Nuclear Material is the result of scrapping various junk items or smelting uranium ore in Fallout 76. You use it in many late-game crafting recipes. More specifically, power armor and plasma weapons.
Nuclear Material is scrapped from items like Nuclear Waste and Volatile Materials Boxes or smelted from Uranium Ore. The best locations for scrap are Kanawha Nuka Cola Plant, Greg’s Mine Supply, The Rusty Pick, and Camp Venture. In addition to sixteen Uranium Ore nodes from Blackwater Mine.
I’ve done extensive research on the strategies available for acquiring Nuclear Material. After reading through to the end, I guarantee you’ll learn all you need about Nuclear Material farming.
Kanawha Nuka Cola Plant
The Kanawha Nuka Cola Plant is on the forest region’s west side, just north of the river dividing the Forest and Ash Heap. It is north of Camden Park and west of Poseidon Energy Plant WV-06.
Enter the building through the main lobby by crossing the bridge and following the road to the east until you spot a friendly turret outside the door.
Proceed through the main lobby through the large door on the west wall. Enter the Snackability Research and Development room upstairs to the right. There is a Nuclear Waste canister on the countertop in the blue container and another on the nearby table.
Pick the lock on the door in the north wall requiring level one lock pick skill. Grab the Nuclear Waste straight ahead on the shelf and the two on the top shelf in the center of the room.
Leave the room and head to the other side of the stairs into the Flavor Profile Ops room. On the west end of the room is another Nuclear Waste canister in a broken safe on the floor.
Go back to the main area and head to the west side of the large bottle. Jump through the gaping hole in the floor. There are Nuclear Waste canisters on a shelf on the north side and a cart on the south side.
Exiting the room through the door in the west wall, turn northwest and find the final Nuclear Waste canister on a cart a few meters ahead.
Greg’s Mine Supply
Greg’s Mine Supply is south of Morgantown and north of Helvetia in the Forest region. Arktos Pharma is west, and Bolton Greens is east.
From the spawn point, Greg’s Mine Supply is the large building straight ahead. If you already have the keys, proceed to the front door entrance. If not, head around the back of the two-story house across the street and enter the basement. There is a linear path that will lead into Greg’s Mine Supply.
Upon entering through the front door, looking northeast, there will be a red Volatile Materials Box on the floor. Grab the box. Heading back to the front door and turning south, you’ll go through the door straight ahead.
Take the stairs on your left and grab the Volatile Materials Box on the floor at the top.
Heading down the stairs, exit the building through the door in the south and turn left. Enter the garage ahead and grab the Volatile Materials Box towards the back of the garage on the left.
The Rusty Pick
The Rusty Pick is in the Ash Heap, southwest of the Charleston Fire Department and northeast of the Belching Betty mine.
Take the spawn point and choose to stay in the exterior. Head west around the building until you find a set of stairs leading to the roof. Next to a duffle bag, you’ll find a Volatile Materials box on the floor.
Jump off the roof and head southeast towards the air purifiers. Approaching the air purifiers and looking east, you’ll find a rusted-out truck with a Volatile Materials Box in the back of the truck bed.
Continue to the base of the air purifiers within the fenced area and find a third Volatile Materials Box on the ground next to a cart and a large toolbox.
Camp Venture
Camp Venture is on the border between the Mire and the Cranberry Bog. The General’s Steakhouse is southeast, and Treetops is north.
Take the spawn point and head directly to the southwest through the fence. Proceed to the second building on the right with the Storage and Supplies sign outside.
Take the second right between the shelves and find a Volatile Materials Box on the left-hand shelf by the wall.
Exit the building and turn right to follow the path around to reach a door into the main fort marked by a Thunder 75 sign.
Take the first right and head towards the door with a restricted area sign on the right-hand side. Unlock the security door inside, requiring level three lock-picking skills. Grab the Volatile Materials Box and head back outside.
Straight ahead and to the right is the command building. Note the terminal outside the door on the left. The password for the terminal is on a note in the basement of the storage building from earlier. Otherwise, pick the level three lock on the door and grab the Volatile Material Box on the fifth locker down from the door.
