Mining: The Metals Specialization

The Advanced Coal Mine is unmatched when it comes to coal extraction. But you’ll need plenty of workers to get this mine up and running. All those jobs can be a boon for the local economy!

Do you see those deposits of raw ore and coal beneath your city? Instead of building houses, shops, parks, and factories directly over those rich deposits, consider digging mines. Extracted ore and coal can be sold for a handsome profit on the global market, helping offset expenses incurred from running utilities and providing city services.

Or if you’re really serious, go all the way and process the coal and ore at a Smelting Factory to create metal and alloy, resources with an even higher value on the global market. Furthermore, metal and alloy can be supplied to Great Works projects. Or you can send alloy to Processor Factories to create processors used in electronics.

The metals specialization is deep, with many income-generating possibilities. And it all begins by extracting minerals from the ground. Ready to start digging?

Coal Mine

• Cost: 22,500
• Operational Cost: 100 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Prerequisites:
• Provide working power
• Provide working water
• Coal under your city
• Have seven industrial buildings
• Description: It’s time to get your hands dirty—dirty, filthy, and rich. Rip the earth’s coal heart out for profit! Use your coal in a Coal Power Plant, or sell it to local industry or on the global market via a Trade Depot. Employ hordes of low wealth workers deep in your mine.

Do you have deep deposits of coal buried beneath your city? This could be the answer to your city’s financial and power woes. Using coal supplied from a Coal Mine you can fuel a Coal Power Plant, cranking out enough power to electrify multiple connected cities in the region.

Or you could send that coal to a Smelting Factory where it can be combined with raw ore to create alloy. But if you need to recoup costs now, simply send the coal to a Trade Depot or Trade Port and sell it on the global market for a quick and easy profit.

To yield the most coal, plop the Coal Mine directly over a coal deposit. Additional Coal Shafts can branch off from the mine to increase the footprint and the mine’s overall yield. Keep a close eye on the mine’s 20 ton output lot—if it becomes full, the mine will shut down until trucks haul away some coal to make more room. If your output lot is near capacity, add more Coal Delivery Truck Garages.

Additional trucks help ensure the output lot has plenty of room, delivering coal to input lots at Coal Power Plants, Smelting Factories, Trade Depots, or Trade Ports—the more trucks you have, the more frequent the deliveries.

Modules

Coal Mine Sign

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: None
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: Coal is like the meat at the middle of the delicious sandwich of your city.

Coal Delivery Truck Garage

• Cost: 10,000
• Operational Cost: 50 per hour
• Truck Capacity: 5 tons
• Maximum Modules: 4
• Description: It’s a dirty job haulin’ coal, but somebody’s gotta do it. Delivers coal from the mine to Coal Power Plants, Trade Depots, Trade Ports, or industry in your city.

Coal Shaft

• Cost: 14,000
• Operational Cost: 25 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Maximum Modules: 4
• Description: Extend your extraction operation with an additional Coal Shaft. Increase your Coal Mine’s extraction rate and add more available jobs.

Ore Mine

• Cost: 22,500
• Operational Cost: 125 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Prerequisites:
• Provide working power
• Provide working water
• Ore deposits under your city
• Have seven industrial buildings
• Description: Are you easily fascinated by shiny things? Well, then look at this! Send workers beneath your city to extract raw ore. Sell raw ore to local industry or on the Global Market via a Trade Depot.

The Ore Mine functions identically to the Coal Mine, but is used to extract raw ore from beneath your city. Plop the mine directly over a raw ore deposit and add more Ore Shafts to expand the facility and increase its overall yield.

As you expand the mine, make sure the trucks can keep up with all the ore being dumped in the mine’s output lot. If the lot is near capacity, add more Ore Delivery Truck Garages to prevent the mine from being shut down due to an overflowing output lot. These trucks deliver raw ore to Trade Depots, Trade Ports, and Smelting Factories accepting local deliveries.

