HQM Quarry Rust: Rates, Diesel & How to Run It

Monument guide, updated 2026

The HQM Quarry is the quietest gold mine in Rust. It does not have a keycard puzzle, it does not have scientists, and half the server drives straight past it without a second look. Yet it is the only place on the map that hands you a steady stream of High Quality Metal without you swinging a single pickaxe, and HQM is the rarest resource to farm by hand in the entire game.

The catch is that nobody owns it. You cannot lock it, you cannot base on it, and the machine is loud enough to tell everyone in the area that free metal is being dug. That is what makes the HQM Quarry Rust experience less about mining and more about who is willing to stand on the hopper when the ore drops.

This guide covers everything: exactly what the HQM Quarry gives you per diesel, how to run it, how to smelt the ore, how it stacks up against the Sulfur Quarry, the Stone Quarry and the Giant Excavator, why you can no longer place your own quarry, and how organised groups take and hold it. Every number here is cross checked against RustHelp, Rustly, RustClash, Corrosion Hour and the Facepunch wiki.

TL;DR The HQM Quarry is a static roadside monument that runs on Diesel Fuel. One diesel gives you 50 HQM Ore over about 2 minutes 5 seconds, so a full stack of 20 diesel is 1,000 HQM ore in roughly 42 minutes, which smelts down to 1,000 High Quality Metal in a furnace. It has no radiation, no scientists, no recycler and no puzzle. The engine and the output hopper are public and cannot be locked, so whoever is standing there when the ore lands takes it. You cannot craft or place your own quarry anymore. The HQM output looks small next to the Sulfur Quarry’s 1,000 sulfur ore, but HQM is far more valuable, which is exactly why the HQM Quarry is worth fighting for.
The Rust HQM Quarry shown as the in-game Mining Quarry model render on a dark navy background, with the headline free high quality metal if you hold it and a note that the quarry drips 50 HQM ore every couple of minutes on diesel and that nobody owns it so the fight is over who stands on the hopper
The mining rig that sits in the HQM Quarry pit. You will not build one, but there is one waiting on the map every wipe.
50HQM ore per diesel
~2 minper diesel burn
1,000HQM from a full stack
0locks on the hopper

What Is the HQM Quarry in Rust?

The HQM Quarry is one of three static mining quarries baked into every Rust map. Each one is a small, unremarkable dug pit sitting beside a road with a mechanical mining rig planted in it. There is the Sulfur Quarry, the HQM Quarry, and the Stone Quarry, and each is hard coded to produce only its named resource. The HQM Quarry produces High Quality Metal Ore, full stop. You cannot switch it to sulfur or stone.

Think of it exactly like a pump jack, but for metal instead of fuel. You feed it diesel, flip it on, walk away, and come back to a hopper full of ore. It is world furniture, not equipment. It has no owner, no lock and no building privilege, the same way a small oil refinery or a recycler at a monument belongs to whoever is standing at it.

What makes the HQM Quarry special among the three is the resource. High Quality Metal is the single hardest material to mass farm by hand in Rust. HQM ore only falls from metal nodes on the very last hit, in tiny amounts, and there is no cheap tea or tool that changes that. So while the Sulfur Quarry and Stone Quarry are mostly novelties, the HQM Quarry is the one monument that meaningfully solves a real bottleneck.

Rust HQM Quarry stat card showing it is a small roadside quarry monument that runs on Diesel Fuel, yields 50 HQM ore per diesel over about 2 minutes 5 seconds, outputs HQM ore that must be smelted, has a public fuel tank and hopper that cannot be locked, no radiation, is not a safe zone, has no scientists and no recycler, a 15,393 square metre no-build area, and cannot be destroyed because it is part of the map
Every HQM Quarry stat that matters, verified against RustHelp and Rustly.

HQM Quarry Rust Stats

StatValueNotes
Monument typeSmall roadside quarryOne of three, static on every map
Runs onDiesel FuelChanged from low grade in Dec 2022
Output per 1 diesel50 HQM OreThe headline number
Burn time~2 min 5 secAbout 29 diesel an hour at full tilt
Output formHQM OreMust be smelted into HQM
Fuel slot and hopperPublicNo lock, no code, no privilege
RadiationNoneNo hazmat needed
Safe zoneNoFull PvP, expect company
ScientistsNoneNo NPCs guarding it
Recycler on siteNoneBring loot home to recycle
No-build area15,393 m²You cannot base on top of it
Can you destroy itNoPart of the map, not a raid target
Why the numbers differ between guides You will see the HQM Quarry quoted at anywhere from 50 to 100 HQM ore per diesel, and both figures are real, they just describe different machines. The static HQM Quarry monument gives 50 per diesel, confirmed on the current build by both RustHelp and Rustly. The Giant Excavator gives 100 HQM ore per diesel when you set it to metal. Older guides quoting “360 low grade for 90 HQM” are describing the pre 2022 deployable quarry that no longer exists. When in doubt, the roadside quarry is 50.

