Gold Amalgam

Gold Amalgam is a metal ore found in Oxygen Not Included, typically occurring as small to medium nodes in swamp biomes. It functions as both a construction material and a smeltable ore for obtaining Gold. Buildings and items constructed from Gold Amalgam receive a modest Decor bonus and a substantial increase to their overheat threshold, but the ore has poor heat capacity and thermal conductivity compared to most other metal ores, which strongly affects its behavior in high-temperature environments.

When used as a building material, Gold Amalgam grants +10% Decor and raises the overheat temperature of most buildings by +50°C (effectively pushing many building overheat points to around 125°C). This higher overheat makes Gold Amalgam attractive for machinery placed near extreme heat sources such as steam vents. However, Gold Amalgam has extremely low Specific Heat Capacity and the lowest Thermal Conductivity among metal ores. As a result, structures made from Gold Amalgam heat up quickly and shed heat slowly; they are poor at absorbing and transferring thermal energy. For heat-exchange structures or applications that rely on storing or conducting heat, Wolframite outperforms Gold Amalgam, and ores such as Iron Ore (about three times the heat capacity) and Aluminum Ore (about six times the heat capacity) absorb significantly more heat despite having lower overheat temperatures.

Gold Amalgam can be processed and consumed in several ways:

• Metal Refinery: 100 kg Gold Amalgam → 100 kg Gold (refine into Gold).
• Rock Crusher: 100 kg Gold Amalgam → 50 kg Gold + 50 kg Sand.
• Stone Hatches: can eat Gold Amalgam and excrete Coal; 100 kg Gold Amalgam → 50 kg Coal and feeding Stone Hatches with Gold Amalgam increases the chance they lay Smooth Hatch eggs.
• Smooth Hatches: can eat Gold Amalgam and excrete Gold; 100 kg Gold Amalgam → 75 kg Gold.

Practical notes: use Gold Amalgam when you need higher overheat tolerance or a small Decor boost for luxury boilers, high-temperature generators, or equipment placed near heat sources. Avoid using it where thermal mass or conductivity matters—machines made of Gold Amalgam will reach high temperatures faster and will be harder to cool. When you need pure Gold output, refine in a Metal Refinery for lossless conversion; use Rock Crushers or Hatch farming if you prefer byproducts like Sand or Coal or want to convert ore into different mass yields.