Unlike coal, raw ore isn’t very useful on its own. It can’t fuel a power plant, but it can still be sold on the global market for some quick money. Ore shows its most potential when processed at a Smelting Factory where it can be turned into metal or combined with coal to create alloy.

Both metal and alloy are critical elements required in electronics and Great Works projects, or you can sell them on the global market for much more than raw ore. If you get into the ore specialization, set your sights on plopping a Smelting Factory as soon as possible.

Modules

Ore Mine Sign

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: None
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: This sign warns against rock slides, sinkholes, and “surprise detonations”.

Ore Delivery Truck Garage

• Cost: 10,000
• Operational Cost: 50 per hour
• Truck Capacity: 5 tons
• Maximum Modules: 4
• Description: When you’ve got more ore than you know what to do with, get another Ore Delivery Truck and get that ore out to Trade Depots, Trade Ports, and industry faster to make money faster!

Ore Shaft

• Cost: 16,000
• Operational Cost: 40 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Maximum Modules: 4
• Description: More ore! Increase your Ore Mine’s extraction rate by adding another shaft. Sure, it’ll add more maintenance cost, but you’ll get more jobs and more ore! More!

Smelting Factory

• Cost: 54,500
• Operational Cost: 300 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Prerequisites:
• Metals HQ with Smelting Division
• Description: Sure, raw ore is nice, but do you know what’s really nice? Metal and alloy. Smelt raw ore into metal or add coal into the mix to smelt alloy. Sell metal or trade alloy to local industry or on the global market via a Trade Depot.

This is where the magic happens, producing metal from raw ore and smelting alloy from a mixture of ore and coal. Before you can build a Smelting Factory, you must first build a Metals HQ and upgrade it with a Smelting Division.

Once granted access to the Smelting Factory, build it as close as possible to your existing mines to cut down on delivery times—you don’t want those delivery trucks to get bogged down in traffic. In its stock state, the facility comes with one Metal Furnace, allowing you to produce metal from raw ore.

If you want to create alloy, add an Alloy Furnace and make sure you’re accepting both raw ore and coal deliveries—you need both to create alloy! The Smelting Factory has both input and output lots, requiring periodic monitoring.

The material storage lots are for incoming raw ore and coal, supplied by delivery trucks from mines or Trade Depots—if these lots run dry, consider adding more truck garages at your mines or Trade Depots. The product storage lots hold recently manufactured metal and alloy, waiting to be shipped out to Trade Depots, Trade Ports, Great Works sites, and Processor Factories.

If the product storage lots become full, the factory will shut down, since it has nowhere to store its manufactured products. Add extra Smelting Delivery Truck Garages to ensure there’s plenty of space in the product storage lots. If you’ve made enough money, consider stockpiling large amounts of metal and alloy at a Trade Port for use in Great Works projects—alloy is required in all Great Works and metal is necessary to construct the International Airport and Arcology.

Modules

Smelting Factory Sign

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: None
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: Enhancing your Smelting Factory with a sign lends it that respectable, responsible look.

Smelting Delivery Truck Garage

• Cost: 10,000
• Operational Cost: 50 per hour
• Truck Capacity: 5 tons
• Maximum Modules: 4
• Description: Now that you’ve smelt it, deal it! This garage adds one Smelting Delivery Truck so you can get your metal and alloy to Trade Depots, Trade Ports, Processor Factories, and industry.

Metal Furnace

• Cost: 21,000
• Operational Cost: 50 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Maximum Modules: 4
• Description: Play with fire without getting burned! Melt raw ore and remove the impurities to create metal. Metal can be sold to local industry or the global market via a Trade Depot. Many Great Works require large amounts of metal.

Alloy Furnace

• Cost: 36,000
• Operational Cost: 150 per hour
• Production Rate: 24 tons/day
• Maximum Modules: 3
• Description: When coal and ore really love each other, a baby alloy is born. Alloy can be sold to local industry or the global market via a Trade Depot. Alloy is used to create processors in Processor Factories. Many Great Works require large amounts of alloy.