How to Use the HQM Quarry in Rust

Running the HQM Quarry is about as simple as Rust monuments get. There is no puzzle, no hazmat suit and no keycard. The only thing you need to bring is Diesel Fuel and, ideally, a plan for smelting the ore afterwards.

Four step guide to running the Rust HQM Quarry: find the fixed roadside quarry pit, load Diesel Fuel into the engine for a two minute cycle, let the arm drop 50 HQM ore into the output hopper, then smelt the ore in a furnace into 50 high quality metal, with a warning that the fuel tank and hopper are public and unlockable so whoever stands there when the ore lands takes it
The four step HQM Quarry run. Diesel in, ore out, furnace does the rest.
  1. Find the quarry. The HQM Quarry is a fixed roadside monument. On the in game map it is a small quarry icon, and on the ground it is a shallow dug pit with the mining rig in the middle. It never moves for the wipe.
  2. Load diesel fuel. Hold E on the engine and drop Diesel Fuel into the fuel slot. One diesel runs a single cycle of about two minutes. Twenty diesel is a full stack and roughly 42 minutes of run time.
  3. Turn it on and let it dig. Start the engine and the mining arm begins swinging. It drops 50 HQM Ore into the output hopper per diesel burned. It is loud, so anyone in the area knows it is running.
  4. Collect and smelt. Hold E on the output hopper to take the HQM Ore, then smelt it in a furnace. Fifty ore becomes fifty High Quality Metal.
There is no lock and no owner Both the fuel tank and the output hopper are completely public. Anyone who walks up can hold E and empty the hopper, even if they did not put in a single diesel. Solo players lose more ore to this than to anything else. Stay in the area, run it with a partner, or load small amounts and collect often.

HQM Quarry Rates: How Much HQM Per Diesel

This is the number everyone actually searches for. One unit of Diesel Fuel produces 50 HQM Ore and takes about 2 minutes 5 seconds to burn. That works out to roughly 29 diesel an hour if you keep it topped up, the same burn rate as the pump jack and the quarries share.

Rust HQM Quarry diesel math showing one diesel equals 50 HQM ore burning in about 2 minutes 5 seconds, a full stack of 20 diesel equals 1,000 HQM ore over about 42 minutes, and after the furnace that is 1,000 high quality metal, with a note that quarries switched from low grade fuel to diesel in the December 2022 update so any 360 low grade figure is stale
One diesel is 50 HQM ore. A full stack is 1,000, and the furnace turns it into 1,000 HQM.
Diesel loadedHQM ore outRun timeHQM after smelting
150~2 min 5 sec50
5250~10 min250
10500~21 min500
20 (full stack)1,000~42 min1,000

The yield scales in a straight line. There is no bulk bonus for loading more diesel, so five diesel and twenty diesel earn exactly the same per unit. The only reason to load a full stack is to save yourself trips back and forth, and the only reason not to is that a full stack means 42 minutes of an unlocked hopper filling up while you are not looking.

Old guides say low grade fuel. That is stale. Quarries and pump jacks switched from Low Grade Fuel to Diesel Fuel in the Quality of Life update on 1 December 2022. Any guide telling you to pour 360 low grade in for 90 HQM ore is describing a version of the game that has not existed for years. The HQM Quarry takes diesel and only diesel, and the number is 50 ore per unit.

Smelting HQM Ore and What HQM Is For

The HQM Quarry gives you ore, not finished metal. High Quality Metal Ore does nothing on its own. You have to run it through a furnace to turn it into High Quality Metal, and this is the slow part of the whole loop. HQM ore smelts at roughly one every 6.7 seconds, or about 9 per minute, so a batch of 50 ore takes a little over five and a half minutes to cook. A full 1,000 ore haul is close to two hours of furnace time, so plan to run several furnaces or a large furnace if you are farming at scale.

Rust graphic on what high quality metal is used for after smelting HQM ore: Workbench 3 needs 100 HQM, an Armored Door 20 HQM, an Assault Rifle 50 HQM and an Auto Turret 10 to 25 HQM, with a note that HQM ore only comes from metal nodes, the HQM Quarry, the Giant Excavator or loot, which is why the quarry is worth fighting for
Smelted HQM builds the endgame: workbenches, armored doors, rifles and turrets.

