Satisfactory Resource Guide
Welcome, FICSIT pioneer! This comprehensive guide covers every resource you will encounter on Massage-2(A-B)b, from the first iron nugget to the rarest Somersloop. Understanding where resources spawn, how to extract them efficiently, and what they are used for is essential to building a streamlined factory.
Resource Nodes Overview
Resources in Satisfactory are harvested from resource nodes scattered across the map. Each node has two properties: purity and miner tier.
Purity Levels
| Purity | Multiplier | Visual Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Impure | 1× | Small, sparse deposit |
| Normal | 2× | Medium deposit |
| Pure | 4× | Large, rich deposit |
Miner Tiers
| Miner | Max Node Purity | Max Belt Speed | Output per Pure Node |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miner Mk.1 | Pure | 60 / min (Mk.1 belt) | 60 ore / min |
| Miner Mk.2 | Pure | 120 / min (Mk.2 belt) | 120 ore / min |
| Miner Mk.3 | Pure | 270 / min (Mk.5 belt) | 240 ore / min |
A Miner Mk.3 overclocked with Power Shards on a Pure node can produce up to 780 ore / min — enough to feed a small continent of smelters.
Node Limits Per Map
| Resource | Total Nodes | Pure Nodes |
|---|---|---|
| Iron | 37 | 11 |
| Copper | 32 | 9 |
| Limestone | 32 | 9 |
| Coal | 28 | 10 |
| Caterium | 13 | 4 |
| Sulfur | 10 | 3 |
| Quartz | 10 | 3 |
| Bauxite | 9 | 2 |
| Uranium | 5 | 2 |
| SAM | 4 | 1 |
| Nitrogen (well) | 8 | — |
These counts are for the base map with no modifications. Knowing the limits helps you plan end-game throughput — there is only so much uranium and SAM to go around.
Common Resources
These are the building blocks you will encounter in the first hours of any playthrough.
Iron
The backbone of every factory. Iron is abundant and found in every starting biome.
Uses: Iron Plates, Iron Rods, Screws, Reinforced Iron Plates, Rotors, Steel (refined with Coal), Motors, and nearly every building in the game.
Extraction: Prioritise Pure nodes near your Hub. One Pure node with a Miner Mk.1 (60 ore/min) feeds six smelters into basic iron ingots.
Copper
Copper is the second most common metal. It is frequently found alongside iron deposits.
Uses: Copper Sheets (pipes, canisters), Wire, Cable, Circuit Boards, AI Limiters.
Pro tip: Wire production from copper ingots is extremely volume-intensive. Consider the Cast Screw or Iron Wire alternate recipes to relieve pressure on your copper supply.
Limestone
The most plentiful solid resource. You will never run out.
Uses: Concrete (buildings, foundations), Silica, Encased Industrial Beams.
Map note: Limestone nodes dot the landscape in every biome. Because Concrete is needed for nearly every foundation and wall, it is wise to set up a dedicated Concrete factory early and belt it back to your base.
Mid Game Resources
Once you unlock the MAM (Molecular Analysis Machine) and progress through Tier 3–6, these resources become essential.
Coal
Coal unlocks Coal Power — your first automated electricity source that does not require biomass. It is also the key ingredient for Steel.
Biomes with significant coal: Rocky Desert (three Pure nodes at the northern lake), Northern Forest (western cliffs), Blue Crater.
Uses: Coal Power (generators), Steel Ingots (with Iron), Compacted Coal (with Sulfur), Petroleum Coke.
Recommended: Build your Coal Power plant near water (extractors provide the steam). A typical 8-generator coal plant burns 120 coal/min and requires 360 m³ water/min.
Sulfur
Sulfur is rarer than coal and found in caves and mountainous regions.
Uses: Black Powder (Nobelisk explosives), Compacted Coal (225% more energy than regular coal), Sulfuric Acid (battery and uranium processing).
Notable nodes: The canyon between Grass Fields and Rocky Desert, and the eastern edge of the Dune Desert.
Quartz (Raw Quartz)
Quartz is a translucent crystal resource found in cave systems and on high plateaus.
Uses: Silica, Crystal Oscillators (Radio Control Units), Quartz Crystals (beacons, computers).
Best locations: The Quartz-rich caves in the Northern Forest and the rocky highlands of the Rocky Desert.
Caterium
A rare golden ore with superior electrical properties. Caterium is the key to unlocking the Caterium Research Tree in the MAM.
Uses: Quickwire (5 wire per Caterium ingot), Circuit Boards (alternate), AI Limiters, Supercomputers.
Where to find it: Caterium nodes are found atop high mesas (Northern Forest) and inside caves (Rocky Desert). The largest deposit is a Pure node in a cave near the Grass Fields border.
Late Game Resources
These resources are required for high-tier production and the Space Elevator Phase 4.
Bauxite
Bauxite is the source of Aluminum, which becomes critical from Tier 7 onward.
Uses: Aluminum Scrap → Aluminum Ingots → Aluminum Sheets, Casings, Heat Sinks, and the Thermal Propulsion Rocket engine.
Processing note: Bauxite refining requires both water and silica, and produces Sinkable byproducts. The standard recipe is Bauxite + Water → Aluminum Scrap + Silica (byproduct).
Locations: The Red Jungle, the Spire Coast, and the Swamp contain most of the world's bauxite.
Uranium
Uranium is required for Nuclear Power, the most energy-dense power source in the game.
