Materials

Materials are utilized in the manufacturing of mining tech.

There are different types of materials, each having various notable and desired properties.

Every material is derived from some chemical or elemental makeup. The mixture of these elements determines the resulting properties of the material.

Some mining processes can transform one material into another, such as creating nearly pure silicon metal by utilizing the reduction process on purified silica ceramic in a thermite smelter ( 3 SiO2 + 4 Al → 3 Si + 2 Al2O3 ). This process consumes aluminum metal, which itself is reduced from purified alumina in an inert smelter ( 2 Al2O3 → 4 Al + 3O2 )

Ceramics

Metals

Fluids

(more to come)

Choosing and refining the right material for a part is imperative to survive off the land in deep space.