Tutorials/Mining

In Minecraft, there are many ways a player can mine. This article explains several techniques that may be of use.

Cherrypicking
The mining method that is most often used, and in turn requires the least amount of effort, is the cherrypicking method. Inlets to caves are found easily on the surface, some of which lead to anything from a small cave, to even a large cavern system. Cherrypicking is the direct exploitation of exposed ore in these caverns and little else. Note that exploiting resources from a high ceiling is simple: simply engage a stack of at least ten dirt, sand, gravel, cobblestone or basically anything easily rebroken, and place underneath yourself as you jump. After exploiting the resources, get down safely by mining vertically through your synthetic pedestal, especially if it happens to be high or made out of ore if other materials had been discarded in lieu of them. Although cherrypicking is simple and requires minimal effort on the part of the player, the results can vary wildly. Therefore, more intensive and indiscriminate methods are required for systematic and more profitable mineral recovery, which are explained below. Since mobs often spawn readily in cave systems, a sword (or bow) and provisions are virtually a necessity.

Safety
The safety rule #1 when mining downwards: never mine the block you are standing on if you don't know what's below it - there can be lava or a cave into which you would fall. And in the case of lava - you would die and lose all your items to the lava. Therefore mining 1x1 shafts is considered dangerous. Also it is advised to carry a water bucket and/or some blocks of material somewhere in a quick-slot. A block can be used to quickly plug the leakage in cases of lava inflow from a side of the shaft, and water can be poured over flowing lava to turn it into a cobblestone, as well as to put out fire.

Staircases
Staircase mining is a common mining technique for quickly reaching lower levels of the map while continuing to gather Stone. It essentially consists of mining downwards in such a way that the player can always climb back up to the mine entrance.

Since the player can only jump up one block at a time, the path can never drop down more than one block.

Straight
The most basic strategy is to mine in a straight line at a 45° angle downwards, moving one block across for every block down. To climb back up these stairs afterwards, you only need to hold down the jump key while moving forward.

After enough cobblestone (or wood) is collected, you can craft Stairs and place them at your downright tunnel. It will make the trip a lot smoother, easier and faster without any need to jump. Although an extra block from the ceiling of the staircase will need to be removed to accommodate the stairs.

Spiral
Spiral staircases are slightly more complicated since they have frequent turns, but have the advantage of leading straight down. They also have the benefit of being more contained and give you a more targeted dig. One design is a 3x3 horizontal grid. By digging one block down at a time, and moving around the perimeter of your 3x3 area, you will have enough head room as you move down the staircase. You can optionally leave the central column for a barrier or remove it to place ladders centrally, but it isn't necessary for the functionality of the staircase. You can also add stair blocks to this setup as well.

Spiral (2x2)

 * 1) Stand on the bottom-left block of your staircase. Dig one block down, so you have to hop to exit the stairs.


 * 1) Mine the block/s in front of you and the block beneath. Drop down.


 * 1) Turn 90 degrees. Periodically place torch above head when dark.


 * 1) Repeat steps 2 and 3 until desired result achieved.

Shaft mining
Shafts are mined vertical tunnels used to gain access to underground mining sites. They can be of any widths starting from 1x1 blocks. Shafts with widths of 4x2 and up are able to be turned into water elevators for fast vertical transportation.

1x2

 * 1) Pick a place where you want your shaft
 * 2) Mine a first block adjacent to the block you are standing at
 * 3) Step down
 * 4) Mine a block you were standing at and one below it
 * 5) Place a ladder every two blocks down
 * 6) Go to 2.1
 * 7) Continue in above pattern until you reach desired depth. From then on use a horizontal mining method of your choice

Shaft with water drop
With a separate descent shaft, getting to the bottom can be extremely fast; you simply fall into a water pit. Ascent is accomplished with a ladder. This arrangement can be accomplished by first stockpiling about 64 ladders along with 2 water-filled buckets, and then excavating a 3-block wide shaft. One side of the shaft becomes the water pit, while ladders are placed in the other side. The middle is then filled in to prevent falling outside the water pit while descending.

For detailed building instructions, see Vertical Mine Shaft With Water Drop.

Safety
Horizontal mining is not as dangerous as vertical. But there are some similar suggestions. Carry a water bucket and/or some blocks of material somewhere in a quick-slot. A block can be used to quickly plug the leakage in cases of lava, and water can be poured over flowing lava to turn it into a cobblestone, as well as to put out fire.

Branch Mining
An effective technique if you want to find rare resources with minimal effort. It is basically mining down to any level, usually to bedrock, and then mining outwards to the sides, much like a tree with a trunk and branches.


 * 1) Use the staircase method to dig down to bedrock.
 * 2) Go up 2 blocks and fill any space below you mined out.
 * 3) Dig a 3x3 room.
 * 4) Dig a straight 2x1 tunnel in a straight line then dig out 20 blocks every 4th block.

