Star Citizen Refinery Guide: Best Methods, Bonuses & Locations

Refining in Star Citizen converts raw mining ore and other supported industrial materials into processed commodities that can be transported, sold or used as crafting inputs. Instead of selling a mining load immediately, you can create a refinery work order, choose a processing method, wait for the job to finish and collect the refined output with a cargo-capable ship.

Quick answer: refining is usually worth considering for valuable ore when the extra retained material outweighs the refinery fee, waiting time and hauling risk. Dinyx Solventation is the current low-cost, high-yield choice when time does not matter. Ferron Exchange is another high-yield option with a more moderate cost profile. Faster methods such as Gaskin, Cormack and XCR are better when turnover matters more than maximum recovery.

The most important mistake is treating the refining method as the only decision. Refinery bonuses, workload, material quality, cargo capacity, buyer location and travel risk can matter just as much as the selected process.

This guide explains the complete refinery loop and is maintained as an evergreen resource. For the mining stage that comes before refining, use our Star Citizen Mining Guide. To compare individual mineable materials, see the Star Citizen Best Ore Guide.

Last verified: September 2026. Refinery bonuses, workloads, processing values and commodity demand can change between LIVE builds, so the refinery terminal remains the final source for a specific work order.

Star Citizen Refining at a Glance

How Refining Works in Star Citizen

The industrial mining economy can be separated into four practical steps:

1. Mine: locate, fracture and extract raw material.
2. Refine: process supported raw material through a refinery work order.
3. Haul: collect the finished commodities with a cargo-capable ship.
4. Sell or craft: deliver the material to a buyer or preserve it for another industrial purpose.

The refinery does not automatically pay you when a job completes. A finished work order creates processed commodities that still need to be collected.

Raw ore vs refined material

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How to Refine Ore in Star Citizen

The refinery workflow uses persistent work orders created through processing terminals.

1. Travel to a location with refinery processing.
2. Store or make the supported ore source available to the refinery system.
3. Open the refinery processing terminal.
4. Select the ship, mining bags, station inventory or other supported material source.
5. Select the materials you want to refine.
6. Choose a refining method.
7. Review cost, processing time and expected output.
8. Check the location's material bonus or penalty.
9. Pay the refinery fee.
10. Submit the work order.
11. Return after completion with sufficient cargo capacity.
12. Transfer the finished material to your selected cargo ship.

Multiple refinery jobs can run at the same time, and their timers continue in real time even while you are logged out.

What to check before submitting a refinery order

• Material being refined.
• Raw quantity.
• Material quality.
• Expected refined output.
• Refinery fee.
• Processing time.
• Station yield modifier.
• Current refinery workload if relevant.
• Cargo capacity needed at collection.
• Intended buyer or crafting destination.

Best Refining Methods in Star Citizen

Star Citizen currently uses nine station-based refining methods. They deliberately trade speed, cost and yield against one another.

The following table uses the current LIVE method characteristics rather than old historical refinery spreadsheets.

Best refinery method for maximum profit

Dinyx Solventation is the first method to compare when maximum retained material matters and you can wait. Its current profile combines high yield with low processing cost but very slow completion.

It is particularly useful when:

• you are finishing a session;
• you can collect tomorrow or later;
• the ore is valuable;
• you already have enough working capital;
• maximum recovered material matters more than turnover.

Best general high-yield method

Ferron Exchange also provides high yield while using a moderate-cost profile. It is worth comparing directly with Dinyx when you want a high recovery rate but the final terminal quote makes one method economically preferable.

Best fast method

Gaskin Process is one of the more useful fast choices because it retains a moderate yield rather than dropping directly into the low-yield category.

Use Cormack or XCR when turnover itself is more valuable than material efficiency.

Is Pyrometric Chromalysis the fastest high-yield method?

No. Older guides frequently describe Pyrometric Chromalysis as a fast high-yield method. Current method data classifies it as low speed, high cost and high yield. It remains a careful high-recovery option, but should not be selected because you expect a rapid work order.

