Contents

In Core Keeper, having a drill allows you to mine big boulders of ore automatically. Hit it with a pickaxe all you want—you’ll be told you need a drill to mine them.

#1: Defeat the first three bosses and unlock Azeos' Wilderness biome

Before you can begin crafting a drill, you must first beat the first three bosses: Glurch the Abominous Mass, Ghorm the Devourer, and the Hive Mother.

These bosses drop items that can be used to activate The Core at the center of the map, which allows you to access the Azeos' Wilderness biome.

#2: Mine scarlet ore (exclusive to Azeos' Wilderness) and iron ore

This new biome unlocks a new resource: scarlet ore, which can be made into scarlet bars using smelting kin. Iron ore, on the other hand, can be mined in The Forgotten Ruins biome. Mine as much of both as you can to prepare for building—at the minimum, though, you’ll need 10 iron bars and 10 scarlet bars.

#3: Prepare the necessary workbenches

  • Scarlet workbench: 10x tin bars; 15x iron bars; 25x scarlet bars
  • Electronics table: 8x wood; 8x copper bars; 8x iron bars
  • Automation table: 5x mechanical parts; 8x iron bars; 8x scarlet bars

‍#4: Craft your drill

Build these items:

  • Drill: 10x iron bars; 10x scarlet bars
  • Electricity generator: 10x copper bars; 5x iron bars; 1x gold bar
  • Electrical wire: 1x copper bar
  • Robot arm: 5x iron bars; 5x scarlet bars
  • Conveyor belt: 1x iron bar; 1x scarlet bar

#5: Set up your drill

  • Position the drill directly onto your chosen boulder. Highlight it with your cursor and press E. This will rotate the drill.
  • Keep the electricity generator in a nearby area. Place the electrical wire between the generator and the drill to power up your drill.
  • To ensure the wire is connected, check for yellow lines in the wire tiles.
  • You can now collect ore via your drill. To automate the process, place the conveyor belts near the back of your drill, ensuring that there is a wall behind it so the ore doesn’t fall off. 
  • Place the robot arm by the conveyor belt, then place the chest across the robot arm.

Once this is set up, the drill should work automatically. The boulder will run out of ore eventually, but you can easily pack up your equipment and set it up on another boulder.