Mining Expedition
Mining Expedition is a mission type in Deep Rock Galactic.
| “ | We're sending you in deep, so be on your guard. Scanners indicate particularly rich veins of Morkite and Gold further down. Bring it back, boys. |
| — Mission Control |
The Dwarves have been sent into a cave rich in 
Morkite, and are tasked with extracting the minerals inside. Mining Expeditions are unlocked from the start, and are the first and only mission type available to new players.
Collect Morkite
The goal of a Mining Expedition mission is to collect a certain quantity of a shiny, dark blue resource called Morkite. Morkite is exclusive to Mining Expedition missions. It glimmers slightly in the darkness, making it relatively easy to find. Once mined, the Morkite must be deposited into the M.U.L.E for it to count towards the quota. The amount of Morkite required to complete the mission varies based on mission length and complexity.
While you must complete your primary objective to finish the mission, you can choose to collect an optional secondary objective resource for a 
Credit and 
Experience bonus upon mission completion.
After the primary objective is completed, a red button will light up on the MULE to begin the extraction phase. Once it's pressed, the Drop Pod will be called in to pick up the M.U.L.E. and any surviving miners. It will wait for 5 minutes before departing, though the door will only open once the M.U.L.E. has been secured, or at 15 seconds if by any reason the M.U.L.E. can not reach the pod.
Enemy Spawning
- Main article: Swarm
Enemies can spawn upon mission start in small groups. Throughout the mission, a Swarm will occur every few minutes, announced by Mission Control beforehand. During a swarm, Dwarves are attacked by an increased number of enemies.
Cave
Mining Expedition caves are characterized by a linear series of connected caves separated by smaller tunnels and passages between them with a "treasure room" full of resources at the end. The "treasure room" features an abundance of Morkite, as well as at least one crafting resource node and 
Gold vein. This encourages players to reach the end of the cave system, although depending on cave generation it might be possible to fulfill the quota before reaching it. During extraction, the Drop Pod will usually land far away, making for a hectic and intense escape through the long and linear caverns.
Objectives
Primary Objective
The required quota of Morkite differs based off the mission length and complexity. Every cave system of this mission type contains more Morkite than required by the primary objective. The payout is affected by Hazard Bonus.
| Length | Complexity | Caverns | Objective | Primary Payout | Secondary Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
3 Caverns | Collect 200 Morkite | 450 1700
|
200/250 700/?
|
|
|
4 Caverns | Collect 225 Morkite | 500 1875
|
220/250 770/?
|
|
|
|
4 Caverns | Collect 250 Morkite | 540 2048
|
240/250 840/?
|
|
|
5 Caverns | Collect 325 Morkite | 720 2724
|
320/250 1120/?
|
|
|
|
6 Caverns | Collect 400 Morkite | 900 3400
|
400/250 1400/?
|
| Work Instructions | |||||
|
|
|
3 Caverns | Collect 100 Morkite | 100
|
- |
The number of caverns (Including the "treasure room") in the level depends on the length of the Mining Expedition.
Secondary Objective
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Trivia
- Morkite used to be the primary objective in the removed Search and Extract mission type.
- The tutorial level (called Work Instructions) is a nearly identical version of the Mining Expedition. It features the same cave layout each playthrough (although tunnels connecting the caves and resource placement is still randomized) and a set Morkite quota of 100. Secondary objectives and crafting resources do not appear in the tutorial.
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