Once it is smelted, High Quality Metal is what gates most of the Rust endgame. A few of the big sinks:

  • Workbench Level 3 costs 100 HQM, and you cannot craft top tier gear without one.
  • Armored building is pure HQM. An armored door is 20 HQM plus gears, and armored walls eat it too.
  • Weapons. An Assault Rifle needs 50 HQM. Most high tier guns want some.
  • Defenses. An auto turret costs 10 HQM, or 25 after the Power Trip update raised it.

Because HQM only comes from metal nodes, the HQM Quarry, the Giant Excavator or loot, having a running quarry can quietly fund your entire base upgrade while everyone else is still grinding nodes by hand. Pair it with Ore Tea when you do mine nodes and you cover HQM from both directions.

Sulfur Quarry vs HQM Quarry vs Stone Quarry

All three quarries look identical and work identically. They are static, they run on diesel, they burn one unit in about two minutes, and their fuel and output slots are public. The only thing that changes is what comes out of the hopper.

Rust quarry rate table comparing the three static quarries, all running on Diesel Fuel with yields per one diesel over about two minutes: the Sulfur Quarry gives 1,000 sulfur ore, the HQM Quarry gives 50 HQM ore, and the Stone Quarry gives 5,000 stone plus 1,000 metal ore, with a note that HQM ore is small on purpose because high quality metal is the rarest farm in the game
The three quarries side by side. Same machine, very different output.
QuarryFuelOutput per 1 dieselBest for
Sulfur QuarryDiesel Fuel1,000 Sulfur OreRaiding and gunpowder
HQM QuarryPrizeDiesel Fuel50 HQM OreArmor, turrets, workbenches
Stone QuarryDiesel Fuel5,000 Stone + 1,000 Metal OreBase building bulk

At a glance the HQM Quarry looks like the worst deal by a mile. Fifty ore against a thousand sulfur ore feels like a rounding error. That reaction is exactly backwards. Facepunch tuned the numbers this way on purpose, because HQM is worth many times more than sulfur or stone per unit. You can farm sulfur off nodes all day, and stone is basically free. HQM is the one you never have enough of, so the quarry that prints it slowly is the one worth camping.

The Sulfur Quarry is the other genuinely useful one. At 1,000 sulfur ore per diesel it can feed a raiding session, which is why sulfur quarry Rust searches run neck and neck with HQM. The Stone Quarry is mostly a curiosity, since almost nobody struggles for stone, though the 1,000 metal ore it also drops is a minor bonus.

Can You Place Your Own Quarry in Rust?

No. This is the single most common misconception about quarries, so it is worth being blunt: you cannot craft, research or place your own Mining Quarry on a vanilla Rust server. The only quarries in the game are the three static ones on the map.

Rust explainer that you cannot place your own quarry: the Survey Charge still exists in the files but does nothing, and the old craftable Mining Quarry and Pump Jack placement flow was removed, so on vanilla servers the only quarries are the three static map monuments, Sulfur, HQM and Stone, though some modded servers re-enable placement
The Survey Charge still exists in the files. It no longer places anything.

It was not always this way. Years ago you could throw a Survey Charge, read how much of each resource a patch of ground held, and then place your own Mining Quarry or pump jack right on the crater. Facepunch removed that entire flow. The deployable Mining Quarry lost its recipe, and both machines were rebuilt as fixed monuments for everyone to share.

Survey charges are a trap The Survey Charge still exists in the game files, complete with a blueprint and a description telling you to use it to prospect a spot. That description is a fossil. It will not place a quarry, it will not place a pump jack, and nothing it reveals in the ground can be mined by you. If a guide or video tells you to survey a spot for your own HQM Quarry, you now know exactly how out of date it is. Some modded and community servers do re-enable placeable quarries, but default Rust does not.

How to Take Control of the HQM Quarry

Because the HQM Quarry cannot be locked, “controlling” it does not mean owning it. It means occupying it. You do not put a code lock on the hopper, you put a body next to it. This is the part of HQM Quarry Rust play that separates the groups who actually get the metal from the ones who keep feeding diesel to strangers.

Six tactics for taking and holding the Rust HQM Quarry: nobody owns it because there is no lock, whoever stands on the hopper when ore drops collects it, clans wall the whole quarry with turrets, a running quarry is loud and attracts company, you must bring diesel and a furnace, and the small 15,393 square metre no-build area means control is about holding the ground
You do not own a quarry, you occupy it. Six ways to keep the ore.

