Field reports

Reading a rock in eight seconds: a field guide to the Spectra Assay Lance

The Chief Assayer explains how to get laboratory-quality grades out of a handheld LIBS spectrometer, and the five mistakes that ruin most field readings.

Sixty-four eyes: first field trial of the Swarm Prospecting Beacons

The Toolworks Director reports on the first real-world trial of the Swarm Prospecting Beacons: a pack of 64 small sensors that cover 300 kilometres without anyone walking the ground.

Forty metres down at Cinder Tor: the first iridium cores

The Corehound crew on Vesta pulled the first continuous core through the Cinder Tor lode. Iridium ran at 14.2 g/t across a 270-metre interval, and the drill never missed a shift.

New on the claims register: Cinder Tor Iridium Lode

The Guild has published the record for Cinder Tor Iridium Lode, a deposit located at Rheasilvia basin, Vesta, 40-310 m below surface. Its current status is: Registered claim FV-0412 (Guild-held).

Why the Toolworks built the Claimstake Survey Marker

Members kept asking for a Claim boundary transponder that was tougher, lighter and easier to fix in the field. The Claimstake Survey Marker, in use since February 2166, is the Toolworks answer.

Dark terrain, bright numbers: Galileo Regio before auction

Galileo Regio goes to auction as lot 12. The seismic lead who surveyed it explains what bidders are actually buying, grade by grade.

What we know about Ceres Core Library

Ceres Core Library is a survey dataset at Guild core repository, Ceres, 48 km of core. Its status today: CC-BY-NC-4.0.

Magnetometry without the mystery: flying a Pickaxe grid

A practical guide to planning an aerial magnetic survey of an asteroid with the Pickaxe Survey Drone, from line spacing to reading the anomaly map.

Ceres Claims Auction, third quarter: what sold and why

Twenty-two lots, nineteen sales and a record bid for a platinum rubble pile. The auction director explains the quarter's results and what they say about metal prices.

Pinning a rubble pile: how we anchored Hollow Sister

Hollow Sister is a spinning sack of gravel with platinum in it. Here is how a rigging crew, a Basilisk Salvage Tug and twelve Tether Anchor Kits slowed it down enough to sample.

Coring into the Conamara brine

Eight hundred metres into Europa's ice, the Cryo Ice-Core Sampler hit salty brine rich in lithium and rubidium. A cryo-sampling specialist describes the season.

A year of Ironmonger yields at the Ferric Twins

Twelve months after the first Ironmonger Field Refinery arrived at the Ferric Twins, the superintendent shares recoveries, outages and what she would change.

Why prospectors should attend Ironmonger Field Refinery Commissioning on the Ferric Twins

If you work claims, survey rocks or buy concentrate, Ironmonger Field Refinery Commissioning on the Ferric Twins on 7 January 2027 is worth the trip. This launch at Refinery Deck, Ferric Twins (larger body), Asteroid…

New on the claims register: Vesta Gravity Model v3

The Guild has published the record for Vesta Gravity Model v3, a survey dataset located at Vesta full globe, crust to 12 km. Its current status is: CC-BY-4.0.

Chasing helium-3 from Valhalla to the Jovian cloud tops

Helium-3 hides in two places near Jupiter: frozen in Callisto cold traps and drifting in the giant planet's atmosphere. One prospector compares both hunting grounds.

Moving a refinery with a Leviathan Ore Hauler

A charter captain explains how the Guild moves a 48-metre field refinery and a drill rig between Vesta and the outer Belt, and why the Leviathan is the only hull for the job.

What the Vesta Gravity Model v3 can and cannot tell you

Version three of our open Vesta gravity model is out. A data scientist explains what the 250-metre grid reveals, where it is uncertain, and how it led to Cinder Tor.

Now in the kit list: the Sieve Ore-Sorting Rig

The Rheasilvia Toolworks has released the Sieve Ore-Sorting Rig to Guild crews. It is a Sensor-based ore sorter that has been in service since August 2180, and field teams have been putting it through its paces ever…

Equipment spotlight: Ironmonger Field Refinery

The Ironmonger Field Refinery is a Mobile field refinery designed and built by the Ferrovane Prospecting Guild. It has been helping crews find iridium, platinum-group metals and rare earths since May 2184.

AssayKit LIBS Toolkit is now open to members

We are opening access to AssayKit LIBS Toolkit, a open tool covering Spectra Assay Lance firmware and desktop. Terms: Apache-2.0.

Six weeks in a Valkyrie over the Kerwan basin

A Valkyrie Survey Corvette pilot describes flying low orbital gravimetry passes over Ceres with a Gravwell array in tow, and launching drones when the gravity found something interesting.

Field release: Valhalla Helium-3 Cold Traps

Survey crews have finished their work on Valhalla Helium-3 Cold Traps, a deposit at Valhalla basin, Callisto, regolith cold traps 0-12 m. The record is published under these terms: Open for staking.

What we know about Belt Aeromagnetic Grid 2186

Belt Aeromagnetic Grid 2186 is a survey dataset at Inner and middle Belt, 2.1-2.8 AU, 1,840 bodies. Its status today: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Ninety days on the Stickney rim

Two Lodeseeker rovers, three crew each and a Wren Microlifter on call: the traverse that mapped the Stickney Rim Neodymium Field for the Phobos Regolith Syndicate.