GregTech 5/Mining and Processing/en

has dozens of ores with complex processing chains that produce hundreds of different materials. Almost every element on the Periodic Table and many kinds of real-life mineral and ore deposits are represented in mod. This guide lists all of the various ores and all of the ways they can be processed into elements.
==Ores==
 disables all Vanilla ores (except Emerald Ore, because Mojang did weird things with it) and replaces them with its own ore generation patterns. These patterns are compatible either by default or through configuration with almost all ores from almost all other mods, so unless explicitly noted, ore generation from other mods can and should be disabled, as GregTech will compensate.
GregTech ore blocks do not work exactly like other ore blocks. Most mods treat their ores as single blocks, with nothing special to them except for the few that must be silktouched or can be fortune mined. All GregTech are non-ticking MetaTileEntities, defined not by block ID or metadata but by TileEntity data. Each of these TEs contains only two variables: the internal ID of the ore, and a True/False boolean denoting whether the ore block was placed by world generation or by other means. This is mainly used to determine whether or not a Small Ore's drops can be enhanced by a Fortune pick. Their being TEs though has some unfortunate consequences: not all mods are prepared to deal with TE ore blocks, and so GregTech ores are not always mined by other mods' automated mining systems. (For example, for several months, the could not mine GregTech ores.) The most unusual consequence of the ores being MetaTileEntities is that GregTech MTE rendering is done by combining a base texture with an overlay. When viewed at steep angles, those overlays can exhibit some odd rendering behavior, either looking like black lines, white lines, or oddly transparent. It's hard to say exactly what the visual effect looks like, but once you've seen it once or twice you come to realize that it looks wrong, and that its looking wrong is a telltale sign of the presence of ore.
There are two types of ore generation: Small Ores and Mix Veins.
Small Ores generate as semi-common single blocks. They are intended as a way to get started and acquire initial tools, but are not intended to be used as primary sources of metal for machinery. When broken, they drop either a Crushed Ore, an Impure Pile of Ore Dust, or, if applicable, a Gem. Additionally, they may drop a Dust or a Dirty Dust of the Stone they were found in. (This can be Stone, Netherrack, Red/Black Granite, or End Stone.) Small Ores cannot be picked up with a Silktouch Pickaxe, however a Fortune Pickaxe will slightly increase their yields. Importantly, Small Ores can be mined at 1 mining level lower than the ores they contain, allowing a miner with a Stone-level pickaxe to obtain enough Iron to craft an Iron Pickaxe. (GregTech Iron Ore(s) cannot be mined with a Stone pickaxe, you need Iron or Bronze to mine them.)
Mix Veins can generate only one vein per 3x3 chunk area, however Mix Veins can contain hundreds or even thousands of blocks of ore. Mix Veins can contain up to four different ores. Vein contents are dependent upon height and dimension, but are not dependent upon biome. Veins can range in size from 16x16x5 up to 80x80x8 blocks, with very few and small gaps between ore blocks. However, ore veins can only generate where they have Stone, Red/Black Granite, Netherrack, or End Stone that can be replaced by ore blocks.
Mix Veins come in four parts: Primary, Secondary, Inbetween, and Around. Each of them can be a different ore. Primary, Secondary, and Inbetween ores are generated as stack ranges. The upper 2-4 levels of a vein will be almost all 'Primary' ore, the lower 2-4 levels will be almost all 'Secondary' ore, and the middle 2-4 levels will be mostly 'Inbetween' ore. 'Around' ore appears randomly interspersed throughout the vein. In total, a vein will contain roughly equal portions of Primary and Secondary ore, slightly less Inbetween ore, and notably less Around ore. When viewed from a distance either via an X-Ray mod or after having removed all Stone in the area, ore Mix Veins look like large, somewhat oval-shaped clouds.
Ore vein generation takes place as a series of steps. First, at the center of every 3x3 chunk area a random ore mix is chosen. If that ore mix cannot generate within the current dimension, the generator tries again. If the ore vein is allowed, a random height will be chosen within the mix vein's Minimum and Maximum height values, and ore generation will propagate out from that point. However, as ores are placed by replacing Stone, Red/Black Granite, Netherrack, or End Stone, if the generation area contains none of those materials ore blocks will not generate. As such, it is possible to encounter areas that do not contain mix veins. In Forests, Plains, and similar biomes, this happens about a quarter of the time. In mountains or extreme hills, it happens fairly rarely, while deep oceans often will not have Mix Veins below them.
