As you play through No Man’s Sky you’ll learn very quickly that to survive on these alien planets you’ll need to mine and conserve the resources you find.
These resources are used to recharge your life support, your weather hazard suit and to refuel your starship in No Man’s Sky but these resources are not infinite and you’ll need to go out and find these specific elements and resources throughout the planet.
This guide will identify the different elements and resources and what they are used for. We’ll also point out where you can find these different elements so you can keep an eye out when you’re traversing each planet in No Man's Sky.
Resources are separated in five different groups: Isotopes, Oxides, Silicates, Neutral and Precious. They are color-coded to identify them easier on the field and there are certain varying rarities in each group. But let’s start with the basics.
BASICS
When you open up your inventory, you’ll notice you have a certain number of slots that determine how much you can carry. These slots can be filled with resources, upgrades and other items.
But in terms of resources/minerals, each slot can be held for one type of resource, up to 100 of each. Once you reach 250, another slot will fill up with that mineral. You can’t mix resources to fill up the 250 of one slot so be aware of what you’re carrying. You can also stack the same material if the cap hasn’t been met.
To make room for more, you can transfer your resources to your starship as long as it has room. You can transfer from your starship as well, but you’ll need to be close enough to it.
To find minerals/resources you can interact with certain plants, but you’ll mostly be using your multi-tool and its mining beam to destroy plant life and rock structures to get the resources you need. Once you are close enough, your exo suit’s scanner will let you know what mineral is hiding within.
ISOTOPES - RED
Red minerals/resources are isotopes, the most abundant resource in No Man’s Sky . You’ll find them within plant life and they have a lot of uses. Isotopes are used to refill your Life Support gauge.
The more of a resource you gather, the higher your gauge will be filled.
Isotopes are also used to refill your Multi Tool functions, including your Mining Beam and Grenades. Your starship will also need Isotopes to recharge the Pulse Engine and Launch Thrusters to go into space.
Your starship also needs Isotopes to refill its Phase Beam gauge.
Here’s a list of the different isotopes you’ll find in No Man’s Sky .
Carbon (common)
Uses - Life Support recharge, Multi Tool recharge. Unlock machinery within shelters. Talk to alien life after first encounter.
Where to Find It - Interacting with house plants, mine from plant life.
Thamium9 (uncommon)
Uses - Pulse Engine recharge. Life Support recharge, Multi Tool recharge. Crafting.
Where to Find it - Interact with certain plant life and destroying smaller asteroids.
Plutonium (rare)
Uses - Launch Thruster recharge. Life Support recharge, Multi Tool recharge. Crafting.
Where to Find it - Mine from red crystalline structures.
OXIDES - YELLOW
Oxides are used mainly to boost your defensive capabilities. When your Hazard Protection is low, put some Oxide in to boost your resistance to the outside elements. Your starship also uses Oxides to refill its shield meter.
Oxides are also used in building and crafting certain material that are needed to repair parts of your starship.
Here’s a list of Oxides in No Man’s Sky .
Iron (common)
Uses - Starship Shield, crafting.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures.
Zinc (uncommon)
Uses - Hazard Protection, Starship Shield
Where to Find it - Interact with a specific plant life.
Titanium (rare)
Uses - Hazard Protection, Starship Shield, crafting.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning.
SILICATES - BLUE
Silicates are used mainly for crafting and building parts for both your exosuit and the starship. Some Silicates are used to open transmission channels for galactic trading.
Heridium (common)
Uses - Building and Crafting. Open transmissions.
Where to Find it - Mine from large rock structures after using your scan.
Platinum (uncommon)
Uses - Building and Crafting. Open transmissions.
Where to Find it - Interact with a certain plant life.
Chrysonite (rare)
Uses - Building and Crafting. Open transmissions.
Where to Find it - Mine from large rock structures after using your scan.
NEUTRAL - GREEN
Neutral elements are some of the rarest in the game and are used primarily for trading but they have use in creating valuable alloys if a crafting recipe calls for it.
Here’s a list of the Neutral elements in No Man’s Sky.
Nickel (uncommon)
Uses - Crafting and trading.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning.
Iridium (uncommon)
Uses - Crafting and trading.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning and destroying larger asteroids.
Emeril (rare)
Uses - Crafting and trading.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning.
Copper (rare)
Uses - Crafting and trading.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning.
Aluminium (rare)
Uses - Crafting and trading.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning.
Gold (rare)
Uses - Crafting and trading.
Where to Find it - Mine from rock structures after scanning.
PRECIOUS - PINK
Precious elements are the rarest in No Man’s Sky. They are normally found through vendors and trading (at least early in the game) so be sure to keep an eye on them when you come across some.
Here’s a list of known Precious Elements in the game so far.
Calium (very rare)
Uses - Crafting
Where to Find it - Trading
Radnox (rare)
Uses - Crafting
Where to Find it - Trading
Omegon (rare)
Uses - Crafting
Where to Find it - Trading
- A massive universe to explore
- Cool alien races
- A brilliant showcase of procedural technology
- Not much to do beyond resource collection
- Alien interactions are fairly meaningless
- Not as unique as originally advertised.