The tactics that matter:

  • Presence is ownership. Whoever stands on the hopper when the ore drops collects it, even if a rival paid for the diesel. Never leave a running quarry unattended on a busy server.
  • Wall it or watch it. The no build zone stops you basing directly on the quarry, but organised clans cage the surrounding ground with high external walls and auto turrets so only they can reach the output. It is a big commitment, and it paints a target on you.
  • It is loud. A running quarry can be heard across the area. If you start it and leave, assume someone heard it and is on the way.
  • Bring the diesel and a furnace plan. No diesel means no dig. Ideally smelt the ore nearby or haul it straight home before someone taxes the hopper.
  • Load small when solo. Five diesel is ten minutes. You can guard that. Twenty diesel unattended is a gift to whoever wanders past.

HQM Quarry vs Giant Excavator

Both machines run on diesel and both can hand you HQM ore, so players constantly ask which one to run. They are not really competitors, they are two different scales of the same idea.

Rust comparison of the HQM Quarry versus the Giant Excavator for high quality metal: the HQM Quarry gives 50 HQM ore per diesel and is a small roadside monument with no radiation, while the Giant Excavator gives 100 HQM ore per diesel and lets you pick the resource but is a big central desert monument that is heavily contested
The Excavator doubles the rate and lets you pick the resource, at the cost of far more heat.
SourceHQM ore / dieselLocationThe catch
HQM Quarry50Small roadside quarryFixed to HQM, slow, but quiet
Giant Excavator100Central desert monumentLoud, central, heavily fought

The Giant Excavator doubles your HQM per diesel and lets you choose which resource to dig, which on paper makes it the better machine. In practice it is a single, central, unmissable monument that the strongest group on the server usually treats as theirs. The HQM Quarry is the low key alternative: half the rate, but roadside, no radiation, and far less likely to get you third partied. If you already control the excavator, use it. If you are a duo or trio who wants HQM without a war, the quarry is your machine.

Is the HQM Quarry Worth It?

Honest answer: yes, but only for HQM, and only if you can hold it. The HQM Quarry is not efficient in raw tonnage. It is slow and it is public. What it is, is the least painful way to get a resource that is otherwise miserable to farm.

Rust verdict on whether the HQM Quarry is worth running: yes for high quality metal because HQM is the rarest hand farm and a full stack of diesel gives 1,000 HQM with no pickaxe risk, but no if you are exposed because it is slow, loud and public and one roamer can tax the hopper, with the best move being to treat it as a mid-wipe side objective you run only when you control the area
Free money or a diesel donation, depending entirely on whether you can guard it.

It is worth it when you have looted diesel to spare and you want HQM without swinging a pickaxe at rare metal nodes. Fifty ore every couple of minutes with zero tool wear and zero risk to your character is a steady, almost AFK trickle, and a full stack of diesel is 1,000 HQM by the time the furnaces are done. For a group that already controls the area, that is close to free armor and turrets.

It is not worth it when you are exposed. It is slow, it is loud, and the hopper is open to anyone. A single roamer can undo an hour of digging by holding E while you are off getting more diesel. And if your goal is raw resource tonnage rather than HQM specifically, hand mining nodes with Ore Tea often beats standing at a quarry.

Best move Treat the HQM Quarry as a mid wipe side objective, not a main farm. Run it only when you already control the surrounding ground, carry the ore home to smelt, and never leave it burning unwatched. Used that way it is one of the better passive HQM sources in the game. Used carelessly it just funds the roamer who robbed you.

HQM Quarry Pro Tips

The gap between a full hopper and a robbed one is where most HQM Quarry Rust runs actually get decided. A few habits that keep the metal in your pocket:

  • Scout before you commit. If the arm is already swinging when you arrive, someone else’s diesel is in there and someone else is coming back for it. Take the output and accept the fight, or leave and come back later.
  • Match the load to your presence. Solo, load five diesel and babysit it. In a group, one person loads a full stack while the rest hold the ground.
  • Bring your own furnaces, or smelt at home. There is no recycler or furnace at the quarry. Raw ore is dead weight until it is cooked, so plan the smelt before you dig.
  • Stack diesel from two monuments. The best diesel sources are Power Plant and Water Treatment. Loot their spawns on the way and the quarry run costs you nothing but the drive.
  • Do not sink C4 into it. The quarry cannot be destroyed or picked up, so there is nothing to raid. Save your explosives for bases.
  • Know the other monuments. The quarries are the quiet cousins of the bigger Rust monuments. If the HQM Quarry is contested, the Giant Excavator or a metal node run with tea is your fallback.

