ABOUT MINING OUTPUT
BACK TO DWARVES & MINING INDEX
In this article, we will explore how to calculate the output and income of a mine in a fantasy roleplaying game. We will also discuss the role of smelters and how they affect the quality and quantity of the mined resources.
Calculating the Output and Income of a Mine
To determine how much a mine can produce and earn, we need to consider three factors:
- GP Value: This is the value of the mined resource in gold pieces (gp), without taking into account any standard measurement of weight or volume. The GP value depends on the type and quality of the resource. For example, iron has a lower GP value than platinum, and pure ore has a higher GP value than impure ore.
- Time: This is the time period in which the mine can produce a certain amount of GP value. The time period can be expressed in days, weeks, or months. The time period depends on the size and richness of the deposit. For example, a large and rich deposit can produce more GP value in a shorter time than a small and poor deposit.
- Miners: This is the number of workers who are employed in the mine. The number of miners affects the output and income of the mine. The more miners, the more output and income. However, more miners also mean more expenses, such as wages, food, and equipment.
Based on these factors, we can express the output and income of a mine as follows:
GP/TIME/MINER
This formula means that a mine can produce an equivalent of GP value of mined resource in a given time period for each miner working in the mine. For example, 100 gp/week/miner means that a miner can mine 100 gp worth of resource in a week.
The best combination for this formula is GP/WEEK/MINER, as it is not too long or too short to measure the output and income of a mine.
Smelting the Ore
The output and income of a mine can be increased by smelting the ore. Smelting is the process of extracting metal from ore by heating and melting it. Smelting requires tools and equipment, such as smelters.
Smelters are devices that are used to smelt ore into metal. There are different types of smelters that have different characteristics, such as:
- Efficiency: This is the percentage of ore that is converted into metal by smelting. The higher the efficiency, the more metal is produced from the same amount of ore.
- Capacity: This is the amount of ore that a smelter can process in a week, expressed in miner/week. The higher the capacity, the more ore can be smelted in a shorter time.
- Cost: This is the amount of money that is required to build or buy a smelter. The larger or more advanced the smelter, the more expensive it is.
- Maintenance: This is the amount of money that is required to operate and maintain a smelter. Smelting requires fuel and cleaning, which generate costs.
- Tier: This is the level of technology or innovation that a smelter has. Smelters can evolve over time and become more efficient or capable. The higher the tier, the better the smelter.
SMELTING IN HISTORY
Smelting is the process of extracting metal from ore by heating it to a high temperature. There are two main types of smelters that we will consider: the bloomery and the blast furnace.
- BLOOMERY: A bloomery is a simple smelter that is usually made of clay and rocks. It can be built from common materials and does not require any special equipment. However, it is not very efficient and can only process the ore of up to 10 miners per week. A bloomery occupies a 10 feet x 10 feet square and cannot be moved once built.
- BLAST FURNACE: A blast furnace is a more advanced smelter that uses heat and air to increase the chemical reaction. It is based on principles that are still used today, but with improved technology and efficiency. A blast furnace can vary in cost, efficiency, and capacity depending on its design and materials. The first blast furnaces appeared in China in the 13th century.
In the table below, we have assigned a value to each smelter characteristic:
- TIER: This expresses the technological level of the smelter. A bloomery is always considered as a tier 0, since it is a very basic equipment. Blast furnaces represent a different concept of smelting, and may have various degrees of efficiency and capacity.
- EFFICIENCY: This expresses the percentage of mine output that is effectively converted into metal. For example, a gold deposit with quality 3 yields 77gp per miner per week (see table 6.1). Without any smelting, the real value of the output would be 25% of 77gp or 19.25gp (or 19gp, 2sp, 5cp), but if I use a bloomery, the real value of the output will be 35% of 77gp or 26.95gp (26gp, 9sp, 5cp), and if I use a tier 1 blast furnace, the value of the output will be 50% of 77gp or 38.5gp (38gp, 5sp).
- CAPACITY: This expresses how much output the smelter can handle in terms of miners per week. A bloomery can smelt the ore mined by 10 miners per week, while a tier 4 blast furnace can smelt the ore mined by 160 miners per week.
- MAINTENANCE: This expresses the cost to operate the smelter on a weekly basis. A bloomery costs nothing because it can be built with material that can be found almost anywhere (at GM’s discretion). Sometimes it is more affordable to use a basic bloomery instead of buying or crafting a blast furnace, especially when the deposit is composed of common metals. In other words, you open the mine, you strip it, and you find another place to exploit.
We assume that stones do not require any further process in order to be sold and they are automatically turned into cubes or slates by miners.
- COAL: Coal has been mined since the 2nd century BC by the Romans. Indeed, tin and coal were the reason Britain was invaded and occupied by the empire. Coal does not require any special machinery to be mined; it is all about pick and shovel.
- PETROLEUM: Petroleum is the name given by Romans to this substance. In ancient times, it was extracted when it emerged on the surface, and most of the times it came in the form of bitumen or pitch. Petroleum was used as an incendiary material and as an insulant for shipmaking.
ABOUT GEMSTONES
We still need to define how many (or how much) gemstones can be extracted while mining. We are not going to describe this, at least not yet, but we have two paths to choose from.
- Option 1 is to consider gem mining as any other extracting activity, thus defining the amount of gp per miner per week a gem deposit yields.
- Option 2 is to consider rolling a variable amount of gemstones that every miner may extract from a deposit in a week.
If we have not defined this detail yet, it is because option 2 looks more appealing.
We have not defined yet how long a mine is going to last. Deposits are not infinite, and many of them are not even great ones, because they get depleted very quickly. We think we will look at some old school resources to see if we can find something interesting. Not now however.
