Colonists wont mine compacted machinery

[ChanWho]

So I have been low on components and I tried to mine the compacted machinery and my colonists just wont mine it I always have to buy it which means I have to spend money since I already have a lot of components I can mine. Can anyone help me

[Narrowmind]

Are the characters actually set to mine? If so, what happens if you zone them in the area? Do they mine then?

If not, I would assume a mod conflict.

[Ivarukฅ(^•ᴥ•^)ฅﾉ彡]

gotta order them to do it, and there's not even a mining level restriction to dig, just it'll take a real long time with unskilled miners

[The Blind One]

The first question a commentor should ask in this situation and something you as OP should disclose right away.

Are you using mods?

If yes, then list any and all mods that might affect mining, and if not;

Are you sure they are allowed to access the area? (check area restrictions)
Are you sure they are able to mine in the work schedule (work priorities set correctly?)

[MadArtillery]

Do you actually have a miner with high enough priority on mining to actually mine? Are they zoned to be allowed to reach it?

[Astasia]

Colonists do not automatically prioritize mining "ores." If you have other mining tasks closer to them that's what they will work on. If they are mining stone somewhere and not the compacted machinery, cancel the stone mining task or disallow them from that area.