iron on the starting planet

just got this game, all of 3 hours played and I have not yet seen any iron... I found some in a chest, but that is all. I don't even know what it looks like. Any tips? I've dug down and explored many-a cave but still no sign of iron.

I don't really know how to proceed... I was hoping the tutorial missions would explain some of the mechanics of the game... and they have, but now I'm stuck on finding 16 ore to make some kind of antenna and I'm having difficulty in finding ore,

 

The distress beacon is the last thing you do before leaving Alpha sector entirely. If you're having trouble finding iron on your first planet, load some coal into your ship's fuel hatch and try looking somewhere else.

 

Yes the game as it currently is has very little in the way of pointing out what you can do or how to go about it at the moment.
Try using the coal and wood as fuel and finding another planet and see I'd there's iron there. You're not actually stranded on the planet despite what the tool tip might say.

 

thanks guys, this was really helpful... i didn't realize that coal could be used as fuel. I went to another planet and found tons of iron