Refinery Bonuses Explained

Refinery bonuses modify the yield for specific materials at specific processing locations. A refinery can be excellent for one ore and poor for another.

This is why there is no single permanent "best refinery in Star Citizen."

The same station can have:

• a positive bonus for one mineral;
• no meaningful modifier for another;
• a negative modifier for a third.

For example, the current refinery network shows different bonuses for Iron, Titanium, Quantainium, Aluminum, Bexalite, Gold and other materials. The best refinery should therefore be selected after you know what is in the mining load.

Current refinery bonus examples

The following examples are a current snapshot rather than permanent game rules:

Do not save these percentages as a permanent spreadsheet. Bonuses and workloads are balancing data. Check the current refinery information before routing a valuable mining load across an entire system for a small percentage advantage.

How to choose the best refinery

Compare:

• material-specific yield bonus;
• negative yield penalties;
• distance from the mining area;
• refinery workload;
• fuel and travel time;
• security and piracy exposure;
• distance to your buyer;
• whether your cargo ship is already stored nearby.

A nearby +3% refinery can be economically better than a distant +8% refinery if the longer route costs an additional 20 minutes and exposes the load to more risk.

Star Citizen Refinery Locations

Refinery access exists across Stanton, Pyro and Nyx. Not every space station or landing zone provides the same processing services.

Stanton refinery locations

Pyro refinery locations

• Orbituary;
• Checkmate Station;
• Ruin Station;
• Stanton Gateway;
• Nyx Gateway.

Nyx refinery locations

• Levski;
• Pyro Gateway;
• Castra Gateway.

Does Area18 have a refinery?

Area18 is better treated as a trading and sale destination than as your normal station-based refinery work-order location. ArcCorp miners should use an appropriate refinery station such as ARC-L1, ARC-L2 or ARC-L4 and then transport the completed cargo to a suitable buyer.

Does Lorville have a refinery?

Lorville is not one of the standard refinery processing stations used for mining work orders. Hurston miners normally use HUR-L1 or HUR-L2 for refining and then choose the appropriate sale destination.

Does New Babbage have a refinery?

For refinery work orders around microTech, use refinery-capable stations such as MIC-L1 or MIC-L5 rather than assuming New Babbage itself is the processing location.

Does Orison have a refinery?

Crusader miners normally use CRU-L1 or another refinery-capable station for processing. Orison can be relevant later in the commodity-sale stage depending on what the current trading terminals accept.

Refinery Workload and Why It Matters

Refinery workload represents current demand on a processing location. It can influence the practical efficiency of a refinery route and is another reason not to choose a station only from a static yield spreadsheet.

For valuable operations, compare:

• yield bonus;
• workload;
• flight time;
• processing method;
• final sale route.

The refinery with the largest material bonus may not be the refinery with the best total aUEC-per-hour result.

Refining Time and Offline Work Orders

Refinery work orders run in real time. You do not need to remain at the station and you do not need to stay logged into Star Citizen.

Best overnight strategy

Submit high-yield slow jobs near the end of a session. The processing timer then consumes offline time instead of active gameplay time.

Best same-session strategy

If you need the refined cargo quickly, compare faster methods such as Gaskin, Cormack and XCR. Accept that faster processing normally sacrifices either cost efficiency or final yield.

Do refinery jobs survive patches?

Do not assume an in-progress refinery order is permanent account progression. CIG has repeatedly noted that in-progress refinery jobs can be lost when a release rebuilds certain player-state data.

If a major patch deployment is imminent, finishing, collecting or avoiding a large new refinery queue may be safer than starting a long-duration batch.

Material Quality and Refining

Material quality is now important for more than mining.

When a mineable resource has a quality value, that quality is preserved through refining. For example, high-quality raw ore remains high-quality when converted into its refined commodity.

This matters because crafting can use material quality when determining the characteristics of the produced item.

