# Earth — raw materials, mineral extraction and local processing Earth is a proposed modular materials workshop that begins with the ground: soil, clay, sand, gravel and rock. It connects sampling and mineral identification to preparation, separation, extraction and useful products. The aim is a local materials supply for construction, ceramics, glass, pigments and eventually metals and more specialized materials. Scrap and tailings are additional inputs. ## Design direction On 2026-10-28 the operator clarified that Earth must center on raw materials from the earth and processing dirt for useful things, including mineral extraction in the Open Source Ecology direction. This supersedes the first preview's emphasis on recycling and a copper recovery cell. Earth is a construction set of process modules, rather than one machine that turns arbitrary dirt into pure elements. Develop a useful materials route from a characterized local source, record its outputs, then extend the set. The site and diagrams are design proposals; there is no integrated built or rated plant. ## From the ground to a useful material 1. **Sample and identify.** Record the source, representative sample, moisture, grain sizes and mineral composition. The mineral content of an individual deposit determines its prospects. Keep dry and wet masses distinct. 2. **Liberate and prepare.** Screen soil, break clay lumps, wash sand or crush and mill rock as the route requires. Choose particle size to expose the wanted grains while controlling fines, dust, water and energy. 3. **Separate and concentrate.** Classify by size and test gravity or magnetic separation where those properties distinguish the wanted minerals. Collect and weigh every fraction. A clay-sized fraction describes size; mineralogy still matters. Magnetite and hematite have different magnetic responses. 4. **Process or extract.** Prepare earth mixes, ceramic bodies, glass batches, mineral fillers or an ore-specific extraction feed. Chemical extraction, reduction, refining, calcination and firing each need their own flowsheet, equipment and mass/energy balance. Concentration alone does not make metal. 5. **Qualify and use.** Record composition, particle size and contaminants, account for products and residues, and define a downstream use. Track a batch through forming, Fire's thermal equipment or Electrodeposition's processes. The proposed front end has sampling tools, a serviceable preparation module, interchangeable screens, a wash/classification circuit and separate collection bins. Gravity and magnetic separators extend that front end. Process-specific extraction modules follow after the mineral and desired product are selected. The public illustration represents these functions, not fabrication drawings. ## Material routes and things worth making | Raw input | Preparation and separation | Useful directions | | --- | --- | --- | | Subsoil and clay-rich earth | Sample mineralogy and size distribution; screen, disaggregate and classify; formulate the selected mix | Compressed earth blocks, clay bodies and ceramic feedstock; qualified firing through Fire | | Silica-rich sand and quartz rock | Identify minerals; wash and size; test separation of unwanted minerals | Sized silica, abrasives, mineral fillers and a characterized glass-batch input; selected quartz for instrument research | | Iron-bearing rock and mineral sand | Identify iron minerals; liberate grains; test magnetic/gravity concentration | Iron-mineral concentrates, oxide pigments or magnetic mineral fillers; ore-specific reduction as a later metal-extraction route | | Limestone and carbonate-rich rock | Identify carbonate phases and impurities; crush and classify | Aggregate, calcium-carbonate fillers and feedstock for lime/mineral-binder development; thermal and reaction stages coordinated with Fire | | Copper-bearing ore | Determine oxide/sulfide mineralogy; liberate and concentrate by a suitable route | Characterized copper-mineral concentrate, then a selected extraction/refining process; metal feedstock after qualification | | Scrap and previously processed residues | Identify composition and process history; preserve useful parts and segregate compatible lots | Reusable stock or additional feed to a compatible materials route; a secondary input family | Topsoil is not the assumed construction feed. Earth develops characterized subsoil, deposits and mineral lots; feedstock selection includes the intended material use and the impacts of obtaining and processing it. Product properties such as block strength, ceramic shrinkage, glass colour and metal purity require their own specifications and measurements. ## Beyond bulk materials The longer-range program includes **alumina/aluminium