This method will occasionally miss small/narrow ore deposits that fall entirely between the branches, but it covers ground faster, so you'll usually get more ore for your time. If you'd rather be sure of 100% coverage, place the tunnels every third block instead of every fourth. Diagram: X = Tunnel "Trunk" B = Branch S = Staircase B      B                 B       B           B       B                 B       B           B       B                 B       B           B       B                 B       B           B       B                 B       B           B       B                 B       B           B       B       XXX       B       B X X X X X X X X X X X X X XXX X X X X X X X X X X X X           B       B       XXX       B       B           B       B        S        B       B           B       B        S        B       B           B       B        S        B       B           B       B        S        B       B           B       B        S        B       B Each branch can be any length, but about 20 blocks long is a good length to begin with.

Strip Mining
Strip Mining is an efficient way to discover resources as it uncovers every block down a certain length of tunnel. It involves digging tunnels (usually 20 spaces long) either side of a two-block thick wall.


 * 1) Dig a room that is 7 blocks long, 10 blocks wide and 3 blocks high. Have your stairway/ladder in the middle of one of the 10 block walls, preferably 2 spaces wide.
 * 2) Starting in one of the corners, dig parallel to one of the walls of the room you just dug, for 20 spaces, placing a torch every 5 blocks.
 * 3) Then, dig another 20 block tunnel that has two blocks between it and the previous tunnel.
 * 4) Continue until you reach the other side of the room.

Diagram:

Key: A = Air B = Stone block S = Staircase T = Tunnel A A A A A A A A A A T T T T T                 A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B                  A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B                  A A A A A A A A A A T T T T T                  A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B                  A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B                  A A A A A A A A A A T T T T T                  T B B T S S T B B T                   T B B T S S T B B T                  T B B T S S T B B T                  T B B T S S T B B T                  T B B T S S T B B T

By utilising Strip Mining properly you can uncover all the blocks in quite a large area, and the mineral yields are quite high. Having the stairs 2 blocks wide allows for most efficient strip mining as they can be strip mined around. Also, a good length for each tunnel is 20 blocks long.

Excavation Mining


Excavation Mining is very similar to strip mining, sharing the prospect of taking all resources within an area. The difference between Excavating and Strip Mining is that the process of Excavating involves a large rectangular or square strip, continually mined downwards with a staircase running along the side. This method got it's name by it's similarity to real world excavation sites. Excavations are typically ceased when a large cave is discovered (This does not directly stop the excavation, it just makes it difficult to continue), the miner abandons the Excavation for another project, or the "end of the world" is reached.



The Construction of a Excavation Mine is as follows

1: Determine the size of the project (there is no standard so simply choose how big you want it to be, however it is advised that the area is large due to the tapering effect of the mine an a larger area for requisition)

2: Begin Mining until the entire area is one block deep, save for one block which will become the stairs

3: Continue mining one block deep while keeping an extra block to extend the stairway, until the mine reaches bedrock or until you wish to abandon

Example:

Key: - = Air B = Stone block S = Staircase

Top of mine:

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BSB B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Next few levels down:

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBB BSB B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBB BBB BSB B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B B-B BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Many levels later the mine would have receded quite a bit, and your mine should be similar to this:

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBB-BBBBB BBBBB-BBBBB BBBBB-BBBBB BBBBBSBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Eventually the mine will become too small to be useful. Despite this shortcoming, the amount of cobblestone, dirt, coal, iron, and to some extent gold, will be enormous, and the possibility of lava is very high (Diamonds and Lapis Lazuli can be mined using this method, but due to their rarity the placement of the mine along with its size will determine the amount). This type of mining is suggested for getting large amounts of cobblestone, iron and coal, besides the ability to gain large amounts of resources, this type of mining exposes many caves for further exploration/mining.



Besides mining, Excavation Mining also has some non-resource related benefits, such as keeping the area clean and fresh (not ruining the nature), and a handy trap as the mine is very deep.

Warning: Be extremely careful around this mine, as a fall will surely be fatal.

Note: If the diminishing size of the mine is a concern, you can dig under the stairway you previously left, leaving only the block you need to step on. This would leave a straight shaft, as deep as you wish to dig.

Creeper Mining
Creeper mining involves creepers, speed and maneuverability, and luck. Find a creeper either in a cave or on the surface, preferably in a cave near where your mining. Next, get the creeper to follow you to where you want to blow something up. Make sure there's a clear path for you and the creeper. Next is the trick. Try to make the creeper explode at the mining area and keep a safe distance away from the creeper. This method of mining will take out a lot more rock in one hit than just mining with a pickaxe. However, this method is impractical because creepers may not explode at the mining location, and even if they do you may die in the process. Also, only about 30% of all the blocks from the creeper blast survive. So if you're just trying to make a big hole, TNT would be a better choice because it is more controlled and has a bigger blast radius than creepers. Furthermore, the chances of a creeper spawning or a group of creepers spawning is just as great as another enemy mob spawning. So, finding a creeper that is "willing to blow up at the spot of your choice" is quite hard. The cons out weigh the pros with this method, but it does create a adrenaline rush to try to get the creeper just to follow you all that way!