How to Get Uranium in RimWorld (2026) — Code-Backed Fast Methods Tool

How to Get Uranium in RimWORLD (2026)

Buy, scan, drill, or mine the asteroids — this is the fastest path to uranium, with vanilla Core 1.6.4633 facts kept first and DLC-only notes clearly separated.

Core 1.6.4633 Trade first Scan + drill Pod planner inside
Fast Methods
Trader Options
Trader route Code signal Read
Outlander base trade Explicit uranium entry 40–200; best guaranteed buy
Orbital bulk goods ResourcesRaw category Check every ship first
Ground caravans / exotic No explicit uranium line found Possible bonus stock, not a plan

Comms Console is the real unlock here: 120 steel + 4 components, 200W, gated by Microelectronics Basics (3000).

Long-Range Mineral Scanner
Remote uranium hit
how to get uranium rimworld long-range mineral scanner result
700W Research 2000 4–8 days
  • Build: 200 steel, 6 industrial components, 2 spacer components.
  • Logic: local PreciousLump.xml includes MineableUranium, so uranium is a real scanner target.
  • Timer: scanFindMtbDays is 4 and scanFindGuaranteedDays is 8.
  • Site clock: local quest data gives 30 days before timeout and 11 days before map cleanup after arrival.
Caravan vs. Transport Pods
Metric Caravan Pods
Speed Slower Fastest
Upfront Cheap High
Best use Bulk ore haul Hit-and-run mine

Transport Pod research is 1000. A Pod Launcher costs 50 steel + 1 component and holds 150 chemfuel; each Transport Pod costs 60 steel + 1 component.

Deep Drilling Basics

Scanning for Resources

Ground scanner Ground-penetrating scanner icon Deep drill icon Uranium icon for scanner target
  • Ground Penetrating Scanner: 150 steel, 4 industrial components, 1 spacer component, 700W.
  • Research ladder: Deep Drilling 1000 into Ground Penetrating Scanner 1000.
  • Ping cadence: MTB 3 days, guaranteed by day 6.
  • No surface uranium? Normal. Visible uranium ore only has 0.12 surface commonality in local Core defs.

Moving Deep Drill

Deep drill Ore rock icon Deep drill over uranium deposit
  • Deep Drill: 100 steel, 2 industrial components, 200W, construction skill 4.
  • Surface ore math: visible uranium ore yields 40 per tile, with surface lumps sized 6–12 tiles.
  • Risk: storyteller baseMtbDaysPerDrill is 20, so more drills mean more insect trouble rolls.
  • Patch-aware note: your research notes that 1.6 scanners do not find resources under bridges and do not work on sea ice.
Odyssey Asteroid Mining
how to get uranium rimworld odyssey asteroid mining
Research-backed Odyssey lane
  • What the research says: Odyssey adds asteroid mines with exposed uranium, plasteel, and gold.
  • Why this section is separate: the local workspace only contains /game/Data/Core, so this panel is not claimed as local XML-backed.
  • Best use: fast mid/late-game refills when your home map rolled dry and you already have ship capability.
  • Keep trips short: jump up, mine, leave. Asteroids are strong resource errands, not the default long-base answer.
Edge Cases
Ancient casket salvage route for uranium Uranium recovered from caskets

Ancient Caskets

The local AncientCryptosleepCasket block literally contains uranium: costList has 5 and killedLeavings has 3. Clear the room first, then salvage.

Uranium from transmute steel emergency route

Transmute Steel

Useful emergency lane from your Anomaly research notes, but not present in this Core-only local install. Treat it as a bonus roll, not the backbone of your uranium economy.

Quick Tips & Tools

Pod Fuel Calculator

Quick planner, not a decompiled formula: chemfuel ≈ 2 × tiles × pods. It is still practical because each local PodLauncher holds 150 chemfuel.

LR Scanner Checklist

  • Keep the scanner powered 24/7.
  • Only launch when the hit is uranium.
  • Mine the core and leave before the remote map cleans up.
  • Keep silver staged so trader fallback stays online.
  • If local scanning is blocked or dry, pivot to LR scanner plus trade instead of waiting.

Research Ladder

Microelectronics Basics 3000 → Transport Pod 1000 / Deep Drilling 1000 → Ground Penetrating Scanner 1000 / Long-Range Mineral Scanner 2000.

FAQ
No uranium on my map?
Normal. Visible uranium ore only has surface commonality 0.12. Buy, scan, or deep-drill instead of waiting for a miracle vein.
Which trader is most reliable?
The local code-confirmed explicit seller is Outlander base trade at 40–200 uranium. Orbital bulk goods is the next thing to check because it rolls from ResourcesRaw.
Ground scanner or LR scanner first?
If you want a home-map lane, build GPS + Deep Drill. If your map is dry or awkward, build LR scanner first and mine a remote lump.
Caravan or pods?
Pods win on speed and surprise. Caravans win on cheap, heavier hauls. Use pods when you need uranium now; use caravans when the route is safe and the ore volume is high.
Core XML facts used on this page
  • /game/Version.txt1.6.4633 rev1266.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Items/Items_Resource_Stuff.xml → Uranium market value 6, mass 1, deepCommonality 1, deepCountPerPortion 15, deepLumpSizeRange 4~10.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Natural.xmlMineableUranium yields 40 per tile, surface lump size 6~12, surface commonality 0.12.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Production.xml → Deep Drill costs 100 steel + 2 components.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/ThingDefs_Buildings/Buildings_Misc.xml → GPS 700W, LR scanner 700W, Comms Console 200W, Pod Launcher fuel tank 150, Ancient Casket uranium salvage data.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/ResearchProjectDefs/ResearchProjects_3_Microelectronics.xml → Microelectronics 3000, Deep Drilling 1000, GPS 1000, LR scanner 2000, Transport Pod 1000.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/Sites/Parts/PreciousLump.xml and /game/Data/Core/Defs/QuestScriptDefs/Script_LongRangeMineralScannerLump.xml → uranium world lump target, 30-day timeout, 11-day map cleanup clock.
  • /game/Data/Core/Defs/Storyteller/Storytellers.xmlbaseMtbDaysPerDrill 20.
Why Odyssey and Anomaly are split out
  • This workspace only has /game/Data/Core, so DLC pages are not available for direct local verification.
  • Odyssey asteroid mining and Anomaly Transmute Steel are included because they matter for the search intent, but they are labeled as research-backed, not local Core XML-backed.
  • Your research also flags the 2025-07-23 scanner caveats: no resources under bridges and no ground scanner on sea ice. Those notes stay separated from the local XML facts for clarity.
  • The page is therefore vanilla first, then DLC-aware, without mixing confidence levels.