Note: If or are installed, GregTech will disable its own ore generation and use COG or PFAA generation. COG contains default configurations for GregTech ores, and PFAA contains its own forms and generation patterns for even more ores than GregTech generates by default.
This also means that any mod pack containing Custom Ore Generation, such as the upcoming FTB Resurrection, will not entirely follow these patterns.
=== Default Ore Mixes ===
The following is a list of all Ore Mix Veins that GregTech can generate by default. (Note: The Naquadah Ore Mix configuration is present, but its generation is disabled by default.)
Name 	Primary Ore 	Secondary Ore 	Inbeween Ore 	Sporadic Ore 	Min Height	Max Height	Weight	Density	Size	Overworld	Nether	End
Naquadah 	Naquadah 	Naquadah 	Naquadah 	NaquadahEnriched 	10 	60 	10 	5 	32 	No 	No 	Yes
Lignite 	Lignite 	Lignite 	Lignite 	Coal 	50 	130 	160 	8 	32 	Yes 	No 	No
Coal 	Coal 	Coal 	Coal 	Lignite 	50 	80 	80 	6 	32 	Yes 	No 	No
Magnetite 	Magnetite 	Magnetite 	Iron 	VanadiumMagnetite	50 	120 	160 	3 	32 	Yes 	Yes 	No
Gold 	Magnetite 	Magnetite 	VanadiumMagnetite	Gold 	60 	80 	160 	3 	32 	Yes 	No 	No
Iron 	BrownLimonite	YellowLimonite	BandedIron 	Malachite 	10 	40 	120 	4 	24 	Yes 	Yes 	No
Cassiterite 	Tin 	Tin 	Cassiterite 	Tin 	40 	120 	50 	5 	24 	Yes 	No 	No
Tetrahedrite 	Tetrahedrite 	Tetrahedrite 	Copper 	Stibnite 	80 	120 	70 	4 	24 	Yes 	Yes 	No
Nether Quartz	NetherQuartz 	NetherQuartz 	NetherQuartz 	NetherQuartz 	40 	80 	80 	5 	24 	No 	Yes 	No
Sulfur 	Sulfur 	Sulfur 	Pyrite 	Sphalerite 	5 	20 	100 	5 	24 	No 	Yes 	No
Copper 	Chalcopyrite 	Iron 	Pyrite 	Copper 	10 	30 	80 	4 	24 	Yes 	Yes 	No
Bauxite 	Bauxite 	Bauxite 	Aluminium 	Ilmenite 	50 	90 	80 	4 	24 	Yes 	No 	No
Salts 	RockSalt 	Salt 	Lepidolite 	Spodumene 	50 	60 	50 	3 	24 	Yes 	No 	No
Redstone 	Redstone 	Redstone 	Ruby 	Cinnabar 	10 	40 	60 	3 	24 	Yes 	Yes 	No
Soapstone 	Soapstone 	Talc 	Glauconite 	Pentlandite 	10 	40 	40 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Nickel 	Garnierite 	Nickel 	Cobaltite 	Pentlandite 	10 	40 	40 	3 	16 	Yes 	Yes 	Yes
Platinum 	Sheldonite 	Palladium 	Platinum 	Iridium 	40 	50 	5 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Pitchblende 	Pitchblende 	Pitchblende 	Uranium 	Uraninite 	10 	40 	40 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Plutonium 	Uraninite 	Uraninite 	Plutonium 	Uranium 	20 	30 	10 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Monazite 	Bastnasite 	Bastnasite 	Monazite 	Neodymium 	20 	40 	30 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Molybdenum 	Wulfenite 	Molybdenite 	Molybdenum 	Powellite 	20 	50 	5 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Tungstate 	Scheelite 	Scheelite 	Tungstate 	Lithium 	20 	50 	10 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Sapphire 	Almandine 	Pyrope 	Sapphire 	GreenSapphire 	10 	40 	60 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Manganese 	Grossular 	Spessartine 	Pyrolusite 	Tantalite 	20 	30 	20 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Quartz 	Quartzite 	Barite 	CertusQuartz 	CertusQuartz 	40 	80 	60 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Diamond 	Graphite 	Graphite 	Diamond 	Coal 	5 	20 	40 	2 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Olivine 	Bentonite 	Magnesite 	Olivine 	Glauconite 	10 	40 	60 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Apatite 	Apatite 	Apatite 	Phosphorus 	Phosphate 	40 	60 	60 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Galena 	Galena 	Galena 	Silver 	Lead 	30 	60 	40 	5 	16 	Yes 	No 	No
Lapis 	Lazurite 	Sodalite 	Lapis 	Calcite 	20 	50 	40 	5 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Beryllium 	Beryllium 	Beryllium 	Emerald 	Thorium 	5 	30 	30 	3 	16 	Yes 	No 	Yes
Name: The name given to the mix in configuration. This does not have an effect in-game.
