Metal collecting

Metals are a collectible in The Sims 3 and are found in ore form, to be smelted into ingots for §40.

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.

The "Breaking Even" equation is as follows: §54 (Cost of Ingot) * 1.75 (Smelting Worth Modifier) - §54 (Cost of Ingot) - §40 (Cost of Smelting) = §0.5; thus this is the lowest whole number that does not lose money.

Many, many editors have contended that §23 is "breaking even". Plugging into the correct equation, §23 * 1.75 - §23 - §40 = -§22.75, and thus is losing money. If you were to sell the raw ore, you would have made §23 and paid nothing, for a profit of §23, whereas if you mail it to the smelter, you will have paid §40 and made §40.25, for a profit of §0.25. It is far more worthwhile to sell a raw ore up to §54, at which point it becomes worthwhile to smelt it.

Also take into account if your Sim has the "Metal Collector" challenge there is a possibility that smelting will lead to additional ingots you would've missed out on if you had sold the raw metal. Not to mention there is always a chance of getting a Mysterious Mr. Gnome which is worth $1000.

Raw	Ingot	Metal	Rarity	Weight	Raw Value	Ingot Value	EP	Where?
File:Iron Raw.png	File:Iron Ignot.png	Iron	Common	1-52	§7-20	§35	File:TS3-base-game-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood
File:Silver Raw.png	File:Silver Ignot.png	Silver	Common	1-52	§25-35	§61	File:TS3-base-game-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood
File:Gold Raw.png	File:Gold Ignot.png	Gold	Uncommon	1-52	§40-120	§210	File:TS3-base-game-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood
File:Palladium Raw.png	File:Palladium Ignot.png	Palladium	Rare	80-300	§300-500	§875	File:TS3-base-game-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood
File:Plutonium Raw.png	File:Plutonium Ignot.png	Plutonium	Extraordinarily Unusual	0.1-5	§1000-1800	§3150	File:TS3-base-game-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood
		Copper	Common	1-52	§15-31		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	Egypt
		Mummitomium	Rare	150-450	§750-1200		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	Egypt
		Iridium	Uncommon	1-11	§75-155		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	France
		Titanium	Rare	75-105	§450-700		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	France
		Platinum	Uncommon	1-52	§250-336		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	China
		Mercury*	Uncommon	1-52	§100-400		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	China
		Compendium	Extraordinarily Unusual	1100-5500	§???-???		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood
		Supernovium	Extraordinarily Unusual	35000-55000	§3500-5500		File:TS3-EP1-World-Adventures-icon.jpg	Base Neighborhood

^{* Once smelted, Mercury will be always returned as a liquid in a vial. Solid Mercuries can be obtained through Transfiguration.}