Tips for finding copper in No Man’s Sky

While copper might not be the rarest element in No Man’s Sky, it’s hard to find when you need it. Unfortunately, it’s not present on every planet, and when you find yourself faced with a need to refine some Chromatic Metal to help a stranded lifeform, you’ll want to pick the base element up as fast as possible. This article offers some tips on finding copper to help you on your way as fast as possible.

Use the Discovery menu

The Discoveries menu should be your first port of call when trying to find copper. It’ll immediately focus on the planet you’re standing on and inform you about the elements present on it. This includes copper, so you’ll need to look elsewhere if you don’t see it in the list.

Stick with the Discovery menu and zoom out to look at the other planets in the current system. As long as you’ve scanned or discovered all of them, you’ll be able to check what elements are present on each quickly. Copper is common enough that it should be present on at least one world in any given system. If you’re really unlucky, though, you might have to warp to a new system and find a planet there that has some.

Scan for resource deposits

Once you know that copper is present on a planet, you need to head there and scan for a good deposit. You can do this by scanning in either your ship or on the ground, but using your scanning visor is the best method. You’ll be able to see the resource deposit symbols all around you. Not all of these will be copper, but if you keep searching long enough, you’ll eventually come across one.

Look for floating islands

Copper is more commonly present in the floating boulders you see on certain planets. If you’re in desperate need of some, landing on these floating objects and scanning for copper is the best way to track down a decent deposit and get back to your objective quickly. The only issue with this is that not all planets and moons have floating boulders or islands. If you see some, then you’ve struck copper, but if not, you’ll just have to resort to scanning around until you find some.

Rock towers

Copper is also commonly found in towers of rock on planets and moons. If you see a shape in the distance that rises like a mountain, there’s a good chance that you’ll come across some copper nearby. While it’s not guaranteed, you do have a better chance of finding copper if you land near these landmarks at the start of your search.

Asteroids

You can’t guarantee what you’ll pick up when floating around in space mining for resources. However, copper is present in the asteroids you’ll come across. Keep an eye out for asteroids if you’re in a rush for copper because it could save you a lot of time. Just don’t put too much faith in being able to pick some up from every asteroid field you stumble across.