Oil Tycoon! mines and diamonds
Under the Oil Tycoon! map sits a mine: pickaxe tiers, diamonds to dig, three hidden bombs, and a risk board that lets you cash out. It is the game's burst-income route — big sums, real chance of losing them.
The mine at a glance
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Pickaxe | Tier 1→N upgrades; each tier mines more rock types |
| Diamonds | The payout ore — "explore the mines, dig for diamonds" |
| Three bombs | Hidden in the mine; finding them is part of the route |
| Risk board | "Cash out to risk" — take the money or push your luck |
| Ore transport | Nothing to carry ore at first — you haul it yourself until the cave conveyor is bought |
Getting in
- Buy the pickaxe — it sits near the mine entrance and tier 1 is cheap.
- Mine the first rocks to prove the loop (rock → ore → cash).
- Buy the cave conveyor as soon as you can — before it, you are the conveyor.
Digging for diamonds
- Diamond-bearing rock needs a higher pickaxe tier; tier 1 leaves some nodes unmineable.
- Each pickaxe upgrade (seen mid-game) unlocks more of the wall — "another pickaxe upgrade so I can grab every single rock."
- Ore hauled to the deposit pays in lump sums, distinct from the per-second line income.
The risk board
The board offers a cash-out node — $7,000 observed — against continued digging. The three bombs are the downside: hit one and the run ends short. Treat it like any cash-out game:
| You have | Do |
|---|---|
| Under $7,000 of ore | Dig — nothing to lose |
| One cash-out tier banked | Cash out, bank it, restart the run |
| Greed rising | Remember the monument: the game loves a $700,000 trap |
Getting in and out safely
The mine is the only place in Oil Tycoon! where you can lose what you carry. The pattern that survives it:
- Enter with a plan for the exit. Digging deeper is always available; banking is only available at the cash-out node.
- Take the first tier banked. One tier in hand means the trip is never a net loss, and every tier after that is playing with house money.
- Bank when the number stops being meaningful. If the amount banked would not change your next purchase, the risk is buying nothing.
Diamonds, pickaxe and haul
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pickaxe | Your tool — better haul per swing the deeper you go |
| Diamonds | The high-value find; the reason to push a run |
| Three bombs | Hidden through the run — hitting one ends it |
| Cave conveyor ($7,000 observed) | Moves ore out automatically instead of you carrying it |
The conveyor is the real upgrade: hauling by hand caps every run at your walking speed, while the conveyor keeps extracting while you look for the next vein.
The risk board, honestly
The board converts a mining run into a decision: keep greed or take what is banked. Bombs make it a genuine gamble rather than a grind — one wrong swing erases the unbanked run. Read the table on this page as a rule of thumb rather than a law: the numbers were observed in live play and the mechanic has no published maths behind it. What is published is the badge set: nothing in the ten badges rewards dying in the mine, so conservative play loses nothing but time.
FAQ
How do I get diamonds in the mine?
Take the pickaxe down and dig — ore is worth money and diamonds sit deeper in. A cave conveyor at around $7,000 observed haul starts moving it out.
What is the risk board?
The mine runs on a cash-out ladder: you can bank a tier or keep digging while greed rises, and three bombs are hidden in the run. Under $7,000 of ore, cashing out is usually the right call.
