Digging For Gold

[OzzyKP]

When you build a mine on a hill there is a chance that you will discover some resource there (copper, iron, gold, silver, etc).

In my last game I built a mine over a hill and no resource came up. Then the AI (before taking my capitol, those bastards) pillaged the square. After reestablishing control I remined the hill, and to my surprize my clever workers turned up a gold deposit.

So it looks like the chance of finding a resource in a hill is randomly generated each time that hill is mined, and isn't a set value. So it seems you can mine, pilliage and mine a hill again and again till you find something.

[vmxa1]

Yes, but that is a lot of bother and seem like an exploit.

[Handel]

Of course not. It is quite logical if you are digging and digging to find out something...

[asleepathewheel]

Weird.

[Nacht]

It's still a lot of bother.

[Dog of Justice]

You can also discover a resource from a mine long after you originally constructed the mine, though I don't know what the relative chance of this is.

[Solver]

Actually, there's the chance of a resource being discovered after you build a mine, randomly. The chance is, every turn, one in ten thousand to discover a given resource. As there are 8 resources that can be discovered in total, with all the techs available, it would be a one in 1250 chance of discovering any of the 8 resources, per turn, with all techs.

[OzzyKP]

Interesting. Is that rate any different upon immediately building the mine or doesn't it matter?

[Soren Johnson]

there is a test every turn you work the tile...

[BgT]

Originally posted by Solver
Actually, there's the chance of a resource being discovered after you build a mine, randomly. The chance is, every turn, one in ten thousand to discover a given resource. As there are 8 resources that can be discovered in total, with all the techs available, it would be a one in 1250 chance of discovering any of the 8 resources, per turn, with all techs.

Is the probability higher in the turn you build the mine?

[=DrJambo=]

Wow, that seems like an extremely low probability!

[kimmygibler]

Yeah it has nothing to do with building the mine. It is when your city works the mine that they might find gold.

[Mylon]

That probability isn't very low at all. At 1/1250 chance of success, if you work a mine for 100 turns, there's a 7.69% chance of finding something. Do this for 20 tiles, and you have a 79.8% chance of finding a resounce in that time frame.

[rthanu]

So the moral of the story is to mine every hill even not in city radius? Thanks for this(didn't know about the per turn check)

[Celerity]

... no, the mine has to be worked, meaning a city has a citizen working the mine and using it for production.