Diamond Ore

Diamond ore is a rare ore that generates deep underground, and is the most abundant and reliable source of diamonds.

Deepslate diamond ore is a variant of diamond ore that can generate in deepslate and tuff blobs.

Natural generation


Diamond ore generates in the Overworld in the form of ore features, and is more common as the altitude decreases. Diamond ore blocks have a chance to not generate if they are exposed to air; however, they do not have a reduced chance to generate if exposed to water or lava, making them appear more commonly on the walls of aquifers.

Diamond ore generation occurs in three batches:


 * 7 ore features of 1-4 ores per chunk, from Y=14 to Y=-63. There is a 50% chance to not generate an ore block if it is next to air.
 * 1 ore feature of 1-12 ores every $1/9$ chunks, from Y=14 to Y=-63. There is a 70% chance to not generate an ore block if it is next to air.
 * 4 ore features of 1-8 ores per chunk. Ore blocks do not generate if they are next to air.

Diamond ore can replace stone, granite, diorite, andesite, tuff, and deepslate. Diamond ore that replaces tuff or deepslate becomes deepslate diamond ore.

Deepslate diamond ore also generates as part of fossils that generate below Y=0, replacing some of the bone blocks.

Breaking
The diamond ore block itself (rather than its diamond drops) can be obtained by mining it with an iron, diamond or netherite pickaxe with the Silk Touch enchantment. When mined without Silk Touch, diamond ore drops a single diamond. The maximum amount of diamonds dropped can be increased with Fortune. Fortune I gives a $1/3$ chance for 2 diamonds, averaging 1.33 diamonds, Fortune II gives a 25% chance (each) to give 2 or 3 diamonds, averaging 1.75 diamonds, and Fortune III gives a 20% chance (each) to give 2, 3, or 4 diamonds, averaging 2.2 diamonds.

Note Blocks
Diamond ore can be placed under note blocks to produce "bass drum" sounds.

ID




Trivia

 * In some blob formations, ores connect diagonally.
 * After the Caves & Cliffs update, diamond ore is the only type of Overworld ore that largely keeps the classic ore texture, with only some minor tweaks to coloration.
 * The Minecraft mechanic that diamond ore replaces coal ore in fossils that generate in deepslate layers, is in accordance with the common misconception in real life that s form from highly compressed.
 * In fact, diamonds mostly form from carbon that comes from s, and are completely unrelated to coal which form from dead plants.