Planet Crafter Iridium: Locations, Iridium Rod and Total Requirement
- ๐ Where to Find Planet Crafter Iridium
- โ๏ธ Ore Extractor: The Chicken-and-Egg Problem
- โ๏ธ Iridium Rod: Recipe and Station
- ๐ฆ Every Recipe with Planet Crafter Iridium
- ๐ The Total: 20 Rods Plus Rockets
- ๐ฅ Which Heater Gets the Most out of Each Unit of Ore
- ๐ก Practical Tips
- โ FAQ about Planet Crafter Iridium
You'll only find Planet Crafter iridium on three worlds: as ground spawns on Prime, Humble and Toxicity, and on Humble also through Uraninite in the Ore Crusher. The planetcrafter.th.gl database lists not a single spawn point on Selenea, Aqualis and Skeo. Nine units make one Iridium Rod, and that rod goes into Heaters, Ore Extractors and every Rocket Engine.
This guide shows the locations and all confirmed recipes, and works out how much ore a run really eats. On top of that comes our own calculation: which Heater tier gets the most heat out of each unit.
๐ Where to Find Planet Crafter Iridium
The community-run database planetcrafter.th.gl reads the spawn points from the game files. Its item page lists 770 locations, while the guide page of the same database counts 956 entries across five maps: Prime, Humble, Toxicity and the underground maps of Prime and Humble. The site doesn't explain the difference.
| World | Spawn points in the database | How to keep supplied |
|---|---|---|
| Prime | yes, also underground | caves and ground spawns |
| Humble | yes, also underground | ground spawns, Uraninite into the Ore Crusher |
| Toxicity | yes | ground spawns |
| Selenea | no | bring it with you |
| Aqualis | no | bring it with you |
| Skeo | no | bring it with you |
"No" means no fixed spawn point in the database. That doesn't rule out single pieces in crates or wrecks, but you can't plan around them. How the worlds connect is explained in the overview of the planets in The Planet Crafter.
Prime: The Caves
Since Early Access, English community guides have named three caves on Prime: the Falling Sand Caves, a large cave with sand trickling down, the ice cave in Spike Canyon, where the ore sits on the outside of the ice wall, and a smaller cave in the Grand Rift. This is community knowledge, partly from 2022. Check it on the interactive map at planetcrafter.th.gl before you build.
For an outpost with a habitat and a Beacon at the cave, the same applies as with Aluminum: a one-room outpost saves you a lot of flights. What that looks like is in the guide to the best base locations.
Humble: The Uraninite Detour
On Humble, Uraninite is a second source. The in-game description reads "Insert this in an ore breaker to extract rare ores", and the database lists Super Alloy, Iridium, Uranium, Iron and Dolomite as its contents, without amounts. Where the Uraninite veins are and which Ore Crusher tier you need is in our Planet Crafter uranium guide.
โ๏ธ Ore Extractor: The Chicken-and-Egg Problem
The first Ore Extractor costs a rod itself. Its recipe according to the database: 2ร Osmium, 1ร Iridium Rod, 1ร Super Alloy, 1ร Aluminum and 1ร Titanium, unlocked at 155 ยตPa pressure. So you have to collect the first nine units by hand before anything runs automatically.
| Machine | Rods | Other ingredients | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ore Extractor | 1 | 2ร Osmium, 1ร Super Alloy, 1ร Aluminum, 1ร Titanium | 155 ยตPa pressure |
| T2 Ore Extractor | 2 | 3ร Osmium, 1ร Super Alloy Rod | 364.5 mPa pressure |
| T3 Ore Extractor | 1 | 1ร Osmium Rod, 1ร Super Alloy Rod, 3ร Titanium | 11.11 Pa pressure |
The database lists fixed iridium veins on Prime and Toxicity. According to the database, Iridium is one of the ores the first Ore Extractor already mines when it sits on a matching vein. The T2 and T3 deliver it as well. Without a vein, you depend on caves, ground spawns and, on Humble, the Ore Crusher. The Osmium for all three tiers is covered in our Osmium guide.
โ๏ธ Iridium Rod: Recipe and Station
The rod is a pure compression product: 9 units of ore make one rod. The in-game description reads "Extremely condensed Iridium", and the trade value is 10. According to the database, it's made at the Advanced Craft Station.
A note on the station: according to the database, the Uranium, Osmium and Super Alloy Rods and the Rocket Engine are made at the same Advanced Craft Station, not at the Quartz craft station. More on that in the Uranium Rod guide.
๐ฆ Every Recipe with Planet Crafter Iridium
The ore is used in two ways: directly as an ingredient and through the rod. According to the database, it goes directly into these recipes:
| Product | Recipe according to the database | Note |
|---|---|---|
| T1 Heater | Iridium, Iron, Silicon (1 each) | first Heater in the game |
| T2 Heater | 2ร Iridium, 1ร each of Silicon, Titanium, Iron, Aluminum | from 1.85 ppt oxygen |
| Explosive powder | 2ร Sulfur, 1ร Iridium | at the Biolab, used in 20 recipes |
| Pulsar Quartz | 1ร each of Osmium, Zeolite, Iridium, Uranium, Methane cartridge | from 175 GTi |
| Vehicle โ T1 Equipment increase | amount not confirmed | vehicle upgrade |
Explosive powder is the hidden consumer. It goes into the T4 and T5 Heater, the T3 to T5 Jetpack, the T2 Nuclear Reactor, both Machine Optimizers and the Large Explosion Device, among others. Every powder costs one unit of ore.
