Diamond Ore

Diamond ore is a mineral block that is one of the most valuable and elusive blocks in the game.

Obtaining
The diamond ore block itself (rather than its diamond drops) can be obtained by mining it with an iron pickaxe or better with the Silk Touch enchantment.

Natural generation
Diamond ore only appears at Y level 15 and below, and can be found in veins of 3-9. One diamond ore vein generates in each chunk; this vein or part of it may be overwritten by generated structures such as caves, leaving you without any diamonds in said chunk. There is an average of 3.097 diamond ore per chunk sized area. The highest concentration of diamonds, are between levels 5-12. Because of the lava lakes, there is slightly less diamond ore in the middle of that range (around layer 9, but 11 is much safer).

Lava pools do not enhance the chances of finding diamonds.

Mining strategies
There are many strategies to find diamonds. Ensure that you dig around the ore before mining to ensure that the diamonds do not fall in the lava.

Usage
Diamond ore drops 1 diamond and 3 to 7 experience when mined with an iron pickaxe or better. Mining with a Fortune enchanted pickaxe will increase yields, up to 4 diamonds per ore.

Trivia

 * In some vein formations, ores connect diagonally. Therefore it is recommended to mine around diamond ore. This also permits checking for lava.
 * Diamond ore, along with other ores, appear in the background on the achievement page.