Nickel Ore

Nickel Ore is a raw mineral resource used in Oxygen Not Included for construction, refinement, and as a feedstock for certain critters and production processes. Its thermal properties are close to those of Iron Ore: specific heat capacity and thermal resistivity match Iron Ore, while melting point and thermal conductivity are slightly lower. Buildings constructed from Nickel Ore do not receive any special overheating temperature bonus; it is appropriate for structures where moderately low thermal conductivity is acceptable.

Nickel Ore can be refined into Nickel using both the Rock Crusher and the Metal Refinery. Both machines require a Duplicant to operate. The game presents mass conversion entries for refinement processes that consume Nickel Ore and produce refined outputs (the in-game UI lists the conversion lines for each device).

Nickel Ore is accepted as food by several critter species and their variations. Feeding behaviors and throughput rates include:

• Hatch variants: one variant will consume Nickel Ore at 140 kg/cycle and excrete 35 kg/cycle; another variant will consume 100 kg/cycle and excrete 75 kg/cycle.
• Plug Slug and its variants: one variant will consume Nickel Ore at 60 kg/cycle and excrete 3 kg/cycle; another variant will consume 30 kg/cycle and excrete 1.5 kg/cycle.

Duplicants can also use Nickel Ore directly in certain production recipes. Base game Duplicants can use 50 kg Nickel Ore to craft one portion of a relevant product. In the Bionics DLC, the recipe requirement changes to 200 kg Nickel Ore to produce one portion.

Practical notes for using Nickel Ore:

• Use Nickel Ore for constructing buildings when you need a material with thermal properties comparable to Iron Ore but slightly lower melting point and conductivity; avoid relying on it for high-temperature applications where a higher melting point is required.
• Place Rock Crushers or Metal Refineries near Nickel Ore deposits and assign Duplicants to operate them to convert ore into refined Nickel for advanced crafting and equipment.
• When farming Hatches or Plug Slugs, factor in the specific intake and excretion rates listed above to size food storage and waste handling systems properly.
• Because buildings made of Nickel Ore do not gain overheating resistance, consider insulating or using other materials for heat-sensitive structures.