Prime Latinum Refining is a single-level Starships research in Star Trek Fleet Command that makes the Raw Latinum Refinery 25% cheaper to run and raises its yields by 50%. It unlocks at R&D Department 28 and costs 18M Dilithium plus 200 4★ Epic Refined Ore, with about 17 days of base research time. Raw latinum, the input for that refinery, is mined in 34 systems from level 22 to 46, listed below.
Prime Latinum Refining requirements and cost
| Research tree | Starships |
|---|---|
| Unlocks at | R&D Department 28 |
| Research required | None |
| Levels | 1 |
| Effect | 25% lower costs and 50% higher yields for the Raw Latinum Refinery |
| Cost | 18M Dilithium, 200 4★ Epic Refined Ore |
| Base research time | 16.7 d |
The base time is before your research-speed bonuses, and there are no research prerequisites. The 4★ Epic Refined Ore is the part of the bill most players have to plan for at R&D 28.
What Prime Latinum Refining does
Latinum is used to buy rare items and to speed up construction, and raw latinum has to be refined before you can spend it. This research changes both sides of the Raw Latinum Refinery exchange at once: each refine costs a quarter less and pays out half again as much. Every raw latinum run you mine after it finishes is worth more, with nothing further to maintain.
Where to mine raw latinum
Raw Latinum is found in mines across the galaxy and refined into Latinum. These are all 34 systems with Raw Latinum mines, sorted by system level. Rate per hour is the base mining rate of a node and node size is how much one node holds; where a system has nodes of two sizes or rates, both are shown.
| System | Level | Warp | Nodes | Rate per hour | Node size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maclyyn | 22 | 16 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Cillers | 25 | 18 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| S’mtharz | 25 | 18 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Yoria-3 | 25 | 22 | 1 | 95 | 470,000 |
| Ciara | 26 | 18 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Hann | 26 | 18 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Nasturta | 26 | 18 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Biruin | 27 | 19 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Hoeven | 27 | 19 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Lainey | 27 | 25 | 8 | 32/64 | 82,000 |
| Koltiska | 28 | 19 | 8 | 34/68 | 184,000 |
| Losti | 28 | 19 | 8 | 34/68 | 184,000 |
| Phelan | 28 | 19 | 8 | 34/68 | 184,000 |
| Torra Sedra | 28 | 22 | 1 | 95 | 470,000 |
| Gradientes | 30 | 24 | 8 | 34/68 | 184,000 |
| H’Atoria | 30 | 22 | 8 | 34/68 | 184,000 |
| Noakyn | 30 | 23 | 8 | 34/68 | 184,000 |
| Robeton | 31 | 26 | 8 | 37/74 | 250,000 |
| Sinisser | 31 | 26 | 8 | 37/74 | 250,000 |
| Tullias | 31 | 26 | 8 | 37/74 | 250,000 |
| Zed Alpha | 31 | 22 | 1 | 95 | 470,000 |
| Andoria | 34 | 30 | 8 | 46/85 | 350,000 |
| Beta Penthe | 34 | 33 | 8 | 46/85 | 350,000 |
| Vendor | 34 | 32 | 8 | 46/85 | 350,000 |
| Suliban | 35 | 40 | 3 | 95/108/125 | 200,000 |
| Barnard’s Star | 38 | 40 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Wlb’puq | 38 | 40 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Dessica | 39 | 39 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Almango | 43 | 75 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Esto | 43 | 75 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| T’ong | 43 | 75 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Ballion | 46 | 120 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Leebyrn | 46 | 120 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
| Lu’Kash | 46 | 120 | 8 | 54/95 | 470,000 |
The level 22 to 31 systems are the easiest to reach, with eight small nodes each. Yoria-3, Torra Sedra and Zed Alpha each have a single 470,000 node, Suliban has three nodes with the fastest rates on the list (95 to 125 per hour), and every system from level 38 to 46 holds eight nodes of 470,000.
Where to mine concentrated latinum
Concentrated Latinum is a separate resource, also taken from mines across the galaxy, and it starts appearing a little higher up, at level 36. These are the 25 systems with Concentrated Latinum mines.
| System | Level | Warp | Nodes | Rate per hour | Node size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iapedes | 36 | 38 | 8 | 50/100 | 60,000 |
| Quv Qeb | 36 | 38 | 8 | 50/100 | 60,000 |
| Sirius | 36 | 38 | 8 | 50/100 | 60,000 |
| Gorath | 38 | 39 | 8 | 53/106 | 84,000 |
| No’Mat | 38 | 48 | 8 | 53/106 | 84,000 |
| Terix | 38 | 39 | 8 | 53/106 | 84,000 |
| Altair | 39 | 48 | 8 | 53/106 | 84,000 |
| Glintara | 39 | 48 | 8 | 53/106 | 84,000 |
| Wolf | 39 | 40 | 8 | 53/106 | 84,000 |
| Dok’Vos | 41 | 70 | 8 | 55/110 | 168,000 |
| Kurchee | 41 | 70 | 8 | 55/110 | 168,000 |
| Vola | 41 | 70 | 8 | 55/110 | 168,000 |
| Ash-tor | 43 | 80 | 8 | 55/110 | 168,000 |
| Naalur | 44 | 110 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| Het’Tenz’A | 45 | 110 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| ST-9417 | 45 | 110 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| LSP-539 | 47 | 135 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| Maumo | 47 | 150 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| Loch’Grman | 49 | 160 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| Miers | 49 | 160 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| Rai’Trohk | 49 | 160 | 8 | 57/114 | 235,200 |
| Delta Sector | 51 | 205 | 8 | 58/116 | 705,600 |
| Sigma Sector | 51 | 205 | 8 | 58/116 | 705,600 |
| Ander | 53 | 255 | 8 | 58/116 | 705,600 |
| Tarna | 55 | 320 | 8 | 59/118 | 987,840 |
Other prime refinery research in the Starships tree
Prime Latinum Refining belongs to a small group of one-level Starships research that permanently improve a refinery. None of them has a research prerequisite.
| Research | What it does | Unlocks at | Cost | Base time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Swarm Refinery | +500% Parsteel, Tritanium and Dilithium from the Swarm Refinery | R&D 17 | 1K Swarm Prime Particle, 4K Dilithium | 15.7 h |
| Prime Borg Rewards | +100% Faction Credits and Reputation in the Borg refinery, better Latinum Antique Refinery outcomes | R&D 24 | 100 4★ Epic Refined Gas, 3M Dilithium | 6.9 d |
| Prime Charged Nanoprobes Refining | +100% refine for Charged Nanoprobes | R&D 25 | 2K 6★ Uncommon Refined Crystal, 9M Dilithium | 12.1 d |
| Prime Active Nanoprobes Refining | +100% refine for Active Nanoprobes | R&D 26 | 200 4★ Epic Refined Crystal, 11.2M Dilithium | 12.1 d |
| Prime Latinum Refining | 25% lower costs, 50% higher yields for the Raw Latinum Refinery | R&D 28 | 18M Dilithium, 200 4★ Epic Refined Ore | 16.7 d |
Is Prime Latinum Refining worth it?
Yes for anyone who refines raw latinum regularly. The price is one batch of epic ore and a modest amount of dilithium, and the gain applies to every refine for the rest of the game. Pair it with Prime Borg Rewards, which also improves a latinum refinery. The rest of the branch is on the Starships Research guide, and the refinery itself is covered on the Refinery page.