Density: How tightly packed the ores are in a vein. Lower values can cause small gaps between ore blocks.
Max Height: The maximum height at which the vein can generate.
Min Height: The minimum height at which the vein can generate.
OrePrimaryLayer: Metadata value of the Primary ore in the vein
OreSecondaryLayer: Metadata value of the Secondray ore in the vein
OreSporadiclyInbeween: Metadata value of the Inbeween ore in the vein
OreSporadiclyAround: Metadata value of the Around ore in the vein
RandomWeight: How likely it is for this vein to spawn. The higher this value is, the better the chance. This value is relative to the total of the RandomWeight values of all the ore veins. The default configuration has a total weight of 1850, so for example,a vein with a RandomWeight of 160 has a 160/1850 (8,6%) chance to spawn per generation attempt.
Size: The maximum area an ore vein can occupy. A vein with a Size of 0 will always occupy a 16x16 block area, while a vein with a Size of 32 can occupy an area up to 80x80 blocks.
Overworld: Can this vein generate in the Overworld? (True/False)
Nether: Can this vein spawn in the Nether? (True/False)
End: Can this vein spawn in the End? (True/False)
Note: GregTech tries to generate its ores in all available dimensions. In dimensions added by other mods, like or , GregTech will by default use the Overworld's configurations, and so long as the dimension contains Stone, Netherrack, or End Stone, it will usually succeed. However, as 's Moon and Mars dimensions do not contain conventional stone, the mod was created to allow GregTech ore generation to function on Mars and the Moon.
All of these values are present in and were extracted from config/GregTech/WorldGeneration.cfg. WorldGeneration.cfg also includes empty slots for user-defined ore mixes. The ores listed here appear in the configuration file as their metadata values, which range from 1 to 1000, and can be found in two ways:
*Load into a world, then leave it, then go to [game directory]/logs/GregTech.log. That file will contain a list of every single material registered in GregTech. Any occupied number between 1 and 1000 can be an Ore.
*Load into a world and look up 'Ore' in NEI, with Block IDs and Damage Values/Metadata displayed. The Stone variant of every GregTech ore will bear that ore's metadata value. (The other variants will bear that value, offset by several thousand.)
If you do look, you will notice that GregTech contains many, many more ores than it generates by default. If you want the ores, you need only add custom Mixes for them.
Ores can be told whether or not to generate on a dimension-by-dimension basis. By default, this only includes the Overworld, Nether, and End, but when other mods add dimensions, once those dimensions' ore generation has been triggered at least once, configuration lines for them will be created.
For example, in a mod pack containing and , you may see this set of lines in an ore generation configuration entry:
gold {
B:Nether_false=false
B:Overworld_true=true
B:"The End_true"=true
B:"Twilight Forest_true"=true
B:Underdark_true=true
}
Probably the most important line in this chart initially is the Cassiterite Mix Vein. Cassiterite is a form of Tin Ore, and Tin is necessary to make Bronze for Steam machines. However, Cassiterite's generation range is between Y=40 and Y=120, slightly below the surface to above the tops of some Extreme Hills. This, combined with the fact that Tin assumes a color almost identical to that of regular Stone, means that a good Tin vein may be rather difficult to find in the early game. Don't give up though, just remember to look high.
