How to Refine Chromatic Metal in No Man's Sky

Put Copper in the input slot of a Portable Refiner and add fuel. Start the machine and collect the Chromatic Metal from its output slot. The basic recipe uses two Copper for one Chromatic Metal, so mine twice the amount your recipe asks for. If you are following the early story, check the active objective for the exact quantity you need.

1. Find a Copper deposit

Use your Analysis Visor on a planet that lists Copper among its resources. Look for the Copper deposit marker and pin it if you need to travel farther. A marked deposit is what you want for the Terrain Manipulator. Ordinary rocks around it may give other materials, so check the label before you spend time mining.

Install or repair the Terrain Manipulator if it is not ready. Switch to it when you reach the deposit and mine the Copper. Keep some room in your inventory so you can bring it back to the refiner. If the deposit is smaller than you expected, check the amount you collected before leaving. You can scan for another deposit if you need more.

2. Put the Portable Refiner to work

1. Place your Portable Refiner on a suitable patch of ground.
2. Open the machine and put fuel in its fuel slot.
3. Add Copper to the material input.
4. Check that the preview shows Chromatic Metal, then start the batch.
5. Wait for the amount you need, collect it from the output slot, and pick up the refiner when you finish.

The output preview helps catch a wrong input before you spend time refining. If the machine will not start, check fuel first, then check the material and whether the output slot has room. Collect the output before moving on to another objective. Refining does not add the finished stack to your inventory until you take it.

3. Calculate how much Copper to bring

The Portable Refiner's basic Copper recipe produces one Chromatic Metal per two Copper. If you need 40 Chromatic Metal, plan to mine at least 80 Copper. Make a little extra if you know another recipe needs it soon. If you already have some Chromatic Metal in storage, subtract that amount before calculating how much to mine.

If you put in a larger stack than you need, watch the output counter and stop once you have enough. Collect the finished metal and any input you want to keep. This can be useful if you also need raw Copper for another purpose. Check the mission objective again before returning to the deposit so you do not repeat the trip for a quantity you already have.

4. Use other stellar metals when available

Copper is a practical starting material. Other stellar metals, such as Emeril and Indium, also refine into Chromatic Metal and can give different yields. If you already have one, place a small amount in the input slot and read the preview. Use the material that gives you the amount you want without using stock you are saving for another project.

A Medium Refiner supports recipes with more than one input. For example, Copper and Pure Ferrite can be combined to get more output per unit of Copper than the single-input Copper recipe. Use that option if you already have the machine and the extra ingredient. For a small early batch, the Portable Refiner keeps the setup simple.

5. Fix the usual early-game problems

If you see no Copper deposits, check the planet's resource listing and use the visor again from another position. If you are at a deposit but cannot extract it, check that the Multi-Tool is using the Terrain Manipulator rather than the normal Mining Beam. If the refiner does not show Chromatic Metal, remove the input and check the name of the material before trying again.

Once you have the output, open the crafting recipe or mission log and verify the amount. Keep any surplus in a stack you can find easily, especially if you plan to build more technology. On later trips, use the same sequence of deposit, input preview, and output check to avoid coming back with the wrong material.

If you carry the refiner between planets, empty its input and output before picking it up. That also gives you one last chance to check which materials you have before leaving the deposit behind.