Metal collecting (The Sims 3)

Main article: Collecting (The Sims 3)

Metals are found in ore form and can be smelted into ingots for §40 or by smelting using the Artisan's Glassblowing and Jewelry Making Station purchased from The Sims 3 Store.

Many of the collectible ores look very similar to each other if they are placed in the wild through spawners, making it difficult for a Sim to look for specific metals to pick up from the ground.

Sometimes the foundry will return an ore, saying that it is actually a Mysterious Mr. Gnome in disguise.

Smelted ingots are worth 175% of their original cost, and so the raw metal must be worth §54 to offset the §40 cost of smelting and break even relative to selling the ore alone.

The "breaking even" equation is as follows

(0.75 • X) - §40 = Profit

With X being the value of the ore. Plugging in §54 yields a profit of §0.5; thus this is the lowest whole number that does not lose money.

Some consider §23 as "breaking even," but this only covers the cost of smelting the ore. In order to fully "break even", it must factor in all costs, including the value of the ore itself. Plugging into the above equation yields a net loss of -§22.75. Even disregarding the cost of the original ore, to sell the raw ore gives §23 and costs nothing, for a profit of §23, whereas mailing it to the smelter, costs §40 and makes §40.25, for a profit of §0.25. From a strict Simoleon standpoint, it is far more worthwhile to sell a raw ore up to §54, at which point it becomes worthwhile to smelt it.

However, smelting also provides the chance of getting a Mysterious Mr. Gnome, worth §1,000, as well as the chance of duplicating the smelted bars if the sim has completed the Metal Collector challenge. This is a gamble that may make it worth smelting ores that are less than §54.

Metal can also be acquired through various other means than the ones listed below, e.g. Buydebug spawners and werewolf hunts.

Ore	Ingot	Other	Metal	Rarity	Weight	Ore Value	Ingot Value	Location	EP
			Iron	Common	1-52	7-20	12-35	Base world Rummage Elixir consignment register Meteor magnet (7.74~7.94%)	&BG
			Silver			25-35	44-61	Base world Rummage Miner Elixir consignment register Meteor magnet
			Gold	Uncommon		40-120	70-210
			Palladium	Rare	80-300	300-500	525-875
			Plutonium	Rare	0.1-5	1000-1800	1750-3150
			Copper	Common	1-52	15-31	26-54	Al Simhara Miner⁺ Meteor magnet (7.74~7.94%)⁺	&EP01
			Mummitomium	Rare	150-450	750-1200	1312-2100	Al Simhara Rummage Miner⁺ Meteor magnet (2.58~2.65%)⁺	&EP01
			Iridium	Uncommon	1-11	75-155	131-271	Champs Les Sims Miner⁺ Meteor magnet (2.58~2.65%)⁺	&EP01
			Titanium	Rare	75-105	450-700	787-1225		&EP01
			Platinum	Uncommon	1-52	250-336	437-588	Shang Simla Miner⁺ Meteor magnet (2.58~2.65%)⁺	&EP01
			Mercury			100-400	175-700		&EP01
			Compendium	Rare	1100-5500	100-1000	175-1750	WA sub-worlds Transfiguration (2-4 different metals) Sculpting Station (Rare)⁺ Dogs⁺ Meteor magnet (2.58~2.65%)⁺	&EP01
			Supernovium	Rare	35000-55000	3500-5500	6125-9625	WA sub-worlds Rummage in base world Transfiguration (At least 5 different metals) Dogs⁺ Meteor magnet (2.58~2.65%)⁺	&EP01
			WooHooium	Rare	1-52	500-750	875-1313	Sculpting Station (Stone sculpting) Consignment register Relic Shops⁺ Rummage in Champs Les Sims⁺ Transfiguration⁺ Dogs⁺	&EP02
			Carbon Steel	Common	100-1095	120-300	210-525	Bridgeport Meteor magnet (2.58~2.65%)	&EP03
			Tungsten Carbide			35-70	61-123