (+5% / +10%) minerals when reprocessed. Otherwise they are identical in every way to their base ore, and are found in the same regions, but in lower quantities. For instance, if an asteroid belt has Omber asteroids, it will also have some Silvery Omber asteroids and a few Golden Omber asteroids. If you get the chance, you should always mine the higher-yield variants before mining the base ore.

Base ore	+5% variant	+10% variant	Found in
Veldspar	Concentrated Veldspar	Dense Veldspar	Everywhere
Scordite	Condensed Scordite	Massive Scordite	Everywhere
Pyroxeres	Solid Pyroxeres	Viscous Pyroxeres	Amarr and Caldari 0.9 (or lower) space
Plagioclase	Azure Plagioclase	Rich Plagioclase	Caldari 0.7 (or lower) space Minmatar and Gallente 0.9 (or lower) space
Omber	Silvery Omber	Golden Omber	Gallente and Minmatar 0.7 (or lower) space
Kernite	Luminous Kernite	Fiery Kernite	Amarr 0.7 (or lower) space Caldari and Minmatar 0.4 (or lower) space
Jaspet	Pure Jaspet	Pristine Jaspet	Amarr and Gallente 0.4 (or lower) space
Hemorphite	Vivid Hemorphite	Radiant Hemorphite	Amarr and Gallente 0.2 (or lower) space
Hedbergite	Vitric Hedbergite	Glazed Hedbergite	Caldari and Minmatar 0.2 (or lower) space
Gneiss	Iridescent Gneiss	Prismatic Gneiss	Amarr and Minmatar 0.0 (or lower) space
Dark Ochre	Onyx Ochre	Obsidian Ochre	Caldari and Gallente 0.0 (or lower) space
Spodumain	Bright Spodumain	Gleaming Spodumain	0.0 space (or lower, except Gallente)
Crokite	Sharp Crokite	Crystalline Crokite	0.0 space (or lower, except Minmatar)
Arkonor	Crimson Arkonor	Prime Arkonor	0.0 space (or lower, except Caldari)
Bistot	Triclinic Bistot	Monoclinic Bistot	All of 0.0 (or lower) space
Mercoxit	Magma Mercoxit	Vitreous Mercoxit	All of 0.0 (or lower) space