from suitable minerals**, **silicon from silica**, and **natural quartz for instruments**. These are distinct research branches with different chemistry, energy and purity demands. The earlier quartz notes motivate useful questions about piezoelectricity and natural versus grown crystals; they establish neither a device-grade crystal supply nor a purification process. Silicon metal and semiconductor-grade silicon are also different products with very different processing requirements. OSE's Aluminum Extractor page is a relevant statement of the local-minerals ambition. Its overview is a research pointer, not a qualified extraction plant or a selected chemistry for Earth. Develop and compare candidate processes from independent evidence before selecting an extraction module. No recipe, throughput, complete-system cost or reagent recycling performance has been established here. ## Mineral-concentration planning tool The public planner illustrates **physical concentration of magnetite-bearing sand on a dry-mass basis**. Inputs are an assumed feed mass, wanted-mineral content, recovery of that mineral to the concentrate, and concentrate grade. This example does not assert that ordinary dirt has the selected composition. For feed mass `F`, feed mineral mass fraction `g`, mineral recovery `r`, and concentrate mineral mass fraction `c`: - Wanted mineral in feed: `F × g`. - Wanted mineral reporting to concentrate: `F × g × r`. - Total concentrate mass, including other material: `C = F × g × r / c`. - Remaining separated material: `T = F − C`. - Wanted mineral remaining outside the concentrate: `F × g × (1 − r)`. Use `0 < g ≤ c ≤ 1` and `0 ≤ r ≤ 1`. Requiring concentrate grade at least feed grade keeps this an enrichment scenario with nonnegative remaining mass. At 100 kg dry feed, 10% magnetite, 80% mineral recovery and 40% concentrate grade, the result is **20 kg concentrate containing 8 kg magnetite**, plus **80 kg remaining material containing 2 kg magnetite**. Other minerals account for the rest. Magnetite mass is not iron-metal yield. Controls cover 25–1,000 kg feed, 1–50% feed mineral content, 10–100% mineral recovery and concentrate grade from feed grade to 95%. These are scenario inputs, not equipment ratings or measured separator performance. No water, reagent or reaction products are included. Chemical extraction and thermal processing need separate balances. The JSON download keeps the explorer route and this fixed illustrative concentration scenario explicitly separate. ## Open Source Ecology precedents - [GVCS](https://www.opensourceecology.org/gvcs/): a construction set linking raw resources, repairable machinery and local production. - [Soil Pulverizer / Rototiller](https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Soil_Pulverizer): soil preparation linked to compressed earth block production. The current page redirects to Rototiller and describes historical field use. - [CEB Press](https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Compressed_Earth_Block_Press): a documented machine family and building examples. Its historical prices and production claims are not Earth quotes or ratings. - [Rock Crusher / Crusher](https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Rock_Crusher): a size-reduction overview. Much of its development table is a template; it is not a complete qualified crusher design to adopt directly. - [Aluminum Extractor](https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Aluminum_Extractor): the local-minerals-to-metal goal, with substantial process research remaining. [USGS silicon information](https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/silicon-statistics-and-information) provides a separate material reference: quartz/quartzite feed silicon metal and ferroalloy production, with further processing for high-purity silicon. These are independent precedents, reviewed 2026-10-28. Public copy is original synthesis with source links. Earth is an independent Redgold proposal. ## Development sequence and component scope Start with a characterized soil/sand lot, physical fractionation and a complete dry-mass record. Develop the clay/earth-material and silica pathways alongside an iron-mineral concentration reference. Choose product specifications before claiming a useful yield. Add ore-specific extraction only with a selected source and independently supported process. Publish measured batches, CAD, BOM and maintenance instructions as those artifacts become available. The initial module list covers sampling/analysis, preparation, screens/washing, gravity/magnetic separation, extraction development, dust/water/residue handling, and forming/thermal handoffs. Prices remain unquoted; no total is established.