Uses: Nuclear Fuel Rods → Nuclear Power Plants (2500 MW per plant). Also used for Nobelisk explosives.
Warning: Uranium and its waste products emit radiation. You must handle them with proper shielding — encase all belts, storage, and production lines with Conveyor Wall Mounts or move them far from your main base.
Locations: Uranium is concentrated in the Swamp (dangerous — stay clear of poisonous gas), the Red Bamboo Fields, and a single node in the Rocky Desert caves.
SAM (Strange Alien Matter)
SAM is the most mysterious resource. It currently has limited official use but is being expanded in Satisfactory 1.0.
Uses: SAM Fluctuators (MAM research), advanced alien technology unlocks. SAM is also used in certain alternate recipes.
Locations: Only 4 SAM nodes exist — one Pure node in the eastern Dune Desert canyon, two Normal nodes on the Red Jungle cliffs, and one Impure node in the Northern Forest caves.
Special Resources
These are not mined from standard resource nodes but are scattered around the world as collectible pickups.
Somersloops
Somersloops are shimmering blue alien artifacts that can be inserted into production buildings to double their output at the cost of increased power draw.
How they work: Place a Somersloop in a constructor, assembler, or manufacturer's overclocking slot to produce double the standard output per cycle. The building consumes more power and inputs faster.
Locations: Found in caves, wrecks, and hidden alcoves. There are 30 Somersloops in the world (some require hard-drive technology to reach).
Mercer Spheres
Mercer Spheres are spherical alien artifacts used for dimensional depot research. Once researched, Dimensional Depots allow you to upload items and access them from anywhere via the Depot Uploader — a game-changer for building remote outposts.
Locations: Typically found in caves, underwater, or inside crashed drop pods. Approximately 50 Mercer Spheres exist per save.
Power Shards
Power Shards are crystals that overclock any production building or power generator, increasing output by up to 250% at 2.5× power draw.
How to obtain: Crafted from Blue Power Slugs (1 shard), Yellow Power Slugs (2 shards), or Purple Power Slugs (5 shards). Slugs are found throughout the world — explore at night when they glow.
Usage ideology: Most pioneers overclock miners (more ore per node) and power plants (more MW per building footprint). Overclocking constructors is generally less efficient than building more of them.
Liquid Resources
Not all resources are solid. Three key liquid resources are extracted via special buildings.
Water
The most abundant liquid. Extracted with a Water Extractor (120 m³/min at 100% clock speed).
Uses: Coal Power (steam), Refineries (recycling, aluminum), Diluted Fuel production, packaging.
Location: Any body of water — lakes, rivers, oceans. Always build near water before planning a Coal or Aluminum factory.
Oil / Crude Oil
Crude oil is extracted from Oil Nodes using an Oil Extractor.
Uses: Plastic, Rubber, Fuel (for generators and jetpacks), Petrocoke, Packaged Fuel.
Major oil fields: The Spire Coast (largest concentration), the Gold Coast, and the western edge of the Northern Forest.
Nitrogen Gas
Nitrogen is a gas, not a liquid, but it is extracted the same way — via a Resource Well Pressurizer on Nitrogen Wells.
Uses: Nitric Acid (batteries, fused frames), Heat Sinks (cooling systems), Turbo Motors.
Locations: 8 Nitrogen Wells are scattered throughout the highlands and mountainous regions.
Map Layout Summary
Satisfactory's map is 4 km² of hand-crafted terrain. Resource distribution varies dramatically by biome.
Grass Fields
- Difficulty: Easy (recommended start)
- Resources: Heavy on Iron, Copper, Limestone. Moderate coal (2 Pure nodes nearby). No bauxite, no uranium.
- Pro: Flat terrain, plenty of room, no hostile creatures early on.
- Con: Few rare resources — you must expand outward to reach sulfur, quartz, and caterium.
Rocky Desert
- Difficulty: Medium
- Resources: Excellent coal supply (3 Pure, 2 Normal). Good balance of iron, copper, and limestone. Caterium and Quartz nearby.
- Pro: Close to oil on the Gold Coast. Easy access to high-tier resources without long belt runs.
- Con: Slightly hilly terrain; less water than Grass Fields.
Dune Desert
- Difficulty: Medium-Hard
- Resources: Broad mix of everything except bauxite. Huge open areas for megafactories.
- Pro: Abundant space. Close to SAM and uranium. Beautiful vistas.
- Con: Very large distances between resources. Water is scarce — you will need long pipelines.
Northern Forest
- Difficulty: Hard (dense foliage, aggressive enemies)
- Resources: The richest biome overall. Pure nodes of iron, copper, caterium, quartz, and coal are all within running distance.
- Pro: Extremely high node density. Best biome for a compact end-game base.
- Con: Very challenging terrain (cliffs, dense forest). Hard to navigate without vehicles.
Final Tips
- Alternate recipes dramatically change which resources you need. Unlock hard drives by scanning crash sites with the MAM and researching them — you may find recipes that simplify your logistics.
- Always belt Pure nodes first. A Pure node with a Miner Mk.3 and a single Power Shard outproduces a Mk.1 miner on an Impure node by a factor of 16×.
- Use the Satisfactory Interactive Map (online tool) to plan your factory layout before placing a single foundation.
- Compacted Coal (Coal + Sulfur) is excellent for both Steel and Coal Power — do not ignore it.
Ready to build the factory of your dreams?
Buy Satisfactory on Steam → https://store.steampowered.com/app/526870/Satisfactory/
Happy pioneering, FICSIT employee!