Ore Chart

Ore	Batch	Vol.	Tri	Pye	Mex	Iso	Noc	Zyd	Meg	Mor	Location (max security)
Veldspar	100	0.1	415	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 (All Space)
Concentrated Veldspar (+5%)	100	0.1	436	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 (All Space)
Dense Veldspar (+10%)	100	0.1	457	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 (All Space)
Scordite	100	0.15	346	173	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 (All Space)
Condensed Scordite (+5%)	100	0.15	364	182	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 (All Space)
Massive Scordite (+10%)	100	0.15	381	190	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.0 (All Space)
Pyroxeres	100	0.3	351	25	50	0	5	0	0	0	0.9 (Amarr, Caldari)
Solid Pyroxeres (+5%)	100	0.3	369	26	53	0	5	0	0	0	0.9 (Amarr, Caldari)
Viscous Pyroxeres (+10%)	100	0.3	387	27	55	0	5	0	0	0	0.9 (Amarr, Caldari)
Plagioclase	100	0.35	107	213	107	0	0	0	0	0	0.9 (Gallente, Minmatar), 0.7 (Caldari)
Azure Plagioclase (+5%)	100	0.35	113	224	113	0	0	0	0	0	0.9 (Gallente, Minmatar), 0.7 (Caldari)
Rich Plagioclase (+10%)	100	0.35	118	235	118	0	0	0	0	0	0.9 (Gallente, Minmatar), 0.7 (Caldari)
Omber	100	0.6	800	100	0	85	0	0	0	0	0.7 (Gallente, Minmatar)
Silvery Omber (+5%)	100	0.6	840	105	0	90	0	0	0	0	0.7 (Gallente, Minmatar)
Golden Omber (+10%)	100	0.6	880	110	0	94	0	0	0	0	0.7 (Gallente, Minmatar)
Kernite	100	1.2	134	0	267	134	0	0	0	0	0.7 (Amarr), 0.4 (Caldari, Minmatar)
Luminous Kernite (+5%)	100	1.2	141	0	281	141	0	0	0	0	0.7 (Amarr), 0.4 (Caldari, Minmatar)
Fiery Kernite (+10%)	100	1.2	148	0	294	148	0	0	0	0	0.7 (Amarr), 0.4 (Caldari, Minmatar)
Jaspet	100	2	0	0	350	0	75	8	0	0	0.4 (Amarr, Gallente)
Pure Jaspet (+5%)	100	2	0	0	368	0	79	8	0	0	0.4 (Amarr, Gallente)
Pristine Jaspet (+10%)	100	2	0	0	385	0	83	9	0	0	0.4 (Amarr, Gallente)
Hemorphite	100	3	2200	0	0	100	120	15	0	0	0.2 (Amarr, Gallente)
Vivid Hemorphite (+5%)	100	3	2310	0	0	105	126	16	0	0	0.2 (Amarr, Gallente)
Radiant Hemorphite (+10%)	100	3	2420	0	0	110	132	17	0	0	0.2 (Amarr, Gallente)
Hedbergite	100	3	0	1000	0	200	100	19	0	0	0.2 (Amarr, Gallente)
Vitric Hedbergite (+5%)	100	3	0	1050	0	210	105	20	0	0	0.2 (Amarr, Gallente)
Glazed Hedbergite (+10%)	100	3	0	1100	0	220	110	21	0	0	0.2 (Amarr, Gallente)
Gneiss	100	5	0	2200	2400	300	0	0	0	0	-0.4 (Amarr, Minmatar)
Iridescent Gneiss (+5%)	100	5	0	2310	2520	315	0	0	0	0	-0.4 (Amarr, Minmatar)
Prismatic Gneiss (+10%)	100	5	0	2420	2640	330	0	0	0	0	-0.4 (Amarr, Minmatar)
Dark Ochre	100	8	10000	0	0	1600	120	0	0	0	-0.2 (Caldari, Gallente)
Onyx Ochre (+5%)	100	8	10500	0	0	1680	126	0	0	0	-0.2 (Caldari, Gallente)
Obsidian Ochre (+10%)	100	8	11000	0	0	1760	132	0	0	0	-0.2 (Caldari, Gallente)
Spodumain	100	16	56000	12050	2100	450	0	0	0	0	-0.5 (Amarr, Caldari)
Bright Spodumain (+5%)	100	16	58800	12653	2205	473	0	0	0	0	-0.5 (Amarr, Caldari)
Gleaming Spodumain (+10%)	100	16	61600	13255	2310	495	0	0	0	0	-0.5 (Amarr, Caldari)
Crokite	100	16	21000	0	0	0	760	135	0	0	-0.5 (Amarr, Caldari, Gallente)
Sharp Crokite (+5%)	100	16	22050	0	0	0	798	142	0	0	-0.5 (Amarr, Caldari, Gallente)
Crystalline Crokite (10%)	100	16	23100	0	0	0	836	149	0	0	-0.5 (Amarr, Caldari, Gallente)
Bistot	100	16	0	12000	0	0	0	450	100	0	-0.6 (All Space)
Triclinic Bistot (+5%)	100	16	0	12600	0	0	0	473	105	0	-0.6 (All Space)
Monoclinic Bistot (+10%)	100	16	0	13200	0	0	0	495	110	0	-0.6 (All Space)
Arkonor	100	16	22000	0	2500	0	0	0	320	0	-0.7 (All Space)
Crimson Arkonor (+5%)	100	16	23100	0	2625	0	0	0	336	0	-0.7 (All Space)
Prime Arkonor (+10%)	100	16	24200	0	2750	0	0	0	352	0	-0.7 (All Space)
Mercoxit	100	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	300	-0.8 (All Space)
Magma Mercoxit (+5%)	100	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	315	-0.8 (All Space)
Vitreous Mercoxit (+10%)	100	40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	330	-0.8 (All Space)
Ore	Batch	Vol.	Tri	Pye	Mex	Iso	Noc	Zyd	Meg	Mor	Location (max security)

  1234   Green backgrounds indicate the best value per m3 for that mineral.

Batch column heading is short for batch size, which is the minimal amount of ore you need for reprocessing. All values in the table (with the exception of volume) are based on one full batch.

Location column contains the quarter of EVE universe and the maximum system security in which the ore can be found; the ore can be found in that quarter with system with that security or lower.

External links

• Ore and mineral tables