=== Elements Contained in Ores ===
Many, many ores contain traces of Oxygen and Hydrogen. For simplicity, they have not been included in this list.
If an Ore contains more than one element or material as a primary output, that ore represents a compound which must separated at some point in its processing, usually with an .
Ore 	Contains Elements 	1st Byproduct 	2nd Byproduct 	3rd Byproduct	Mercury Bath	Persulfate Bath
Naquadah 	Naquadah 	Enriched Naquadah	 	 	 	
Enriched Naquadah 	Enriched Naquadah 	Naquadah 	Naquadria 	 	 	
Lignite 	Carbon 	Coal 	 	 	 	
Coal 	Carbon 	Lignite 	Thorium 	 	 	
Magnetite †† 	Iron 	Iron 	Gold 	 	Gold 	
Iron 	Iron 	Nickel 	Tin 	 	 	Nickel
Vanadium Magnetite ††	Vanadium, Iron 	Magnetite 	Vanadium 	 	 	
Gold 	Gold 	Copper 	Nickel 	 	Gold 	Copper
Brown Limonite † 	Iron 	Malachite 	Yellow Limonite	 	 	
Yellow Limonite † 	Iron 	Nickel 	Brown Limonite 	Cobalt 	 	Nickel
Banded Iron † 	Iron 	 	 	 	 	
Tin † 	Tin 	Iron 	Zinc 	 	 	Zinc
Cassiterite 	Tin 	Tin 	 	 	 	
Tetrahedrite 	Copper 	Antimony 	Zinc 	 	 	Tetrahedrite
Copper 	Copper 	Cobalt 	Gold 	Nickel 	Gold 	Copper
Stibnite 	Antimony 	Antimony 	 	 	 	
Nether Quartz 	Nether Quartz 	 	 	 	 	
Sulfur 	Sulfur 	Sulfur 	 	 	 	
Pyrite † 	Iron, Sulfur 	Sulfur 	Phosphorus 	Iron 	 	
Sphalerite 	Zinc, Sulfur 	Yellow Garnet 	Cadmium 	Gallium 	 	Zinc
Chalcopyrite * 	Copper, Iron, Sulfur 	Pyrite 	Cobalt 	Cadmium 	Gold 	Cobalt
Malachite 	Copper, Carbon 	Copper 	Brown Limonite 	Calcite 	 	Copper
Bauxite 	Aluminium, Titanium 	Grossular 	Titanium 	Gallium 	 	
Aluminium 	Aluminium 	Bauxite 	 	 	 	
Ilmenite † 	Iron, Titanium 	Iron 	Titanium 	 	 	
Salt 	Sodium, Chlorine 	Rock Salt 	 	 	 	
Rock Salt 	Potassium, Chlorine 	Salt 	 	 	 	
Lepidolite 	Potassium, Lithium, Aluminium 	Lithium 	Casium 	 	 	
Spodumene 	Lithium, Aluminium, Silicon 	Aluminium 	Lithium 	 	 	
Redstone 	Silicon, Pyrite, Ruby, Mercury 	Cinnabar 	Rare Earth 	Glowstone 	 	
Ruby 	Chrome, Aluminium 	Chrome 	Red Garnet 	 	 	
Cinnabar 	Mercury, Sulfur 	Redstone 	Sulfur 	Glowstone 	 	
Soapstone 	Magnesium, Silicon 	 	 	 	 	
Talc 	Magnesium, Silicon 	 	 	 	 	
Nickel † 	Nickel 	Cobalt 	Platinum 	Iron 	Platinum 	Nickel
Bastnasite ††† 	Cerium, Carbon, Flourine 	Neodymium 	Rare Earth 	 	 	
Monazite ††† 	Rare Earth, Phosphate 	Thorium 	Neodymium 	Rare Earth 	 	
Neodymium 	Neodymium 	Monazite 	Rare Earth 	 	 	
Garnierite 	Nickel 	Nickel 	 	 	 	Nickel
Cobaltite 	Cobalt, Arsenic, Sulfur 	Cobalt 	 	 	 	Cobaltite
Pentlandite *† 	Nickel, Sulfur 	Iron 	Sulfur 	Cobalt 	 	Cobalt
Sheldonite 	Platinum, Nickel, Sulfur 	Palladium 	Nickel 	Iridium 	Sheldonite 	Nickel