Therefore:

• do not mix every mining decision into a pure aUEC-per-SCU calculation;
• high-quality material can be strategically useful even when its immediate sale price is not exceptional;
• organizations feeding crafting production may prefer quality over maximum total quantity.

Can You Refine Construction Materials?

Yes. The refinery system can also process supported raw Construction Materials produced through salvage gameplay.

This expands refining beyond the traditional Prospector and MOLE mining loop.

The basic process is similar:

1. obtain the supported raw Construction Material;
2. bring or store it where the refinery system can detect it;
3. select the material at the processing terminal;
4. choose an appropriate refining method;
5. submit the work order;
6. collect the finished Construction Material after processing.

Because Construction Materials follow different industrial sources from mined ore, do not assume that the best mining refinery bonus or route is automatically the best salvage-processing route.

Raw vs Refined Ore Profitability

Refining can increase gross value, but gross value is not the number that should determine the decision.

Raw-sale calculation

Raw net value = raw sale revenue − mining operating costs

A raw sale avoids:

• refinery fees;
• processing time;
• work-order management;
• cargo collection;
• a second transport ship;
• additional piracy and cargo-loss exposure.

Refined-sale calculation

Refined net value = refined sale revenue − refinery fee − hauling cost − expected transport risk

A more useful comparison is:

Additional refining margin = expected refined revenue − raw sale revenue − refinery fee − additional hauling cost

If the additional margin is small, selling raw can produce better aUEC per hour even though the processed commodity is technically worth more.

Star Citizen Refinery Calculator Logic

You do not need a complicated refinery calculator to make the first decision.

Then calculate:

(refined quantity × expected buyer price) − refinery fee − hauling costs

Compare the result with the immediate raw-sale value.

Collecting Refined Ore

When processing finishes, return to the refinery location where the work order was created.

1. Bring or retrieve a cargo-capable ship.
2. Open the refinery processing terminal.
3. Select the completed work order.
4. Select the correct cargo destination.
5. Check that sufficient capacity is available.
6. Transfer the completed output.
7. Verify the cargo before leaving.

Do not select a ship from memory. Confirm the ship name and available cargo space before collecting a valuable batch.

How Much Cargo Space Do You Need?

The required ship depends on how many refinery jobs you collect at once.

Suitable choices can include Nomad, Cutlass Black, C1 Spirit, Freelancer, Zeus CL, Constellation Taurus, Caterpillar or Hercules depending on the size of the batch.

Use the smallest ship that safely carries the intended shipment. A larger hauler is not automatically better if it adds unnecessary loading time and risk.

Where to Sell Refined Ore

Completed refinery output must be taken to a trading terminal that currently buys the selected commodity.

Major Stanton landing zones can act as important commodity-sale destinations, including:

• Area18;
• Lorville;
• New Babbage;
• Orison.

However, not every terminal buys every commodity and available demand can change. Confirm the actual buyer before loading an expensive refinery batch.

Before leaving the refinery

• confirm the buyer;
• check whether the commodity is accepted;
• check expected demand;
• estimate the value of the full shipment;
• choose the shortest reasonable route;
• decide whether one large run or several smaller runs better fits the risk.

Best Refinery Strategy for Prospector Mining

1. Choose one primary mining region.
2. Use one nearby refinery as your main hub.
3. Prioritize valuable or high-quality material.
4. Compare refinery bonuses before making a long detour.
5. Compare Dinyx and Ferron for valuable slow-processing loads.
6. Use faster processing only when turnaround has real value.
7. Submit slower jobs near the end of your session.
8. Accumulate compatible completed jobs.
9. Collect them with a properly sized cargo ship.
10. Confirm the buyer before the cargo leaves the refinery.

This separates mining from hauling and prevents refinery timers from interrupting active gameplay.

Best Refinery Strategy for MOLE Crews

A MOLE operation produces enough material that refinery management should become a logistics task of its own.

Track:

• refinery station;
• material;
• quality;
• raw quantity;
• method;
• cost;
• expected output;
• completion time;
• cargo ship;
• buyer.

