Complete Guide to Ores: Where to Mine and How to Succeed in Minecraft

Hello, miners! Honestly, when I first started playing, my initial thought was: «I'll just dig straight down until I find something shiny». Spoiler: I found lava. It was quite the experience, and I learned my lesson.

Today, I'll share my experience with you. Minecraft has 11 types of ores, and I'll explain where each one is hidden and how to extract them most efficiently. Let's go!

Coal: The Basics

Let's start simple. Coal ore — your best friend at the beginning of the game. It is most commonly found at Y=95 to Y=136. This means you don't need to dig deep — just explore hills, mountains, or shallow caves. It can be mined with any pickaxe, even wooden ones.

Copper and Iron: The Midway

Copper ore is usually found at Y=48. It can be mined with any pickaxe except wooden and golden ones (strange but true). You'll get raw copper, which needs to be smelted.

Iron ore, on the other hand, is serious business. It prefers Y=16, but honestly, if you want a lot of it, head to mountains at Y=232. It's the best place to farm iron.

Deep Deposits and the "Branch Mining" Technique

Before we go deeper, let's discuss strategy. You can just roam caves, but there's a better way — branch mining.

Go down to Y=-58. Dig a main tunnel 2x2 blocks wide. Then, dig narrow branches (1x2 blocks) to the sides, each 30 blocks long. Keep a 2-block gap between branches. Don't forget to place torches every 12 blocks to avoid creepers sneaking up on you (the hissing sound is the last thing you want to hear).

Now, let's talk about deep ores:

• Gold ore: Usually found at Y=-16. But here's a pro tip: head to the Badlands biome. Gold spawns there from Y=32 to Y=256, more frequently than dirt! Just explore caves in that area.

• Redstone: Found deep at Y=-58. Since there are few caves, branch mining is your best bet.

• Lapis Lazuli: Best found at Y=-1. Can be mined with any pickaxe, preferably stone or better.

• Emeralds: Only in mountains and only at Y=236. Rare but worth it.

• Diamonds: Everyone's favorite. Found at Y=-58, often near redstone.

Secret Method for Diamonds

Branch mining is great, but there's a catch. After update 1.18, diamonds are less common in open caves but more frequent in underwater areas. Water isn't considered air, so the generation is more generous. Find a deep cave leading into water, bring doors or magma blocks for breathing, and dive in. Seriously, you'll find more diamonds than you can carry.

Netherite: The Grand Finale

Ancient debris (raw netherite) — the rarest material. Look for it in the Nether at Y=15.

Where to mine? Look for the Warped Forest (blue Enderman forest) or Nether Wastes.
Where NOT to mine? Please, avoid Basalt Deltas! There's too much lava, it's hard to dig, and it's dangerous. Soul Sand Valleys are also a bad choice due to ghasts and skeletons.

Method 1: Chunk Borders (For PC)

Ancient debris tends to spawn along chunk borders.

1. Press F3 + G (chunk borders will appear).
2. At Y=15, dig along the chunk border.
3. Found debris? Dig around it — there might be more.
4. My stats: about 35 debris in 40 minutes. Not bad, right?

For Bedrock (phones/consoles): Enable coordinates. Divide the X or Z coordinate by 16. If the result is an integer — you're on a border.

Method 2: Blow It All Up (TNT)

Dig a long tunnel at Y=13-15. Place TNT every 3-4 blocks. Light it up and run! The explosion will reveal a large area. Ancient debris doesn't explode, so just collect it after the fireworks.

Final Touch: Enchantments

You have two paths of the samurai:

1. Fortune III: Increases the amount of resources dropped (diamonds, coal, redstone). You can get up to 8 diamonds from one block! But it doesn't work on ancient debris or iron/gold (no effect).
2. Silk Touch: Drops the block itself. Mine diamond ore — you get the ore block, not the diamond. Useful for building or saving inventory space.

Which to choose? I'd say Fortune III is more important for mining. Save Silk Touch for a second pickaxe.

I hope this guide saves you from wasting time and taking lava baths. If you have questions or crazy mining methods — share them, let's discuss! Happy hunting!