Where the Iridium Rod Goes
| Target | Rods | Unlock according to the database |
|---|---|---|
| Ore Extractor | 1 | 155 ยตPa pressure |
| T2 Ore Extractor | 2 | 364.5 mPa pressure |
| T3 Ore Extractor | 1 | 11.11 Pa pressure |
| T3 Heater | 1 | 80 ppt oxygen |
| T4 Heater | 2 | 63 ppb oxygen |
| T5 Heater | 3 | 8.3 G biomass |
| Gas Extractor | 1 | 100 mPa pressure |
| T2 Gas Extractor | 1 | 15.5 G plants |
| Vehicle station | 1 | 6.5 MTi |
| T4 Jetpack | 1 | 1 G animals |
| T2 Asteroid attraction rocket | 2 | "Breathable" stage, unlocked through Selenea |
| Extraction platform | 1 | final stage ("Complete") |
| Large Explosion Device | 3 | not listed |
| Rocket Engine | 1 | not listed |
The Rocket Engine is where the demand adds up. It costs 1 rod, 2 Uranium and 1 Super Alloy, and according to the database it goes into 24 recipes, including rockets from the insect rocket to the trade rocket, GPS satellites, drones and the Rover. So each of those rockets costs you at least nine units of ore.
๐ The Total: 20 Rods Plus Rockets
If you build exactly one of every building and item in the table, not counting the Rocket Engine, you end up at 20 rods, so 180 units of ore. Explosive powder and rockets come on top of that.
| Block | Rods | Ore |
|---|---|---|
| Mining: three Ore Extractors, two Gas Extractors | 6 | 54 |
| T3 to T5 Heaters | 6 | 54 |
| Equipment and vehicle: T4 Jetpack, Vehicle station | 2 | 18 |
| Rockets and departure: T2 asteroid rocket, platform, explosion device | 6 | 54 |
| Total without Rocket Engines | 20 | 180 |
With five rockets for terraforming and trade, you're quickly at 225 units. That's more than for uranium, where our Uranium Rod guide arrives at a minimum of 117 units. Every extra T5 Heater adds another 30 units.
๐ฅ Which Heater Gets the Most out of Each Unit of Ore
Heaters are the second big consumer. If you convert rods and Explosive powder into ore, the database values give this picture:
| Heater | Ore total | Heat per second (raw value) | Heat per unit of ore |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | 1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| T2 | 2 | 4.5 | 2.25 |
| T3 | 9 | 28.5 | 3.2 |
| T4 | 19 (2 rods plus 1 powder) | 538 | 28.3 |
| T5 | 30 (3 rods plus 3 powder) | 4,530 | 151 |
The heat values are the database's raw values in picokelvin per second. The game converts them into larger units. Only the ratio matters for the comparison. Super Alloy and the other ingredients aren't included.
The jump from T3 to T4 is the one that counts. A T4 Heater gets almost nine times as much heat out of each unit as a T3. In practice: building several T3 Heaters as a long-term solution wastes scarce ore. Place one or two as a bridge and save the rest for the T4 at 63 ppb oxygen.
๐ก Practical Tips
- Press rods before every flight: Selenea, Aqualis and Skeo have no listed supply. One rod bundles nine units into one slot. What survives the flight is in the Skeo inventory guide.
- Don't sell: a trade value of 10 for nine units of ore is little while rockets and Heaters are still missing.
- Think about Sulfur: every Explosive powder needs two Sulfur and one unit of ore. A small stock of powder saves trips once the T4 Heater and Jetpacks are due.
- Plan Super Alloy right away: the Ore Extractor, Gas Extractor and Rocket Engine need it too. How to make it is in the Super Alloy guide.
โ FAQ about Planet Crafter Iridium
Where do I find iridium in The Planet Crafter?
As ground spawns on Prime, Humble and Toxicity, on Prime mainly in caves. On Humble it also comes from Uraninite in the Ore Crusher. According to the database, Selenea, Aqualis and Skeo have no spawn points.
How much ore does one rod take?
Nine units. According to the database, it's made at the Advanced Craft Station.
Why can't I build an Ore Extractor?
Because it needs a rod itself, plus Osmium, Super Alloy, Aluminum and Titanium. You have to collect the first nine units by hand.
Is there Planet Crafter iridium on Skeo?
The database lists none on the moon. Bring finished rods with you.
Is the T3 Heater worth it?
Only as a bridge. It delivers 3.2 heat per unit of ore, the T4 Heater a good 28. Save the ore for the T4 and T5.
What needs the most?
Rockets and Heaters. Every Rocket Engine costs one rod, and the T5 Heater alone takes three rods plus three Explosive powder.
Checked against The Planet Crafter version 2.103 "Skeo Moon Patch #1" as of October 2026, according to Miju Games' patch notes on Steam. Recipes, client names, unlock values, heat values, extractor tiers and spawn counts checked against the community database planetcrafter.th.gl (which reads the game files). There is no official wiki for the game.
Community information and not officially confirmed: the cave names on Prime (English fan guides, partly from 2022). Not confirmed: the unlock of the T1 Heater and the amount in the Vehicle โ T1 Equipment increase. The heat-per-ore table is our own calculation based on the database values.