An organized group should separate mining and hauling when possible. The mining crew can continue production while another player handles completed work orders and sales.

Future Refinery Ships

Station refining remains the normal current workflow. Ships such as the MISC Expanse, RSI Galaxy with a Refinery Module and RSI Orion are associated with future onboard refinery gameplay.

Do not plan your current mining operation around an onboard refinery unless the specific ship and feature are actually available in the LIVE environment.

Common Refinery Mistakes

Using the same method for every load

A method that is good for valuable Quantainium is not automatically the best choice for cheap industrial ore.

Using an outdated refining-method chart

Historical guides contain incorrect cost and speed classifications. Use current terminal data.

Ignoring refinery bonuses

Material-specific station modifiers can materially change expected output.

Flying across the system for a tiny bonus

The extra yield can be worth less than the added travel time.

Refining low-value material automatically

Always compare the extra margin against the processing fee and second cargo run.

Starting long jobs before a major patch

In-progress refinery jobs are not something you should assume will survive every release deployment.

Submitting jobs at too many refineries

Scattered work orders create unnecessary collection routes.

Collecting without enough cargo space

Calculate expected output before selecting the destination ship.

Choosing the buyer after loading

The sale route should be planned before you expose the processed cargo.

Ignoring material quality

High-quality material may have a crafting purpose that is more valuable than an immediate commodity sale.

Star Citizen Refinery FAQ

What is the best refining method in Star Citizen?

Dinyx Solventation is the strongest general choice when maximizing yield at low cost matters more than processing time. Ferron Exchange is another high-yield option with moderate cost. Always compare the final refinery-terminal quote.

What is the fastest refining method?

Cormack Method, Gaskin Process and XCR Reaction are in the high-speed group. Gaskin retains moderate yield, while Cormack and XCR sacrifice more output for faster turnover.

What gives the highest refinery yield?

Dinyx Solventation, Ferron Exchange and Pyrometric Chromalysis are currently in the high-yield category. Their cost and speed profiles differ significantly.

Does refining continue while offline?

Yes. Refinery jobs run in real time even when you are not logged into the game.

Is refining always more profitable?

No. Processing fees, yield, travel, cargo capacity, sale demand and risk can make an immediate raw sale more efficient.

Can you refine Construction Materials?

Yes. Supported raw Construction Materials from salvage can also be processed through the refinery system.

Does material quality survive refining?

Yes. Mining material quality is preserved when raw ore is converted into its refined material.

Can you collect a refinery job from another station?

Plan to return to the refinery location where the work order was created rather than treating jobs as globally transferable inventory.

Do you need a cargo ship?

Yes. Completed refinery output must be moved as cargo, so the destination ship needs enough free capacity.

Where should I sell refined ore?

Use a current trading terminal that buys the specific commodity. Major landing zones are common destinations, but buyer availability and demand should be checked before the trip.

What is the best refinery for Quantainium?

There is no permanent answer because refinery bonuses can change. In the current snapshot, Levski has a strong Quantainium modifier, but route distance and workload should also be considered.

Final Refinery Checklist

1. Identify the material you are processing.
2. Check its quality if crafting matters.
3. Choose a refinery with a suitable material modifier.
4. Compare Dinyx, Ferron and the faster alternatives.
5. Review the actual terminal cost, time and output.
6. Compare the job against selling raw.
7. Record the refinery and completion time.
8. Make sure enough cargo capacity will be available.
9. Confirm the final buyer before collection.
10. Protect the cargo during the sale run.

The best Star Citizen refinery strategy maximizes net value, not just displayed refinery yield. A high-yield method is useful only when the processing fee, wait time, station bonus and final cargo route still make economic sense.

For the complete process before refining, continue with the Star Citizen Mining Guide. To decide which material is worth extracting, use the Best Ore Guide. Players who need a specific material can also browse Star Citizen Mining Resources or all Star Citizen services.