Blackwater Mine
Blackwater Mine is east of the Whitespring Station in the Savage Divide.
The spawn point drops you outside the main gate leading to the mine. You’ll have to deal with Mole Miners to get to the mine properly. Still, that’s a good thing, as many of them will be glowing, allowing them to drop Nuclear Waste.
Continuing south, you’ll come to a hangar with a large opening. Inside you’ll take the smaller door in the back to enter the mine. Once inside, follow the tracks east and take a left at the bodies of the two deceased Mole Miners.
Continue to the east and head up the stairs to the left after exiting a small tunnel. At the platform’s top, turn immediately left and proceed to the back of the short tunnel. Grab the Nuclear Waste canister on the shelf to the right of the locked safe.
Make your way back to the platform, and find the small rope bridge leading to a tunnel. The left-hand fork leads to an office area, but the right-hand fork leads to a small tunnel with nine Uranium Ore nodes in the walls. Make sure to equip your Excavator Power Armor before grabbing them to double your yield.
Jump down from the end of the tunnel to return to the main rails. Continue east over a rickety bridge and past some double doors on the right. A little further up, you’ll come to an opening on the left with a couple of beds and seven more Uranium Ore nodes. Again, make sure to wear Excavator Power Armor to harvest these.
With everything combined, you should have found at least twenty Nuclear Materials in Blackwater Mine. The ore will smelt down to twelve Nuclear Materials, more with Super Duper equipped. You’ll get a few from Glowing Mole Miners and another from the nuclear waste canister.
Federal Disposal Field HZ-21
Federal Disposal Field HZ-21 is on the far south side of the map in the Savage Divide region. Vault 96 is to the east, and R&G Station is to the north.
There are three Uranium Ore deposits at this workshop. Once you’ve cleared it out and taken control of the workshop, you’ll be able to place down and power extractors to harvest Uranium Ore while you’re off doing other things.
The combined three deposits will net thirty Uranium Ore every thirty minutes. Smelted at a Chemistry Station will yield twelve to fifteen Nuclear Materials with Super Duper equipped.
The problem is finding them in large quantities. The only guaranteed spot I’ve found is at Solomon Pond in the Savage Divide. Take the spawn point, turn around to the southwest, and follow the path to the pond. You’ll find a Super Mutant Behemoth, guaranteed unless someone already snagged it.
The other location where they commonly spawn is the Abandoned Bog Town in the Cranberry Bog. You can only take the spawn point directly if you already have the workshop. In that case, he’s not there anyway.
You can spawn at the nearby Pylon V-13 and look to your west, and you’ll likely see a Super Mutant Behemoth in the distance.
The thing that makes hunting them work is the ability to server-hop and find more of them without moving around too much. I was surprised that this method worked as well as it did. If you’re lucky, hopping five times could yield up to fifty Nuclear Waste.
Uranium Fever Event
Now let’s talk about Events. There are a couple of events that are amazing for collecting Nuclear Material. We’ll start with Uranium Fever, which runs in the Blackwater Mine.
Uranium Fever is a popular event that usually attracts most people on the server to help out. So even at low levels, you should have no problems.
You’re awarded two to four Nuclear Waste upon completion. What makes it so powerful is that you are fighting tons of Glowing Mole Miners, each having the chance to drop Nuclear Waste. The best bet is to join a public group to maximize your yield.
Radiation Rumble Event
The second and even more powerful event is Radiation Rumble. It’s an entire event geared toward taking down glowing creatures that each have a chance to drop Nuclear Waste.
Radiation Rumble is one of the most popular events because it is an excellent source of experience, legendaries, and many junk items.
Join a group to complete the event and pick up all the nuclear material at the end. If you consistently need Nuclear Material for crafting, attend this event when it pops up.
Goo Piles
The final strategy we’ll discuss is simply getting yourself a plasma weapon and going to town on whatever enemies you want. Plasma weapons have a chance to turn enemies into goo piles. Those goo piles have an opportunity to contain nuclear waste. This method is an excellent way to consistently add Nuclear Material to your inventory without doing anything more than you usually would.