Palladium 	Palladium 	 	 	 	 	
Platinum 	Platinum 	Nickel 	Iridium 	 	Platinum 	Nickel
Iridium 	Iridium 	Platinum 	Osmium 	 	Platinum 	
Pitchblende 	Uranite, Thorium, Lead 	Thorium 	Uranium 	Lead 	 	
Uranium 	Uranium 	Lead 	Plutonium 	Thorium 	 	
Uraninite 	Uranium 	Uranium 	Thorium 	Plutonium 	 	
Plutonium 	Plutonium 	Uranium 	Lead 	 	 	
Wulfenite 	Lead, Molybdenum 	 	 	 	 	
Molybdenum 	Molybdenum 	 	 	 	 	
Molybdenite 	Molybdenum, Sulfur 	Molybdenum 	 	 	 	
Powellite 	Calcium, Molybdenum 	 	 	 	 	
Scheelite 	Tungsten, Calcium 	Manganese 	Molybdenum 	Calcium 	 	
Tungstate 	Tungsten, Lithium 	Manganese 	Silver 	Lithium 	Silver 	
Lithium 	Lithium 	Lithium 	 	 	 	
Sapphire 	Aluminium 	Aluminium 	Green Sapphire 	 	 	
Almandine 	Aluminium, Iron, Silicon 	Red Garnet 	Aluminium 	 	 	
Pyrope 	Aluminium, Magnesium, Silicon 	Red Garnet 	Magnesium 	 	 	
Green Sapphire 	Aluminium 	Aluminium 	Sapphire 	 	 	
Grossular 	Calcium, Aluminium 	Yellow Garnet 	Calcium 	 	 	
Spessartine 	Aluminium, Manganese, Silicon 	Red Garnet 	Manganese 	 	 	
Pyrolusite 	Manganese 	Manganese 	 	 	 	
Tantalite 	Manganese, Tantalum 	Manganese 	Niobium 	Tantalum 	 	
Quartzite 	Quartzite 	Certus Quartz 	Barite 	 	 	
Certus Quartz 	Certus Quartz 	Quartzite 	Barite 	 	 	
Barite 	Barium 	 	 	 	 	
Graphite 	Graphite 	Carbon 	 	 	 	
Diamond 	Carbon 	Graphite 	 	 	 	
Bentonite 	Sodium, Magnesium, Silicon 	Aluminium 	Calcium 	Magnesium 	 	
Magnesite 	Magnesium, Carbon 	Magnesium 	 	 	 	
Olivine 	Magnesium, Iron, Silicon 	Olivine 	 	 	 	
Glauconite † 	Magnesium, Aluminium 	Sodium 	Aluminium 	Iron 	 	
Apatite 	Calcium, Phosphate, Chlorine 	Phosphorus 	 	 	 	
Phosphorus 	Calcium, Phosphate 	Apatite 	 	 	 	
Phosphate 	Phosphate 	Phosphate 	 	 	 	
Galena 	Lead, Silver, Sulfur 	Sulfur 	Silver 	Lead 	Silver 	
Silver 	Silver 	Lead 	Sulfur 	 	Silver 	
Lead 	Lead 	Silver 	Sulfur 	 	Silver 	
Lazurite 	Aluminium, Silicon, Calcium, Sodium 	Sodalite 	Lapis 	 	 	
Sodalite 	Aluminium, Silicon, Sodium, Chlorine	Lazurite 	Lapis 	 	 	
Lapis 	Lazurite, Sodalite, Pyrite, Calcite 	Lazurite 	Sodalite 	Pyrite 	 	
Calcite 	Calcium, Carbon 	Andradite 	Malachite 	 	 	
Beryllium 	Beryllium 	Emerald 	 	 	 	
Emerald 	Beryllium, Aluminium, Silicon 	Beryllium 	Aluminium 	 	 	
Thorium 	Thorium 	Uranium 	Lead 	 	 	
Bolded Ores allow Direct Smelting to the ore's primary metal. Impure Dust and Purified Dust forms will smelt directly to an ingot. If the ore shares the same name as its primary metal, then Crushed and Purified Crushed forms will smelt into ten nuggets; otherwise they will smelt into three nuggets. 
