What is the first tool I should use to dig in Ore Factory Squad?
The shovel. It is the default starting tool and covers soft ore and clay fine until you can afford a pickaxe upgrade.
Ore Factory Squad mining guide
Ore Factory Squad mining is built on fully diggable, procedurally generated underground terrain — every property hides a different layout of copper, iron, gold, diamond, and supporting rock, and there is no fixed path to any of it.
This guide covers how digging and the ore detector actually work, the confirmed shovel-to-dynamite tool progression, and how to turn raw ore into cash without wasting bag space or tool durability on dead-end tunnels.
How diggable terrain works underground
Ore Factory Squad does not use static resource nodes on a fixed grid. Terrain is voxel-based: every backyard, quarry, and construction site property generates its own underground shape, and digging permanently removes chunks of rock rather than "harvesting" a marked deposit.
That freedom cuts both ways. You can carve a tunnel exactly where a vein runs, but you can also dig yourself into an awkward pit with no easy way out. Right-click while holding a digging tool fills terrain back in with dirt, which is the fastest way to build steps, seal a hole, or patch a wall instead of walking all the way around.
Plan an exit before you dig deep
Bring a flashlight for dark shafts and always leave yourself a ramp or stairway out — collapsing your only exit while your bag is full of ore is one of the most common ways squads lose a whole trip's worth of digging.
Dig with a destination in mind: either a contract on the contracts guide or a specific stock-sale target. Random tunneling burns tool durability and daylight for no guaranteed payoff.
Using the ore detector
The ore detector is the tool that turns blind digging into targeted mining. Change its active search target from the list of ore types available on your current property, then follow the signal: the device beeps more frequently and its on-screen density indicator rises as you approach a richer patch of that ore.
New squads often skip the detector to save cash early on, but it pays for itself fast — locating a vein before you dig means fewer wasted swings and less time spent underground per trip.
| Detector signal | What it means |
|---|---|
| Slow, quiet beep | Target ore is far away or sparse in this direction |
| Fast, frequent beep | You are closing in on a dense pocket |
| Density indicator rising | Ore concentration increasing as you move |
| Change Target menu | Lists every ore type currently available on the property |
Mining tool progression: shovel to dynamite
Steam's own listing sums up the order plainly: start with a shovel, move on to pickaxes for tougher layers, use jackhammers to speed things up, and clear large sections with dynamite. Confirmed tools also include the ore detector, hammer, belt mode, and pallets for logistics.
Digging tools unlock through in-game licenses and level-ups rather than a shop you can raid on day one — expect the pickaxe around your second level-up, with jackhammer and dynamite gated behind later licenses once your factory income can support them.
| Tool | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Shovel | Starter digging, soft ore and clay | Slow against dense rock |
| Pickaxe | Mid-depth ore with less waste than a shovel | Narrower area per swing |
| Jackhammer | Fast, narrow tunneling through dense formations | Priced for mid-game budgets |
| Dynamite | Clearing large sections at once | Overkill for small deposits; use with care near builds |
| Ore Detector | Finding veins before you dig blind | Adds a step to every trip, but saves durability |
Upgrades worth buying early
Both the shovel and pickaxe can be upgraded independently for faster digging speed and a wider break radius — these upgrades showed up for a few hundred dollars each in current builds, well before jackhammer or dynamite licenses become affordable.
If your squad is still hand-carrying ore, prioritize a digging-speed upgrade over cosmetic unlocks. It shortens every single trip, which compounds fast across a co-op session.
Confirmed ore types and where they sit
Primary metals confirmed across gameplay and store materials: Copper, Iron, Gold, Diamond. Supporting materials that show up alongside them include Stone, Coal, Clay, Limestone, Sandstone, which feed early contracts almost as often as the headline metals do.
Deeper or newer properties tend to expose richer veins, and some licenses gate the more valuable metals until you unlock the processing chain that can actually use them — see the ores hub for per-material uses once you have raw stock.
- Track01Copper, iron, gold, and diamond are the confirmed headline metals
- Track02Stone, coal, clay, limestone, and sandstone fill early stock-sale and contract requests
- Track03Richer veins tend to sit deeper or on newer property types
- Track04Match what you dig to an active contract before hauling it back
From dig site to sale: packing and sorting ore
Digging only matters once ore reaches your factory. Pack what you break into stacks, then either haul it manually or run it through a sorting station, which automatically separates whatever you drop in and routes it into factory storage — this becomes the backbone of conveyor-based automation later on.
Two ways exist to turn stock into money: stock sales pay out fast but at a lower, decaying price as you keep selling, while contracts ask for specific materials and quantities and pay noticeably more when you deliver on time. New squads usually lean on stock sales for the first few days, then shift toward contracts once a steady dig-and-process routine is running.
| Route | Speed | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Stock sale | Instant, any amount | Lower, drops as you sell more of the same item |
| Contract | Requires specific items + quantity | Higher, plus experience toward level-ups |
Practical mining tips for co-op squads
Time flows even underground — skipping a day too early can expire an active contract, so check delivery windows before you call it a night. Loan payments and wages also come out at day's end regardless of how much you mined.
In co-op, split roles instead of doubling up: one player widens the dig site while another runs pallets and sorting stations at the surface. It keeps ore moving instead of stacking up at the bottom of a shaft.
- Do01Equip the ore detector and set a target before swinging a tool blindly
- Do02Always leave a ramp or stairway exit when digging deep
- Do03Right-click to backfill dirt instead of walking the long way around
- Do04Match raw ore to an open contract before hauling it back to the surface
- Do05Upgrade shovel/pickaxe digging speed before splurging on jackhammer or dynamite
Mining FAQ
How do I find ore without digging randomly?
Equip the ore detector, use Change Target to pick the ore you need, and follow the beep frequency and density indicator toward denser deposits.
When do jackhammer and dynamite unlock?
They come later than the shovel and pickaxe, gated behind licenses and level-ups rather than an early shop purchase — see the tools hub for the full progression.
Can the terrain collapse or trap me underground?
You can dig yourself into a dead end if you are not careful. Always plan a ramp or exit, and use the flashlight in darker shafts.
Should I sell stock or take contracts for the ore I mine?
Stock sales are faster but pay less and decay with volume. Contracts pay more and grant experience but require specific materials on a timer.
Related pages
Matched by build plan, shared topics, and guide progression — not random related links.