Tutorials/Branch mining

"Branch Mining" is the name given by players to a type of technique used for finding and mining resources very deep underground, usually between 0-16 blocks below sea level. Using the method can result in a player encountering many useful and sometimes rare blocks, such as Gold and Diamond Gems.

Creating a Branch Mine
Creating a Branch Mine is simple. First, dig deep underground until 0-16 blocks above the bottom level. To keep track of this, press F3, and the Y-Axis tells the level of depth the player character is currently at. Upon reaching the desired level, begin to dig at least 20 blocks into a wall to create a shaft. Come out of the shaft, move at least 2 blocks to the left or right, and do the same again, digging 20 blocks into the wall. Each shaft made will almost always contain a resource block ranging from Coal, Iron, Redstone to even Gold and  Diamond.

There is a tradeoff between the distance chosen for each branch of your mine. A distance of 2 blocks per branch means that you will end up exposing almost every block, but at the cost of a lot of work. A distance of 5 blocks per branch will give you a wider distance covered but there is the possibility of missing some ore veins, especially Diamond or  Lapis Lazuli which usually appear in veins of 1-4 blocks.

The trade-off for distance can be minimized by making a branch mine a level above and below the branch mine that is offset. For example:

#######       #########    # - Cobblestone #.###.#       #.#####.#    . - Mineshaft #.###.#       #.#####.#  #######        #########    Side view of offset branch mine ###.###       ####.####  ###.###        ####.####  #######        #########  3 Space        5 Space Branch Mine   Branch Mine

It is recommended to create an base near the shaft containing a Chest, Furnace and Crafting Table. An underground Tree farm can also be set up, proiding a source of wood for fuel, Tools and Torches. Here, blocks collected from a shaft can be stored or smelted, and tools can be created if one happens to break.