* Chalcopyrite and Pentlandite may be refined into Platinum Group Sludge using a Chemical Reactor; see Late Game Processing.
† Yields Iron in Electromagnetic Separator
†† Yields Gold in Electromagnetic Separator
††† Yields Neodymium in Electromagnetic Separator
==== Second Level Processing ====
These are compounds that need further processing.
Compound 	Elements
Rare Earth 	Neodynium, Yttrium, Lanthanum, Cerium, Cadmium, Caesium
Red Garnet 	Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartine
Yellow Garnet 	Andradite, Grossular, Uvarovite
Andradite 	Calcium, Iron, Silicon
Uvarovite 	Calcium, Chrome, Silicon
Platinum Group Sludge	Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Osmium, Iridium
===Other Materials ===
Certain other materials can be Centrifuged or Electrolyzed to produce other materials.
Material 	Elements
Obsidian Dust 	Magnesium, Iron, Silicon
Clay Dust 	Sodium, Lithium, Aluminium, Silicon
Glowstone Dust 	Redstone, Gold
Redstone Dust 	Silicon, Pyrite, Ruby, Mercury
End Stone 	Helium, Tungsten, Platinum
Sand, Flint Dust, Glass Dust	Silicon
Lava 	Copper, Tin, Gold, Silver, Tantalum, Tungsten
Soul Sand 	Saltpeter, Coal Dust, Oil
Ender Pearl Dust 	Beryllium, Potassium, Nitrogen
Blaze Powder 	Carbon, Sulfur
Foods 	Methane
Dust 	Olivine, Calcite, Flint, Carbon
Dust, Marble Dust 	Magnesium, Calcite
==Tools==
In addition to inventing a new ore generation system, creates its own tool system, commonly called the Meta-Tool system. While other mods add individual tools for each of their materials, each tool an individual item, GregTech creates a set of tool templates, and fills in their material, properties, and durability as NBT data. See Meta-Tools for details about the Meta-Tool system and available tools and materials.
==Early game processing==
===Manual Processing===
The most basic form of ore processing is the old classic "just throw it into a Furnace" method we all learned back in Vanilla. However, even just at this level, more can be done. Ore blocks can be broken with a rather than a Pickaxe to drop Crushed Ore, and Crushed Ores of basic metals like Copper, Tin, and Iron can be smelted into 10 metal Nuggets, slightly more than one full Ingot.
Should you need Dusts, such as Redstone Dust, Crushed Ore can be crafted with a Hammer to produce Dirty Dusts, and Dirty Dusts can be thrown into a Cauldron full of Water to produce Dusts. This is the basic source of Redstone Dust.
===Steam Processing===
Once you have enough Bronze to start making steam machines, you can make a to produce 2 Crushed Ores per ore block. This is your basic source of ore doubling. The Steam Macerator does require 2 Diamonds to craft though, so you may want to bypass it at first and just make a to at least get your Bronze supply rolling. Additionally, the functions as a for Ore and Crushed Ore smashing, and if used can reduce the number of Hammers you need to craft.
==Late game processing==
Once you have electric machines, and in particular once you have a Universal Macerator (HV-tier ) maximum output ore processing becomes extremely complex. This flowchart shows all the possible routes. For byproducts, see the "Elements Contained in Ores" chart earlier in this page.
Note: Maximum complexity ore processing chains may not always give you the most materials at the end of the day, but they will give you the widest range of different materials. It can often be useful to stop processing at a point and just smelt the resulting Crushed Ore or Dust, if you need that specific metal and not its by-products.
