Mine

The Mine is a Folktails-exclusive building that must be constructed on an Underground Ruin. It costs 4000 science points to unlock and requires 250 logs, 200 treated planks, and 350 gears to build. Logs come from the Lumberjack, treated planks from the Wood Workshop, and gears from the Gear Workshop.

Once built, the Mine turns its workers into a source of scrap metal. It does not need power to operate, which makes it useful in settlements where the power grid is limited or where you want a production chain that keeps running independently. The user interface updates to reflect the number of beavers assigned, so the displayed production time changes as staffing changes. Scrap metal can then be processed into metal blocks at the Smelter.

A fully staffed Mine can also be an efficient science producer in older versions, but that extra Science Points recipe was removed in Update 7. The Mine’s basic recipe was also changed in that update. It now has 10 workers enabled by default, up from 5, and the entrance was moved to ground level in Update 6.

Practical notes:

• The Mine is locked to Underground Ruins, so its placement is limited by map layout.
• It is a large mid-to-late game investment because of its expensive construction chain.
• It works without power, unlike the Observatory.
• A Mine with 10 workers and a steady supply of treated planks can supply about 2.77 Smelters.
• The engine will not consume logs when there is no demand for power in the connected grid, which can help reduce waste in nearby infrastructure.

Because the Mine depends on treated planks and gears, it is usually best placed after your wood and engineering production are already stable. When supplied consistently, it provides a reliable way to convert a ruined underground site into a high-value source of metal products.