prospector's handbook
A handy guidebook for aspiring prospector colonists. The prospector's handbook contains 14 pages.
- 1 - Forenote
- 2 - Inert Metals
- 3 - Solid-phase Metals
- 4 - Responsive Metals
- 5 - Rare-earth Metals
- 6 - Ceramic Geode
- 7 - Transuranic Metals
- 8 - Stellar Corundum
- 9 - Monocrystals
- 10 - Fullerene Sheeting
- 11 - Nanite Sheeting
- 12 - Magneto-Minerals
- 13 - Gemstones
- 14 - Osmodium
1 - Forenote
When a colonist bravely strikes out on their own to gather the swathes of resources an unfamiliar planet bears they must not go out unprepared and unaware of what they are seeking. This handbook is written to help colonists located possible congregations of resources and identify types of resources.
2 - Inert Metals
The inert metal species includes most platinum-group metals, some poor metals (and 'heavy metals' such as lead and thallium) and a select few ferrous metals. They are a commonplace component in colonial products, seeing use in structural, building and mechanical parts. Inert metals are commonly found in desert and mountainous areas bearing most kinds of rock types. Can be found in striated, veined and mostly-precious-metal variations. Given the poor chemical reactivity of these metals, they are often found in simple easily-processed silicate minerals or as native metal nuggets.
3 - Solid-phase Metals
The solid-phase metal species includes most ferrous metals and a select few poor metals, and finds use in mechanical components and some structural components in applications requiring great toughness. They can be alloyed to produce materials of greater hardness and tensile strength. Most often found in mountainous and desert regions bearing sedimentary and (in some cases) igneous extrusive rock types.
4 - Responsive Metals
The responsive metal species includes exotic naturally-formed alloys and metalloid minerals which exhibit characteristics unusual for metals. There are many uses for these metals, including electronics, mechanical parts and some structural roles.
5 - Rare-earth Metals
Whilst not actually 'rare' as such, the rare-earth metal species includes lanthanide metals, some actinides and other metals which exhibit documented exotic properties which gives rise to novel applications in the areas of technology and manufacturing. Most commonly found as a mixture of metal silicates borne in the magneto-mineral species minerals and do not occur on their own naturally.
6 - Ceramic Geode
The ceramic geode mineral species is composed of a number of tough ceramic minerals, most of which form giant covalent lattice structures imparting great strength at some cost of brittleness. These minerals most frequently see use in their native form after being worked and see use in structural and casing materials for high-energy constructions and armor for both personell and vehicles.
7 - Transuranic Metals
The transuranic metals species consists of a range of metals of the actinide series, some of which have isotopes with half-lives significantly long enough to remain in planetary crust. Whilst these metals should have sunk into the molten core of most planets where they are found during the planet's birth, repeated asteroid impacts stirred the forming mantle enough to bring minerals bearing transuranics to the surface where they cooled and were fixed. Transuranic metals see use as fuels, munitions and armor.
8 - Stellar Corundum
The stellar corundum mineral class extends beyond corundum itself and includes some carbon- and exotic boron-based giant covalent crystalline structures displaying great hardness of Mohs scale 8.5+. These minerals are forged in the molten masses of young planets and some are blasted into space by asteroid impacts. These minerals find use in tools, ablative armor and optics.
9 - Monocrystals
The monocrystal mineral class includes sought-after flawless monocrystalline masses formed exclusively on some planets with exotic composition and asteroids consisting of aforementioned exotic material. These minerals are slowly-grown single crystals and thusly have superior optical and physical properties which make them attractive for use in optics and some structural applications such as ablative armor and laser-ablative engines.
10 - Fullerene Sheeting
Fullerene sheeting is a mass of tubules and sheets of covalently-bonded carbon, which makes up a conductive and extremely strong structure. A more primitive and flawed example of this material would be graphite however most fullerene sheeting found was formed exclusively on planets with exotic mineral composition, it is often theorised that immense pressures and exposure to catalytic surfaces such as native platinum metals allowed for these naturally-occuring fullerenes to form.
11 - Nanite Sheeting
Nanite sheeting is an exotic material unfound in the sol system where mankind began it's ventures into the unknown. Due to it's relatively recent discovery it has received a great deal of scientific attention and has found numerous applications, notably in the stabilisation of other materials and construction.
12 - Magneto-Minerals
The magneto-mineral class includes a whole range of metal minerals, based on many lanthanide, rare-earth, poor and ferrous metals. Whilst samples of raw magneto-minerals in situ are likely to bear to a whole mixture of minerals from this class, chemical and electrical processes can be used to extract rare-earth metals from the minerals or extract metals for alloying into metals with exotic magnetic properties.
13 - Gemstones
It is probable that a colonist may come across samples of minerals with significant enough lustre or flawless enough to be considered a precious gemstone. Whilst these are not immediately useful (except in some cases where they can be used in optics, though there are other more attractive materials on offer) to the colonist, they can be sold for a fair price. Even more so for exotic gemstone formations on those planets with exotic mineral compositions or those planets which have undergone unusual internal formation conditions.
14 - Osmodium
Osmodium is a curious material that exhibits extraordinary optical and physical properties that are largely attributed to it's trace content, and source of so-called Omicron bosons (investigated and discovered by Kretherson research laboratories) which interact with matter in exotic manners and exhibit freakish behavior which violated many theories of matter and field and most physical laws. After a great deal of research and investment, it was eventually found that some engine parts constructed of this material subjected to exposure to gamma rays at a certain energy level and orientation will begin to exert an extended field of influence which allows 'newtonian' elements and materials to inherit these properties- most fascinating of all is the seeming reduction in mass and thusly gravitational influence on aforementioned mass. Many theories speculate around the source and action of these particles and fields but most experimentation yielded little fruit, mostly resulting in materials unexpectedly changing phase or performing 'cold' nuclear fusion sporadically. Hopes for controllable teleportation technology to be derived from this material were crushed when numerous test volounteers were turned inside out or dashed across several cubic parsecs of space.