: The basis of all ore processing; doubles hammering or smelting output from Ores. The HV, EV, and IV Versions, the three with 'Universal' in their names, also produce Stone Dust and have a 10% chance to produce dusts of the ores' 1st Byproduct. Additionally, Macerators can be used on Purified Crushed Ores to produce Purified Ore Dusts, and on Centrifuged Ores to produce Ore Dusts. If a Universal Macerator is used, both of these processes have a 10% chance to produce 2nd (Purified Crushed) or 3rd (Centrifuged) Byproduct dusts.
, : The simpler form of the Macerator, it smashes ores but does not double them. It can turn Crushed Ores and Purified Crushed Ores into Impure Dusts and Purified Dusts much more quickly than the Macerator, but gives no byproducts when doing so. It's effectively useless for ore processing after you have the Universal Macerator.
: The second stage of processing for most ores, the Ore Washing Plant consumes Water and Crushed Ore to produce Purified Crushed Ores, Stone Dust, and tiny piles of 1st Byproducts.
: A situational alternative to the Ore Washing Plant, the Chemical Bath uses Mercury or Sodium Persulfate in stead of water, and can produce certain specific metals from specific ores, in stead of the 1st Byproducts.
: Used to further clean Purified Dusts into Dusts and Byproducts. Also used to separate certain compounds into either simpler compounds or their base elements. Note that depending on what metals you want most, centrifuging is not always the best option. Most Purified Dusts can be smelted into 1 Ingot, but some Dusts cannot be smelted, and must be Electrolyzed down to their component elements. For example: Purified Tetrahedrite Dust when smelted produces 1 Copper ingot, but when centrifuged produces 6/9 copper and 1/9 zinc, and when electrolyzed in stead produces 3/8 Copper, 1/8 antimony, 3/8 sulfur, 1/8 iron and 1/9 zinc. (End game separations get complicated.)
: The Thermal Centrifuge is an extremely energy-intensive machine, and produces Centrifuged Ore from Purified Crushed Ore. However, Universal Maceration of Centrifuged Ore is the only way to obtain an ore's 3rd Byproduct. Additionally, certain basic Centrifuged Ores can be smelted into 10 metal Nuggets in stead of 1 metal Ingot.
: The Sifting Machine is a special-purpose machine used to potentially obtain Gems instead of gem dusts from purified crushed ores. Overall, the Sifting Machine produces about the same amount of gems+dusts as straight processing to dusts would, but if you need gems then this is the easy way to get some. Additionally, the Sifting Machine is GregTech's best way of obtaining Quartz, Lapis, and Coal. (In GregTech 5 Unofficial, the Sifter's output is increased for many gems, including Diamond, Sapphire, Ruby, and other materials that are normally thought of as gemstones. The Sifter's yield for these is up to 130%, with 80% being normal gems or better, and 50% being dusts and flawed/chipped gems. This makes the Sifter optimal for almost every ore it can process.)
: Another alternative to the Thermal Centrifuge/Sifter, the Electromagnetic Separator can only be used on Purified Crushed Ores that have Iron, Gold, or Neodymium as byproducts. It is energy intensive, but it is a good way of getting those specific metals.
: The Electrolyzer is the end of the line for most compounds, as it is used to separate compounds into their component elements. However, most Electrolyzer recipes require an Advanced Electrolyzer (MV); an LV one isn't powerful enough.
: A small set of compounds can be directly smelted in the Electric Blast Furnace in stead of being electrolyzed. This is the most energy-intensive process of all, requiring the EBF to be fed High Voltage, but yields more primary outputs than the Electrolyzer. This is most commonly used on Galena (Silver+Lead) and Ilmenite (Titanium+Iron) dusts.
: Few purified crushed ores (just Chalcopyrite and Pentlandite) can be processed in a Chemical Reactor with 8000mb of Nitric Acid to yield a tiny pile of Platinum Group Sludge and 9000mb of Vitriol. The Sludge can be centrifuged into rare metals including Osmium, Platinum and Palladium, and the Vitriol can be Electrolyzed into the ore's base metal (Copper or Nickel) plus 8000mb of Sulfuric Acid. This is the most complicated process of all, since it involves at least eight different machines, including macerating, washing, the manufacture of Nitric Acid, and the Vitriol reprocessing.
Category:GregTech 5Category:Mod guides