Metals HQ

• Cost: 37,500
• Operational Cost: 450 per hour
• Prerequisites:
• Mine 80 tons of coal OR raw ore in a day
• Description: The Metals HQ is the bedrock of any coal or raw ore extraction city. Sell coal or raw ore to upgrade your HQ and gain advancements like the Smelting Factory, Advanced Coal Mine, or the Trade Port.

Metals HQ Upgrades

Level	Name	Criteria	Unlock
1	Metals HQ	Mine 96 tons of coal or raw ore in a day.	One division of your choice.
2	Metals, Co.	Earn 350,000 in metals daily profit.	One division of your choice.
3	Metals, Inc.	Earn 350,000 in metals daily profit.	One division of your choice.
4	Metals Global	Earn 2,000,000 in metals daily profit.	One division of your choice.

Once you’ve extracted the requisite amount of coal or ore from beneath your city, you can plop a Metals HQ—be careful where you place it because you’ll want to leave room for expansion. This fancy office building can be upgraded into a towering skyscraper by simply selling more and more raw ore, coal, metal, and alloy.

With each upgrade the building grows taller and also allows you to build one of three divisions—like departments at City Hall, the choice is yours! If you want to produce metal and alloy soon, choose the Smelting Division first to unlock local access to the Smelting Factory.

For your second upgrade, consider choosing the Commerce Division so you can build Trade Ports with Coal and Raw Ore Storage Lots throughout the region—yes, you only need one Commerce Division for the whole region! Select the Engineering Division last, as it only provides local access to the Advanced Coal Mine—unless you really, really want the Advanced Coal Mine.

Modules

Corporate Sign

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: None
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: What’s more metal than a metal sign on a metal building that houses a metals company?

Commerce Division

• Cost: 200,000
• Operational Cost: 400 per hour
• Regional Access Granted: Trade Port, Coal and Raw Ore Storage Lots at the Trade Port
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: Tired of tripping over coal or raw ore? You need to get some of that out of town! Make major Simoleons on the global market!

Engineering Division

• Cost: 200,000
• Operational Cost: 400 per hour
• Local Access Granted: Advanced Coal Mine
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: Leave behind the paltry output of the measly Coal Mine. The engineers at the Engineering Division have plans for a whole new Advanced Coal Mine!

Smelting Division

• Cost: 200,000
• Operational Cost: 400 per hour
• Local Access Granted: Smelting Factory
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: Add smelting to your metals operation to make more profit and diversity! Use educated workers to research the Alloy Furnace project.

Advanced Coal Mine

• Cost: 60,000
• Operational Cost: 400 per hour
• Production Rate: 96 tons/day
• Prerequisites:
• Mining HQ with Engineering Division
• Description: Take advantage of recent metallurgical advancements and the repeal of certain environmental laws! Extract coal faster, from a larger area, with this powerful coal mine. This mine employs a massive number of workers and has a huge lot ready to be filled with coal.

Not enough coal? The Advanced Coal Mine has got you covered! This facility more than triples the daily coal output of the standard Coal Mine, making it the quickest and most efficient way to extract coal from beneath your city. But before you can build it, you must first plop a Metals HQ with a Engineering Division.

Given the rapid extraction rate, the facility comes equipped with a much larger output lot, capable of holding 80 tons of coal. Still, it will be a chore for trucks to keep up with the rapid production, so be ready to plop additional Heavy Coal Delivery Truck Garages to prevent the output lot from reaching capacity—if the output lot is full, the mine is temporarily shut down.

Adding more trucks is crucial, particularly if you increase production with Advanced Coal Shafts. These modules allow you to extend the mine’s footprint, leading to increased production. But if you want the mine to operate at peak efficiency, you’ll need to supply a small army of low wealth workers.

