Mineral production controls the rate at which your bases improve, as well as your ability to produce military, transport and terraforming units. Existing units may also require a certain amount of mineral raw materials for support.
The rockier a square, the more minerals it produces. There are three levels of rockiness:
- Flat
- Rolling
- Rocky
Without any modifiers (such as special resources, enhancements, xenofungus, monoliths and others), a flat square produces no minerals, while a rolling or rocky square produces 1 mineral per turn.
Bases cannot be established in rocky squares, nor can farms be started there. They are, however, excellent places for mines.
The amount of minerals any given square can produce is limited until the discovery of Ecological Engineering.