Dune Awakening Silicone Block – How to Craft This Essential Mid-Game Resource

If you’ve spent any amount of time scrounging the dunes of Arrakis in Dune: Awakening, you’ve probably already realized something: the early game is just a warm-up. Once you push deeper into Vermillius Gap and start unlocking advanced crafting, things get exponentially more complicated. You’re no longer picking up random scraps and slapping them together. Instead, you’re refining rare resources into components that power the mid- and late-game tech tree.

One of the most important of these components is the Silicone Block. This is a refined material you’ll need for all kinds of advanced structures, tools, and vehicles. In my experience, unlocking the ability to craft Silicone Blocks is when you really start to feel like you’ve moved beyond basic survival. You’re no longer just trying to scrape by—you’re building the infrastructure to dominate the desert.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Dune Awakening Silicone Blocks: how to unlock the recipe, where to get the raw ingredients, and why you should always be crafting them in bulk.

What Are Silicone Blocks in Dune Awakening?

Let’s start with the basics.

Silicone Blocks are a mid-tier refined resource you craft at a Chemical Refinery. Unlike something like iron ingots, you can’t mine Silicone Blocks directly out of the desert. Instead, you gather raw materials, process them, and end up with a stack of this incredibly useful material.

They’re critical for building:

• Improved water collection devices (like upgraded dew reapers and cisterns)

• Advanced base structures that resist environmental hazards

• Higher-tier stillsuits (which, trust me, you’re going to want once you start venturing into the Deep Desert)

• Vehicle parts for sandbikes and harvesters

The bottom line: if you plan to survive past the early game, you’re going to need a ton of Silicone Blocks.

How to Unlock the Chemical Refinery

Before you even think about crafting Silicone Blocks, you’ll need to build a Small Chemical Refinery. The good news is that you can unlock this pretty early, assuming you’re progressing through the research tree.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Research unlock: You’ll get the blueprint for the Small Chemical Refinery not long after you’ve crafted your first batch of copper and iron products.

• Materials: Building it requires about 45 copper, so be sure to mine plenty of copper ore before you start.

• Construction: Use your construction tool to place it somewhere safe—ideally inside your base perimeter so you don’t have to defend it constantly.

Once you’ve built the refinery, you’re ready to start making Silicone Blocks.

Ingredients for Crafting Silicone Blocks

This is where a lot of newer players get tripped up. Unlike basic recipes that only need common resources, Silicone Blocks require two specific materials:

1. Flour Sand (x5)

2. Water (x50)

Let’s break down exactly how to get each one.

Flour Sand

Flour Sand is the primary ingredient in every Silicone Block recipe. You won’t find this in starter zones. To collect it, you’ll need to unlock the second region of Vermillius Gap.

Here’s how you gather it:

• Look for patches of white, powdery sand with a haze of floating dust above them. That’s Flour Sand.

• You can gather it manually, but honestly, you shouldn’t. Not only is it slow, but you’ll spend half the time dodging sandworms and slavers.

• Instead, build and use a Static Compactor. You’ll unlock this schematic after completing the Second Trial of Aql. It’s a huge time saver and much safer overall.

Veteran Tip: Always farm Flour Sand near rocky outcrops or while using a vehicle. It makes you less likely to get flattened by a sandworm.

Water

Water is a lot easier to collect, though it still requires a bit of planning.

You have multiple options:

• Use a dew reaper on primroses or other desert plants.

• Purify blood (a little gruesome, but very efficient).

• Tap moisture from specialized environmental nodes.

Whatever your method, you’ll need to store it in either a literjon or cistern before you can use it in crafting. Just remember: your hydration meter in the HUD doesn’t reflect your stored water—it only shows your own thirst.

How to Craft Silicone Blocks in Dune Awakening

Once you have your Chemical Refinery and the raw materials, crafting Silicone Blocks is straightforward:

1. Load the 5 Flour Sand and 50 Water into the Chemical Refinery.

2. Start the process.

3. Wait—like any refining process, it takes time. Plan ahead so you’re not stuck waiting when you need materials in a hurry.

Pro Tip: Craft Silicone Blocks in bulk whenever you can. You’re going to burn through them faster than you think.

Why You Should Always Have Silicone Blocks on Hand

I’ll be blunt: you’re never going to have “enough” Silicone Blocks.

Once you progress into crafting steel and iron-based items, you’ll constantly need more of them for things like:

• Windtraps and dew reapers for reliable water collection

• Blood purifiers to process any water source

• Advanced power sources like high-efficiency batteries

• Base upgrades to withstand storms and raids

• High-end vehicle parts for sandbikes and harvesters

If you’ve ever had your base flattened by a Coriolis Storm or your water supply run out mid-expedition, you already know how important infrastructure is. Silicone Blocks are the backbone of that infrastructure.

Farming Flour Sand Safely

Most players learn this the hard way, but Flour Sand zones are basically an open invitation for danger. Between sandworms, NPC patrols, and random players looking for easy kills, you can lose everything in seconds.

Here are a few tips I wish I’d known earlier:

• Farm at night: Fewer players and lower AI patrol density.

• Use a Sandbike: Faster extraction, safer routes.

• Avoid big open dunes: You’re much more likely to get eaten by a sandworm.

• Don’t carry everything: Leave valuables in your base before going on a Flour Sand run.

• Craft in bulk when you get home: It’s always more efficient.

Trading and Buying Silicone Blocks

If you’re low on time or just hate resource grinding, you can always buy Silicone Blocks directly through the in-game auction house, the Exchange.

Prices fluctuate a lot depending on demand, but if you’re flush with Solari or have been flipping schematics for profit, it’s often faster to just buy a stack rather than farm every single ingredient yourself.

Some players also trade them directly—so if you’re in a guild or active trading community, you can work out bulk deals.

Final Thoughts

Dune Awakening Silicone Block crafting is one of those milestones that marks your progression from early survival to mid-game mastery. It’s also one of the first times you’ll really feel the game’s complexity ramp up.

You’ll need to balance exploration, harvesting, refining, and base building just to keep up with your own ambitions. And honestly, that’s what makes Dune: Awakening so satisfying: the sense of accomplishment when you finally unlock an upgraded base with all the infrastructure to survive anything Arrakis throws at you.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. Break it down into steps:

1. Unlock your Chemical Refinery.

2. Scout safe Flour Sand farming spots.

3. Stockpile water early.

4. Craft in batches.

5. Plan ahead so you’re not stuck waiting on materials when you need them most.

One last recommendation—if you want to learn more about advanced crafting and high-level trading strategies, check out Dune Awakening Solari. It’s a good resource if you’re serious about dominating the dunes long-term.

Until then, happy crafting—and may the worms stay far away from your harvest runs.