Zone extra residential or make sure you have enough workers coming in from neighboring cities to adequately staff this behemoth.

Modules

Coal Mine Sign

• Cost: 200
• Operational Cost: None
• Maximum Modules: 1
• Description: This sign is larger, but there just seems to be an even thicker coating of hardened coal.

Heavy Coal Delivery Truck Garages

• Cost: 20,000
• Operational Cost: 50 per hour
• Truck Capacity: 5 tons
• Maximum Modules: 5 (one comes with base)
• Description: It takes a big truck to haul this much coal. This is where you keep that big truck.

Advanced Coal Shaft

• Cost: 50,000
• Operational Cost: 250 per hour
• Production Rate: 48 tons/day
• Maximum Modules: 8
• Description: Extract massive amounts of coal faster by adding another shaft to your Advanced Coal Mine.

Managing the Metals Specialization

Now that you’re familiar with the various buildings associated with the metals specialization, it’s time to put that knowledge to work. In this section we take a quick look at everything you need to do to get your business up and running.

But don’t overlook the risks associated with this specialization, otherwise your mines and workers may fall victim to rampant injuries and hazmat fires. Take all steps necessary to ensure this specialization is as safe as possible.

Meddling in Metal

If you’re serious about the metal specialization, build a Smelting Factory as soon as possible to begin producing metal and alloy.

So you want to start mining? Are you certain your city has deposits of raw ore and coal? One out of the two is fine, but if you really want to make a run at the metals specialization, it’s best to choose a city site with both coal and raw ore.

Once you’ve established your basic infrastructure, induing a Coal Power Plant, zone a few industrial areas—you need a minimum of seven industrial buildings to unlock the Coal and Ore Mines. Plop your mines directly over deposits, positioning them for optimal yield and expansion opportunities utilizing shaft modules.

As your mines come to life and start producing coal and ore, sell the first few loads on the global market (through a Trade Depot) to earn some extra money. As soon as the Metals HQ is available, plop it to begin progress toward your first upgrade. Choose the Smelting Division first so you can unlock the Smelting Factory.

Instead of selling your raw ore and coal on the global market, ship it to the Smelting Factory to create metal and alloy—then ship these new resources to a Trade Depot for export. With one Coal Mine, one Ore Mine, and one Smelting Factory active in your city, you’re poised for greatness. But don’t rest on your laurels.

Look for opportunities to expand, both at your existing facilities and throughout the city. Are there more deposits to exploit? Then build more mines. If your one Smelting Factory can’t keep up with the input, build a second one. Of course, as your metals business expands, so will pollution.

So don’t operate with blinders on—excessive mining and smelting takes its toll on the environment and may even lead to a low approval rating as Sims complain about the poor living conditions. But you’ll be making lots of money!

Mine Safety

This Large Fire Station is a good start, but it’ll need a Hazmat Garage to extinguish dangerous hazmat fires at your mines.

While the metals specialization is a profitable one, it’s also very dangerous, particularly for the poor Sims hauling coal and raw ore out of the mines. To deal with the large number of injuries, it’s strongly advised to invest in a Hospital equipped with a Surgical Center.

The Surgical Center reduces the recovery time for injuries, helping injured miners get back to work quickly. If your ambulances are having trouble reaching your mines in time, consider adding an Emergency Center to increase the lifespan of injured workers as they wait for an ambulance. Mines also have a risk for hazmat fires.

These toxic infernos can only be extinguished by a hazmat truck dispatched from a Large Fire Station equipped with a Hazmat Garage. Without access to a hazmat truck, your entire mining operation may go up in flames—miners lucky enough to escape the flames will probably fall sick due to the toxic fumes.

Running a Hospital and Large Fire Station isn’t cheap, but with the money you’re making, you can easily afford it. Anyway, promoting a (relatively) safe and healthy work environment will result in greater yields, making you even more money.