The fast lookup. Pick the material you need; find the best source, tool, and rough yield. Every row links into the deep guide for mechanics — this page is the index, not the textbook.
1. Raw mining materials
| Material | Best source | Tool | Yield | Notes | Deep guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | Big trees (every biome) | Chainsaw > Salvaged Axe | ~1,000-1,500 per big tree | Chainsaw triples Salvaged Axe yield | — |
| Stone | Stone nodes (anywhere) | Jackhammer > Salvaged Axe | ~1,000 / node | Mountains and snow have the densest clusters | Quarries |
| Metal Ore | Metal (gray) nodes | Jackhammer > Pickaxe | ~600 / node | Desert and snow biomes are densest | Quarries |
| Sulfur Ore | Sulfur (yellow) nodes | Jackhammer > Pickaxe | ~300 / node | The Excavator (post-buff) is by far the biggest source. Ore Tea boosts node yield. | Sulfur & Gunpowder |
| HQM Ore | HQM (bright/silver) nodes | Jackhammer > Pickaxe | 1-2 per node | Rarest open-world ore. Excavator > Mining Quarry > field nodes. | Quarries |
2. Organic materials
| Material | Best source | Tool | Yield | Notes | Deep guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloth | Hemp plants (dense in fields, plains, jungle) | Hand | ~10 / plant | Recycling Rope/Tarp/Sewing Kits also yields cloth in bulk | Horticulture |
| Leather | Polar bears > bears > boars | Bone Knife (highest yield tool) | 30-60 per bear, ~100+ per polar bear | Cold biomes for polar bears | Hunting |
| Animal Fat | Bears, boars, chickens | Bone Knife | 20-50 per bear | Inputs to Low Grade Fuel | Hunting |
| Bone Fragments | Animal corpses + shoreline bones | Bone Knife | varies | Used for arrows, bone weapons, fertilizer | Hunting |
| Plant Fiber | Picking hemp/plants for clippings | Hand | varies | Composts into fertilizer | Composter |
| Wild food (mushrooms, berries, pumpkin) | Forest floor + crop fields | Hand | varies | Spoils in ~48 real-time hours. Do not stockpile. | Horticulture |
| Fish | Ocean coast, rivers, Fishing Village | Fishing Rod + bait | varies by spot | Tiered rods, bait matters | Fishing |
3. Scrap and components
Fastest scrap routes
| Route | Scrap | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cargo Ship event | ~1,290 / run | Top single-event yield. Spawns every 1-2 hours. |
| Large Oil Rig (full clear + hackable crate) | 800+ / run | Hackable crate alone ~420. Small Oil ~310. |
| Bradley APC (Launch Site / Nuke Silo) | 800-1,000 / kill | Crates + HQM scrap from the wreck. |
| Junkyard crane loop | 800-1,500 / hour | Solo king. Low PvP risk. Crush cars, recycle on-site. |
| Outpost recycler tour | 300-500 / hour | Safest sustained farm. Bring barrels and salvage in from roads. |
| Underwater Labs | 400-600 / 20-min dive | Recyclers there are NOT safezone-nerfed. |
Always pre-drink Scrap Tea (Mixing Table): +50% scrap from all containers, 10 min. Pure Scrap Tea boosts BARRELS only to +350%. See Scrap Farming for the full route playbook.
Per-component lookup
| Component | Best source | Backup / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rope | Buy Tactical Gloves at Outpost → recycle (5 Sewing Kits → 10 Rope per pair, ~4 scrap per rope) | Sunken Crates / Sunken Chests offshore |
| Sewing Kit | Tactical Gloves recycle (5 per pair) | Road / coastal barrels, toolboxes |
| Tarp | Road and coast barrels | Recycle clothing items (gloves, hoodies) |
| Cloth (loot) | Recycle Rope / Tarp / Sewing Kits / Gloves | Bulk recycling beats direct hemp farming for cloth |
| Glue | Barrels and military crates | Used mainly in explosives crafting |
| Bleach | Abandoned Supermarket crates | Food crates broadly |
| Metal Spring | Junk Pile / Junk Truck loot crates | Barrels (low rate) |
| Sheet Metal | Road barrels + military crates | Recycle Road Signs (1 per sign) |
| Metal Pipe | Destructible roadside signs (1 Pipe + 1 Road Sign per sign, guaranteed) | Military and Elite crates |
| Metal Blade | Roadside barrels (very common) | Tier-1 monument barrels |
| Gears | Junkyard car-part piles + crates | Military crates |
| Tech Trash | Recycle Targeting Computers (3 TT each) or CCTV Cameras (2 TT each) | Direct drop from Locked Crate (~45%) |
| CCTV Camera | Elite crates at Launch Site, Mil Tunnels, Oil Rig | Bradley drops bundles |
| Targeting Computer | Bradley + Heli crates, Locked Crate, Elite crates | Best Tech Trash feedstock |
| Rifle Body | Elite / Military crates at Launch, Mil Tunnels, Oil Rig | Locked Crate, Heli, Bradley |
| SMG Body | Treasure boxes (~42%), then Elite crates | CH47 Locked Crate |
| Semi-Auto Body | CH47 Locked Crate + Elite/Military crates | Mil Tunnels scientists |
| Pistol Body | Barrels, military crates, toolboxes (very common) | Recycle low-tier guns |
| Road Signs | Destructible roadside signs (guaranteed 1 per sign) | Recycle = 5-6 scrap + 1 HQM + 5 frags each |
| Empty Propane Tank | Barrels (most common) | Tunnel Dweller drops. Recycle = 50 metal frags. |
| Empty Cans (Beans / Tuna) | Ration Boxes + junk piles | Smelt for metal frags |
| Smoke Grenade | Outpost (5 scrap) or Bandit (10 scrap) vendor | Occasional Locked Crate drop |
The full mechanics — what each item recycles into — live on Recycler Yields.
