Coal Ore

For other coal-related objects found in Minecraft, see Coal (disambiguation).

Coal Ore is the most common ore, with the largest vein, in Minecraft, and it can be found on the surface in caves and cliffs while it can also be found anywhere underground from the dirt layer to Bedrock. On the surface, they are usually found in veins of 3 or 4, but they can have as many as 24 per vein and is extremely common underground. Coal looks like stone (as seen below) but with black marks in it, so it is easier to distinguish from the surrounding stone blocks. Its block ID is 16.

Overview

Coal is one of the most important resources in Minecraft (despite being extremely common, and also able to spawn in veins of 40 or more), and it is essential for a player's first days in a World, as coal can be placed on top of a stick in a crafting table to make torches, which will prevent monsters from spawning in a player's house and help a player see in a cave.

Uses

Coal, similar to Redstone, cannot be compressed into an ore block without the help of the Silk Touch enchantment on a pickaxe. Coal is also the fourth longest-lasting fuel for furnaces after lava buckets, blocks of coal, and Blaze Rods, respectively, with each piece of coal one able to smelt 8 items and lasting for 80 seconds before burning out. Since lava buckets are hard to obtain and require 3 iron, and acquiring blaze rods requires a player to kill Blazes, coal is the most efficient fuel to use to smelt items.

Gallery

Trivia

• In Minecraft Indev, when it was destroyed without a pickaxe, it would drop a single piece of coal, and three when mined with a pickaxe. Now, destroying coal ore without a pickaxe yields nothing, while destroying it with a pickaxe yields 1 piece of coal.
• If obtained in the inventory, coal ore can not be smelted in a furnace.
• Coal can come in veins of over 20, and with the Fortune enchantment, can yield up to 2–3 stacks from these large veins.
• When mined, coal ore has a chance to give Experience to a player.
• In Minecraft Classic and Survival Test, a player got Stone Slabs by mining the coal ore. This might happened because coal did not exist in Minecraft Classic, and stone slabs were a placeholder.

Blocks
Natural	Air • Stone • Granite • Andesite • Diorite • Bedrock • Clay( Terracotta) • Cobblestone ( Moss) • Cobweb • Dirt • Gravel • Coarse Dirt • Bone • Ice • Monster Spawner • Sand ( Red) • Sandstone ( Red) • Obsidian • Snow • Sponge • Wet Sponge • Stone Brick ( Cracked • Moss • Chiseled) • Prismarine ( Dark • Brick) • Sea Lantern • Pumpkin • Bee Nest • Snowier Snow • Nether Grass • Nether Fungi • Nether Mushrooms
Manufactured	Bookshelf • Brick • Wool ( Carpet) • Concrete( Powder) • Conduit • Dried Kelp Block • Fence • Glass ( Pane) • Stained Glass ( Pane) • Glazed Terracotta • Hay Bale • Iron Bars • Jack-O-Lantern • Ladder • Painting • Scaffolding • Slabs • Smooth Stone • Cut Sandstone • Smooth Quartz • Smooth Red Sandstone • Slime • Snow • Stairs • Walls • Wooden Planks • Bee Hive • Honey Block • Honeycomb Block • Diamond Ore • Emerald Ore • Gold Ore • Iron Ore • Lapis Lazuli Ore • Redstone Ore Nether Quartz Ore
Mineral Blocks	Block of Diamond • Block of Emerald • Block of Gold • Block of Iron • Lapis Lazuli Block • Block of Quartz • Block of Redstone • Block of Coal
Utility	Bed • Brewing Stand • Cake • Cauldron • Chest • Shulker Box • Crafting Table • Enchantment Table • Furnace • Jukebox • TNT • Anvil • Blast Furnace • Barrel • Bell • Campfire • Cartography Table • Compost • Fletching Table • Grindstone • Lantern • Lectern • Loom • Smithing Table • Smoker • Stonecutter • Dispenser • Redstone Lamp • Door • Fence Gate • Lever • Note • Piston ( Sticky) • Pressure Plate • Rail ( Powered • Detector • Activator) • Redstone ( Wire • Torch • Repeater • Comparator) • Trapdoor • Trapped Chest • Hopper • Dropper • Daylight Detector • Tripwire Hook • Observer
Plants	Cactus • Dead Bush • Chorus Plant • Flowers • Grass ( Grass • Fern) • Leaves • Lily Pad • Melon • Mushrooms ( Huge)  • Mycelium • Podzol • Nether Grass • Pumpkin • Saplings • Sugar Cane • Vines • Wheat • Log • Corals • Kelp • Sweet Berry Bush • Nether Fungi • Nether Mushrooms
Liquids	Lava • Water
Non-Solid	Fire • Blue Fire • Sign • Torch • Banner
The Nether	Glowstone • Unnamed Light Block • Netherrack • Nether Grass • Nether Brick ( Fence)  • Nether Quartz • Nether Wart • Nether Fungi • Nether Mushrooms • Soul Sand • Unnamed Soul Sand Block • Unnamed Speleothem Block • Magma Block
The End	Dragon Egg • End Stone • Purpur( Purpur Pillar) • Endstone Brick • End Rod • Dragon Head • Ender Crystal
Creative only	Barrier • Structure Block • Jigsaw
Bedrock Edition only	Stonecutter (old) • Nether Reactor
Technical	Piston Arm • Block 36 • Burning Furnace • Glowing Redstone Ore • Off-state Redstone Torch • Active Redstone Repeater • Flowing Water • Flowing Lava • Farmland • Pumpkin Stem • Melon Stem • Block 97 • Portal • End Portal Frame • End Portal
Unused	Locked Chest
Removed	Gear • Dirt Slab • Cyan Flower • Camera(PE)
Unimplemented	Crying Obsidian
Education Edition only	Element Constructor • Compound Creator • Hardened Glass