RimWorld Long-Range Mineral Scanner | 1.6 Target Picker & Haul Planner

Long-Range Mineral Scanner Board Local 1.6.4633 rev1266

RimWorld Long-Range Mineral Scanner: Stop Hauling The Wrong Ore

Short answer first: build it for components, plasteel, gold, or uranium. If the real question is bulk steel, the ground scanner and deep drill usually beat it on sanity, safety, and total colony time.

200 steel, 6 components, 2 advanced components 2000 research at hi-tech bench No roof allowed 700W, 3x3, Heavy terrain 4d mean, 8d guaranteed 30-day site timer, 50% threat roll
rimworld long range mineral scanner terminal console art
rimworld long range mineral scanner quick solution panel
Resource Priority Best targets in real play
Components Best all-round answer when fabrication, hospital gear, turrets, and ship prep are all stalling.
High
Plasteel Strong second pick for bionics, marine armor, ship parts, and spacer weapons.
High
Gold Quietly excellent when advanced components are the real blocker.
Medium
Uranium Worth it for slug turrets, armor spikes, and late industrial detours.
Medium
Steel Usually a trap unless you are on sea ice or your return transport is already overbuilt.
Low
Scanner Status Ready Tuned to components
rimworld long range mineral scanner world scan globe

Components are the cleanest default because they are targeted, valuable, and usually repay the trip faster than bench-crafting another giant batch.

LRMS vs Ground Scanner Use the right machine for the right bottleneck
Target LRMS Wins When Ground Scanner Wins When Haul Risk
Components You need a direct component burst now. No waiting for trader luck and no deep drill detour. Almost never. The ground scanner cannot directly give you component deposits. Low to medium
Plasteel Bionics, spacer guns, or ship parts are blocked right now. You are patient, already drilling, and want less world-map micro. Medium
Gold Advanced components are the bottleneck and traders are dry. You already have mature deep-drill infrastructure and no urgency. Low
Uranium You specifically need slug turrets, ammo, or armor materials. You can wait for another deep deposit and already own the drill lane. High
Steel Sea ice, no bedrock value, or transport is already trivial. Nearly every normal-map steel economy. Keep the miners home and drill. Very high

Worth It Chooser

Feed the actual bottleneck, not the one that only looks big on the map.

Home map context
x1.00
Verdict Build or keep LRMS online

Components with a pod loop are exactly what this building is for.

Scan Time 4.0d mean, 8.0d guaranteed

The local scanner comp uses ResearchSpeed, so your best scientist shortens the cycle directly.

Haul Math 72kg total, 1 pod, 4% of a shuttle

Light enough that you should solve the trip with speed, not with extra bodies.

Ground Scanner Call Ground scanner is the backup, not the primary answer.

Ground scanning wins on steel and stable home-map ore lanes. It loses on direct component targeting.

Idle Fix Board

Separate scanner failure from logistics failure before you blame the building.

Power 700W online?

If the grid is brownout-prone, the scanner never gets a clean work cycle.

Roof Unroofed tile?

The local ThingDef hard-disables use under a roof.

Worker Research pawn assigned?

Scanner work is Research, not Mining, and the local WorkGiver blocks mechs.

Follow-through Expedition kit ready?

The scanner is not the bottleneck if the site appears and you still have no return plan.

Scanner looks operational.

If it still feels bad, the issue is probably target choice or hauling math, not the machine itself.

Code-Backed Snapshot

Local Core defs and quest scripts only.

ThingDef 200 steel, 6 components, 2 advanced components

The building is a 3x3 Heavy-terrain research machine that draws 700W and cannot function under a roof.

Scanner Comp 4-day mean, 8-day guaranteed scan cycle

The local scanner comp uses ResearchSpeed, so late-game researchers matter more than miners here.

WorkGiver Research work, mechs disabled

The local LongRangeScan WorkGiver requires Manipulation and explicitly sets canBeDoneByMechs to false.

Quest Script 30-day world-site timer, 50% threat chance

The local site script expires the deposit after 30 in-game days and only adds threat parts when violent quests are allowed.

Comparison Ground scanner is cheaper and faster

Local ground scanner defs sit at 150 steel, 4 components, 1 advanced component, and a 3-day mean / 6-day max cycle.

Transport Shuttle holds 2000kg in the local def

The haul planner also assumes the current common 150kg transport pod load for quick return math.

Expedition Cards

Small team, fast strip, clean exit.

Drop pod loop

Best when the mineral is valuable enough that return speed matters more than raw tonnage.

  • 1 miner, 1 builder-hauler, optional shooter
  • Bring steel, components, and chemfuel for the return launcher
  • Best for components, plasteel, and gold
Shuttle run

Most forgiving extraction once you have reusable lift and fuel discipline.

  • 1 miner, 1 hauler-builder
  • Carry a chemfuel buffer and keep cargo headroom free
  • Best for plasteel, uranium, and mixed loads
Caravan run

Use this for lighter ores or when you already have excellent animal capacity.

  • 1 miner, 1 guard, pack animals, bedrolls, medicine
  • Great for components and gold
  • Usually the wrong answer for steel or uranium

Troubleshooting

The common failure points are boring. Fix the boring part first.

Why is my scanner idle even though the colonist can research?
Start with the hard checks: 700W power, no roof, and a real Research pawn with Manipulation. If those are clean, the next miss is usually not the scanner at all; it is that the colony has no standing expedition plan once the site appears.
What should I scan first if I only build one scanner?
Components first in most colonies. They are directly targetable, valuable per kilogram, and remove a fabrication bottleneck immediately. Plasteel is the next safest answer if your power armor, bionics, or ship parts are stalled.
Why does steel feel so much worse than it looked on paper?
Because the trip cost dominates the value. Steel is common from other systems, heavy at 0.5 mass per unit, and the ground scanner is already better at making it a boring home-map job. Long-range steel only shines when drilling is terrible or your transport stack is already solved.
When should I build both scanners?
Once the colony is mature enough to want a stable steel backbone and also keep an emergency button for components, plasteel, gold, or uranium. Think of the ground scanner as infrastructure and LRMS as your precision knife.

Useful Follow-Ups

Keep the rest of the logistics chain clean.

Related Tool Ground Scanner Board

Use this when the right answer is staying home and drilling instead of chasing off-map deposits.

Open Board
Related Tool Caravan Tips Planner

If you are still walking your ore home, fix the packing, food, and animal side before you judge LRMS.

Open Planner
Related Tool Transport Pods Guide

The fastest rare-ore loop is often pod in, strip fast, and launch the good stuff back out.

Open Guide