Tutorials/Quarry

Quarries are deep player-made mines that yield large numbers of mined materials, and also materials from mobs that fall to their deaths in the quarry. Quarries are relatively safe to dig, and the outcome is well worth the small risk. The only dangers that a quarry presents are death from falling into the pit, death from hitting a lava flow, or by falling into a cavern due to recklessness and getting killed by a mob underground. Unless you are playing on peaceful difficulty, you should bring a weapon or two with you while making a quarry.

How They Work
Quarries are deep, square or rectangular pits with sheer walls that are dug at a safe, organized rate. There is usually a ladder or staircase leading to the surface. Because of the openness of the quarry, torches are not necessary during daylight.

The staircase running along the side provides the means of entering and exiting the quarry.

Construction
A quarry only requires three things: Pickaxes (a stone one is sufficient, although iron works a lot better), torches, and a means of getting out of the quarry, such as a ladder or stairs. A shovel and some solid blocks (for getting out of holes) are not necessary but useful. (Stone tools are efficient for quarries because for every stone pickaxe broken, you get about 40 more.)

To dig a quarry, simply find an open space that is at least 20x20 blocks large. Your site should be on fairly even terrain, but is not limited to such. Deserts and plains are preferable biomes for making a quarry. Deserts work perfectly because of their semi-flat terrain and not much is there, meaning no trees and water. If you can't find one, then you can try to flatten a fairly even space.


 * 1) Now, let's get started. Once you have found a large enough space, dig down one space at the corner of your site. Next, mine the block adjacent to it. Continue this around the perimeter of your site until you have a 1-block-deep trench around the perimeter of your site.
 * 2) Now that you've set your perimeter, mine all of the surface blocks within your site. When this is finished, you should have a large, square, 1-block-deep hole in the ground.
 * 3) Next, head back to the first corner that you dug in, and dig down one more block. Repeat what you did in step 1, but now you will be one level lower. Upon completing this level, you can begin placing your staircase or ladder as well.
 * 4) Continue the process of mining a layer, and then another, until you hit bedrock. This may take a few days of vigorous playing to accomplish, but your earnings will make it well worth it. For reference, 20x20 quarries (down to bedrock) typically yield 3 - 10 stacks of coal, 1 - 7 stacks of iron ore, up to half a stack of gold ore, perhaps 50 redstone dust(lower down), and a few Lapis Lazuli and diamond gems, though these results vary with the width, depth and location of your quarry. (see discussion section)
 * 5) A quicker way to finish quarries is hacking, using a 3x3 cube of desruction. After detonation, set another CoD at the lowest point of the destruction radius and detonate it again until you get to bedrock. These are efficient but a few resources (say 40%) will be destroyed in the explosion.

Really reckless miners have been known to make HUGE quarries, some giant ones are 50x50, 64x64, and one colossal quarry on the discussion page is 80x80, yielding a staggering 2200 stacks of cobblestone/stone. These will take a couple weeks of 24/7 gameplay, given their size, but the stone payoff is gigantic.

Note: A quarry built near a natural cave can be very difficult as the elevation will not be exact and holes in your quarry will be pre-made.

Other Uses
Once a quarry is finished, you will have a large, deep hole. There are many ways to utilize a spent quarry, but some popular choices are as follows:

Underground Base
Due to the open nature of a quarry, many players choose to build an intricate base floating in the quarry, and then fill in the unused space with dirt, gravel, sand and stone. If done correctly, an underground base will be undetectable from the surface, especially when grass grows on the surface above it. For extra stealth, consider planting trees in the open area.

Underwater Base
These are made by the same method as an underground base, except the open area is filled with water from artificial springs, lakes, rivers, etc. For additional effect, a lot of players build underwater bases from glass blocks, and build airlocks for extra stealth. Most quarries are square or rectangular, so it is hard to disguise an underwater base as a natural lake or pond, but with a little bit of work, you can make it look like a natural body of water.

If you have a hard time figuring out how to cover your quarry with water, you can refer to the tutorials/Man-Made Lake page.

Multi-level Grinder
After finishing your quarry, the large area mined out can make a perfect space for creating a large multi-level grinder. Ideally, the quarry should be at least 22 x 22, in order to make the best use of the space inside.

Diagram:

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Other Ideas
Aside from the listed projects, some players decide to expand their quarries for extra resources. Just know that this can be dangerous and very time consuming. It is often safer to mine your own tunnels from the quarry rather than expanding it.

It is also advisable to seal off the top with any object to prevent falling in when "strolling".

Trivia

 * When making a quarry, pay careful attention to caverns, mobs, lava, and the edge of your quarry. All of these can lead to injury and death.
 * It is smart to make a quarry close to your residence, or to build a small work area with a furnace, workbench, bed and a few large chests for storing your tools and materials.
 * Keep in mind that you will get about 381 stacks of blocks from the cited 20x20 example quarry, with an average depth of 61 blocks. This makes it easier to get materials for large structures. If you don't have a structure in mind, it's best to drop them from your inventory every time you leave the quarry for any reason.
 * Using glass to make landings won't disturb the sunlight. This is useful when connecting to other caves/tunnels.