Your HQM stockpile does not survive the wipe. Every bar of High Quality Metal you dig and smelt goes in the bin on force wipe day, along with the blueprints on most servers. Know exactly how long you have to spend it.

See the wipe countdown

HQM Quarry Rust FAQ

How much HQM do you get from the quarry in Rust?
The HQM Quarry gives 50 High Quality Metal Ore per unit of Diesel Fuel, which burns in about 2 minutes 5 seconds. A full stack of 20 diesel therefore yields 1,000 HQM ore over roughly 42 minutes, and after smelting that is 1,000 High Quality Metal. The yield scales in a straight line, so there is no bonus for loading more diesel at once.
How do you use the HQM Quarry in Rust?
Find the HQM Quarry monument on the map, hold E on its engine and drop Diesel Fuel into the fuel slot, then start it. The mining arm swings and drops HQM ore into the output hopper as the diesel burns. Hold E on the hopper to collect the ore, then smelt it in a furnace to get High Quality Metal. No keycard, fuse, workbench or hazmat suit is needed.
What fuel does the HQM Quarry use?
Diesel Fuel. It used to run on low grade fuel, but the Quality of Life update on 1 December 2022 moved all quarries and pump jacks onto diesel. Diesel is loot only and cannot be crafted, so any guide that tells you to pour low grade into a quarry is out of date.
How long does 1 diesel last in the HQM Quarry?
One Diesel Fuel runs the HQM Quarry for about 2 minutes 5 seconds, producing 50 HQM ore in that time. That is roughly 29 diesel an hour if you keep it topped up, the same burn rate the pump jack and the other quarries use.
Can you place your own quarry in Rust?
No. On vanilla Rust the Mining Quarry is not craftable, not researchable and not placeable. The old flow of throwing a Survey Charge and building a quarry on the spot was removed years ago. The only quarries in the game are the three static ones baked into the map: the Sulfur Quarry, the HQM Quarry and the Stone Quarry. Some modded servers re-enable placement, but default Rust does not.
How do you get HQM ore in Rust?
There are only a few sources of High Quality Metal Ore. You get small amounts from the final hit on a metal ore node, you get 50 per diesel from the HQM Quarry, you get 100 per diesel from the Giant Excavator set to metal, and finished HQM shows up in mid and high tier loot. There is no cheap way to mass farm it by hand, which is why the HQM Quarry is valuable.
Do you need to smelt HQM quarry ore?
Yes. The HQM Quarry outputs High Quality Metal Ore, which does nothing on its own. You have to smelt it in a furnace to turn it into High Quality Metal. HQM ore smelts at about one every 6.7 seconds, so 50 ore takes a little over five and a half minutes, and a full 1,000 ore haul is close to two hours of furnace time.
Can you lock or own the HQM Quarry?
No. Both the fuel tank and the output hopper are public, with no lock, no code and no building privilege. Whoever is standing at the hopper when the ore drops collects it, even if someone else paid the diesel. Controlling the HQM Quarry means physically occupying and guarding it, not owning it.
Is the HQM Quarry worth it in Rust?
For HQM specifically, yes, as long as you can hold it. HQM is the rarest resource to farm by hand, and 50 ore every couple of minutes with no tool wear is a steady trickle that funds armor, turrets and workbenches. It is not worth it if you are exposed, because it is slow, loud and public, and one roamer can empty the hopper while you are away. Treat it as a mid wipe side objective in an area you already control.
HQM Quarry vs Sulfur Quarry vs Stone Quarry, what is the difference?
All three are identical static machines that run on diesel and burn one unit in about two minutes. Only the output differs. The Sulfur Quarry gives 1,000 sulfur ore per diesel, the HQM Quarry gives 50 HQM ore, and the Stone Quarry gives about 5,000 stone plus 1,000 metal ore. HQM looks tiny by comparison, but High Quality Metal is worth far more per unit, so the HQM Quarry is the most valuable of the three.
Is the HQM Quarry or the Giant Excavator better for HQM?
The Giant Excavator is faster at 100 HQM ore per diesel and lets you pick the resource, but it is a single central desert monument that is heavily contested. The HQM Quarry is half the rate at 50 per diesel, but it is a quiet roadside monument with no radiation and far less traffic. Use the excavator if you already control it, and the quarry if you want HQM without a fight.
Can you destroy or raid the HQM Quarry?
No. The quarry is part of the map, the same as a monument recycler. It cannot be destroyed, picked up or raided for parts, so there is no point spending explosives on it. The only thing worth taking is whatever is sitting in the output hopper.

Sources