4. Derived materials & fuels
| Material | Best source | Notes | Deep guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil | Pumpjack placed on an oil node | Larger nodes give more crude. Oil Rig barrels also drop crude. | Pumpjack & Oil |
| Low Grade Fuel | Refinery (3 LGF per crude) OR craft (3 fat + 1 cloth = 4 LGF) | Refinery is more efficient if you have crude flowing | Pumpjack & Oil |
| Charcoal | Furnace from wood (1 charcoal per wood) | Hidden bottleneck for gunpowder; smelt while you craft | Sulfur & Gunpowder |
| Gunpowder | Mixing Table: 30 sulfur + 20 charcoal → 10 GP | Mixing Table is mandatory — standard craft is much slower | Sulfur & Gunpowder |
| Explosives | Crafted: 50 sulfur + 10 GP + 3 LGF + 10 metal frags | Drives the raid economy | Sulfur & Gunpowder |
| Diesel Fuel | Hackable crates at Power Plant, Water Treatment, Airfield (post-Oct 2025: behind their keycard puzzles) | Only fuel that runs the Excavator. 1 per crate. | — |
| Honey + Honeycomb | Beehive (Bee Box) | For Mixing Table teas | Chickens & Bees |
| Salt Water | Right-click ocean with any water container | Open ocean ONLY — lakes/rivers won’t fill | — |
| Fresh Water | Lakes, rivers, Water Catcher | Water Catcher is the passive base supply | — |
5. Keycards & fuses
| Item | Best source | Used at |
|---|---|---|
| Green Keycard | Outpost vendor (~10 scrap) or any puzzle’s green-card room | Every monument that has a puzzle — start of the chain |
| Blue Keycard | Spawns inside the green-card room | Mid-tier monument rooms |
| Red Keycard | Spawns inside the blue-card room | Launch Site, Mil Tunnels, Nuke Missile Silo, Underwater Labs deep rooms |
| Electric Fuse | Barrels + crates at monuments | Activates puzzle power; required to spawn keycards |
Card and puzzle solutions per monument: Monuments Guide.
6. Recycler bonus map
| Location | Output | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Outpost / Bandit Camp / Fishing Villages | 80% (safezone) | Slow 8-sec cycle. Zero PvP risk. Best for bulk junk runs. |
| Standard monument recyclers | 120% | Launch, Power Plant, Water Treatment, Train Yard, harbors, Mil Tunnels |
| Airfield, Abandoned Supermarket, Arctic Research Base | ~140% (premium bonus) | Best risk-adjusted scrap-per-minute |
| Underwater Labs | Full-rate, NOT safezone-nerfed | Solo king for component runs. Tea-buffable. |
| Junkyard recycler | Standard monument rate | Pairs with the crane loop |
7. Three starter routes
Solo road circuit (~1 hour, 300-500 scrap). Run the road that loops through Outpost or Bandit. Smash every barrel and roadside sign on the way (signs give a Metal Pipe + a Road Sign each). End at the Outpost recyclers, dump the pile, repeat.
Coastal hunting loop. Shoreline boars and bears for leather + animal fat + bone fragments. Detour through a Fishing Village to recycle cloth/clothing and refill on bait. Builds armor and Low Grade Fuel without touching a monument.
Jungle river run (post-May 2025 Jungle update). The new jungle biome lines its rivers with pumpkin, corn and wheat. Cross via the bridges only — rivers no longer let you walk across. Animals are richer (tigers, panthers, snakes, crocs) but more dangerous.
8. Tools & tea multipliers
| Tool / buff | Effect | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Chainsaw | ~3x wood yield vs Salvaged Axe; uses LGF | Mass wood for bases or charcoal |
| Jackhammer | ~3x ore/stone yield vs Salvaged Axe; uses LGF | Quarry the world before nodes despawn |
| Scrap Tea | +50% scrap from all containers, 10 min | Drink before every monument run |
| Pure Scrap Tea | +350% scrap from BARRELS only | Stack on road circuits and barrel-heavy loops |
| Ore Tea | +25% to +75% ore yield (tiered) | Drink before a node sweep or Excavator run |
| Wood Tea | Wood yield multiplier (tiered) | Less critical; use before mass tree-farming |
Tea recipes and stacking rules: Tea Recipes.
9. Sources
All figures and locations cross-checked against multiple 2025-2026 sources:
- Meta Shift — Facepunch news (Oct 2025)
- Meta Shifted — Rustafied
- How To Get Scrap In RUST — Rustmods (2026)
- RUST Recycler Guide — Rustmods (2026)
- Ultimate Scrap Guide — Corrosion Hour
- Rust October 2025 Update Preview — Corrosion Hour
- Best Recycler Locations 2025 — Lead Balloon
- Large Oil Rig Guide — Falcon Rust
- rustlabs.com — canonical item DB