Anno Fans - 1602: Resources

How are resources revealed?

Sail your ship to close to each island. Once stopped, selected the 'eye' icon,
which explores the island. You must let the red bar around the eye fill to
complete exploration. Exploration will determine what special crops can be
grown, and what ores (if any) can be mined. Special crop are Cocoa, Cotton,
Spices, Sugarcane, Tobacco and Vines. Grain and trees do not require specific
soils, and can be grown wherever there is room. The same applies to the
grazing of livestock. Once explored, suitability is shown by moving the cursor
over the island: It will display something like "Cocoa 100%, Cotton 50%,
Spices 100%", meaning these three crops can be grown here, but if Cotton is
grown, half the crop fields will fail. Iron ore deposits are shown as a pair
of hammers over the mountain. Gold deposits appear in a similar way. Islands
without mountains do not contain ore deposits.

Initially, buy Tools from Free Traders or Pirates, or buy Ore from traders,
smelt it and then make Tools. Tools can initially be brought for 71 coins (or
just above), more later in the game.

Gold deposits are not exhausted by mining. However, destroying natives on the
same island may remove any Gold deposit.
Gold deposits tend to be in short supply on most maps, however there is
normally at least one deposit.