Autonomous Mining Unit

The subject of this article is from the Echoes update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 13 February, 2024.

Autonomous Mining Unit

Category	Base Building
Type	Portable mining device
Total Value	1.0
Updated	Echoes

This article is about the technology version of the abbreviation AMU. For the planet Amu in the star system Amy, see Amu.

Autonomous Mining Unit is a base building product.

Summary[ | ]

Autonomous Mining Unit is a base building product used to increase the efficiency of mining resources. It can extract the planet's Resource Deposits without the need for constant supervision and without depleting them.

Game description[ | ]

NmsTech AMU EmptyFull — Empty and Full AMU

An automated harvester for the mining of resources. Once activated, the AMU extracts minerals without the need for supervision, providing a regular yield until the site is exhausted.

Build[ | ]

Autonomous Mining Unit can be built using the following ingredients:

Uranium ×100 + Metal Plating ×2 + Ion Battery ×1 → Autonomous Mining Unit

Autonomous Mining Unit returns resources when dismantled, but only if the player has enough inventory space.

Fuel sources[ | ]

The Autonomous Mining Unit has a Fuel Inverter, which requires 100 Carbon or 34 Condensed Carbon to be fully charged.

Additional Information[ | ]

Once installed, a red light will flash on the top of the device while it is working. It will slowly grow in size as the resource is harvested. Once full, the light will turn green.
When installing an AMU, be sure to place a Save Beacon nearby, or it will be hard to locate later.
A fully charged device will harvest a maximum of 250 units over a time period of roughly 60 minutes.
The device can not be picked up but it can be deleted for a full refund like any other base item when in construction range of a base.
Workarounds for the bug that causes the AMU to collect the wrong resource:
- Delete and rebuild it. This is free and always possible, otherwise only if it is built within the boundary of a base you own, but not possible otherwise. Note: Any content and fuel left in the device when deleted is lost if not collected before.
- When collecting the resource from the AMU leave behind 10 of whatever the item is and it should not change what it collects.
Only 5 AMUs can be placed in any local area.

Bugs[ | ]

Similar to refiners and harvesters (i.e. Oxygen Harvester, Atmosphere Harvester, Portable Refiner, Medium Refiner, and Large Refiner), the energy and output of Autonomous mining units will randomly vanish if left alone for long enough, reloading a game or leaving too far away. The bug is long-standing since the introduction of the AMU and continues to exist as of Waypoint era. For more reliable resource collection, utilize a network of Mineral Extractors and Supply Depots.

It would appear as if an intermittent internet connection is a cause for a lot of problems experienced with this thing. Simply leaving the zone also exhibits issues, as do many other devices for the aforementioned reasons.

Release history[ | ]

Foundation - Added as a base building product.
Atlas Rises - Blueprint changed, formerly used Voltaic Cell, Insulating Gel, and Copper wire.
NEXT - Blueprint changed, formerly used Voltaic cell, Heat Capacitor, and Lubricant.
NEXT 1.63 - Fixed an issue that caused the AMU to mine an incorrect resource from Resource Deposits. Wiki note: This bug is still not fixed entirely.
Origins 3.0 - Blueprint changed, formerly used Advanced Ion Battery, which is now obsolete. Replaced with Ion Battery. Range no longer needs to be within base range.