Iron Ore

This article is about the ore. For the item, see Iron Ingot. For the mineral block, see Block of Iron. For the nugget, see Iron Nugget. For the "list" of ores, see Ore.

Iron Ore
Renewable	No
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	3
Hardness	Iron Ore: 3 Deepslate Iron Ore: 4.5
Luminous	No
Transparent	No
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No

Iron ore is a mineral block found underground. It is a source of raw iron, which can be smelted into iron ingots.

Deepslate iron ore is a variant of iron ore that may generate in deepslate and tuff blobs.

Obtaining

Breaking

Iron ore itself can be obtained by mining it with a stone pickaxe or higher enchanted with Silk Touch. When mined without Silk Touch, iron ore drops raw iron. It is affected by the Fortune enchantment, dropping 1–2, 1–3, or 1–4 raw iron respectively with Fortune I, II, and III.

Block	Iron Ore	Deepslate Iron Ore
Hardness	3	4.5
Tool
Breaking time
Default	15	22.5
Wooden	7.5	11.25
Stone	1.15	1.7
Iron	0.75	1.15
Diamond	0.6	0.85
Netherite	0.5	0.75
Golden	1.25	1.9

Natural generation

See also: Ore (feature)

Iron ore generates in three batches. The first batch attempts to generate 90 times per chunk in blobs of 0-13‌ or 0-16‌, from levels 80 to 384, being most common around level 232 and becoming less common towards either end of the range. The second batch attempts to generate 10 times per chunk in blobs of 0-13‌ or 0-16‌, from levels -24 to 56, being most common around level 16 and becoming less common towards either end of the range. The third batch attempts to generate 10 times per chunk in blobs of 0-5, evenly from levels -64 to 72. Iron ore can replace stone, andesite, diorite, granite, tuff‌, and deepslate. Any iron ore that replaces tuff or deepslate becomes deepslate iron ore.

Iron ore can generate as a large ore vein found at deepslate layer. These veins consist of iron ore, blocks of raw iron, and tuff.

Usage

The main usage of iron ore is to obtain iron ingots.

Smelting ingredient

Ingredients	Smelting recipe
Iron Ore or Deepslate Iron Ore + Any fuel	0.7

Note blocks

Iron ore can be placed underneath note blocks to make a "bass drum" sound.

Sounds

Iron ore

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.stone.break	subtitles.block.generic.break	1.0	0.8	16
	Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.stone.place	subtitles.block.generic.place	1.0	0.8	16
	Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.stone.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit	0.25	0.5	16
	None	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.stone.fall	None	0.5	0.75	16
	Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.stone.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.stone	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	dig.stone	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	0.37	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	0.3	1.0
	Players	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	0.12	1.0
	Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	0.22	1.0

Deepslate iron ore

Java Edition:

Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.deepslate.break	subtitles.block.generic.break	1.0	0.8	16
	Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.deepslate.place	subtitles.block.generic.place	1.0	0.8	16
	Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.deepslate.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit	0.25	0.5	16
	None	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.deepslate.fall	None	0.5	0.75	16
	Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.deepslate.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	dig.deepslate	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	place.deepslate	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.deepslate	0.3	0.5
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.deepslate	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.deepslate	0.3	1.0
	Players	Jumping from the block	jump.deepslate	0.12	1.0
	Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.deepslate	0.22	1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	Block tags	Item tags	Translation key
Iron Ore	iron_ore	Block & Item	iron_ores mineable/pickaxe needs_stone_tool	iron_ores	block.minecraft.iron_ore
Deepslate Iron Ore	deepslate_iron_ore	Block & Item	iron_ores mineable/pickaxe needs_stone_tool	iron_ores	block.minecraft.deepslate_iron_ore

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID	Translation key
Iron Ore	iron_ore	15	Block & Giveable Item	Identical	tile.iron_ore.name
Deepslate Iron Ore	deepslate_iron_ore	656	Block & Giveable Item	Identical	tile.deepslate_iron_ore.name

History

Java Edition Classic
May 21, 2009					Notch shows interest in adding iron ore.
May 23, 2009					Notch says he accomplished adding iron blobs in stone.
0.0.14a					Added iron ore.
					Iron ore spawns in huge blobs, sometimes big enough to protrude into 3 caverns, and could be as big as 167 blocks.
0.26 SURVIVAL TEST					Breaking iron ore now gives the player 1–3 blocks of iron when mined.
Java Edition Indev
0.31		20100128			Iron ore now drops itself instead of blocks of iron when mined.
		20100129			Before the furnace was added, players had to smelt ore by dropping ore blocks onto fire.
		20100201-2			Iron ore now requires a stone, iron, or diamond pickaxe to be successfully obtained.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1					Iron ore no longer generates.
20100320					Iron ore blobs now generate, but differently.
20100325					Ore blobs now appear more like they do today.
20100327					Iron ore now regenerates after the world is reloaded, assuming that the positions of the ore blocks were replaced by stone.
20100330					Iron ore no longer regenerates.
Java Edition
1.3.1		12w22a			Smelting iron ore, along with other ores, blocks and items, gives the player experience orbs when taking the item out of the furnace. One stack of iron ore gives the player approximately 2 levels of experience.
Texture Update		?			A new texture for iron ore has been proposed.
1.14		18w43a			The texture of iron ore has been changed.
1.14.1		Pre-Release 1			The texture of iron ore has been changed again.
1.17		21w06a			The height limit was expanded down to Y=-64. Iron ores are temporary generating from Y=-64 instead of Y=0.
		21w07a			The texture of iron ore has been changed, once again.
					Iron ore now attempts to generate twice: once as a triangle spread peaking at an altitude of Y=256, generating above Y=128; and another as a triangle spread peaking at Y=32 and generating with a minimum height of Y=-16 and a maximum height of Y=80.
		February 17, 2021			Henrik Kniberg shows grimstone variant of iron ore.
		February 18, 2021			JAPPA Shows updated iron ore texture and grimstone variant of iron ore.
		February 22, 2021			JAPPA shows updated iron ore textures and grimstone variant of iron ore.
		21w08a			Added deepslate iron ore.
					The texture of iron ore has been changed again.
					Iron ore now generates less frequently. However, a bug exists in this version where regular iron ore are generated way more infrequent.
					Iron ore can now generate in negative y-levels in smaller blobs.
		21w08b			Regular iron ore now generates more frequently than in 21w08a.
		March 2, 2021			JAPPA shows updated iron ore texture.
		March 4, 2021			JAPPA shows updated deepslate variant of iron ore texture.
		21w10a			The textures of iron ore and deepslate iron ore was updated.
					Now generates less iron ore, and it generates lower down. The deepest iron generation range: previously Y = -64 to -8, now Y = -64 to -32. The middle iron generation range: previously Y = -16 to 80(most at 32), now Y = -24 to 56(most at 16).
		21w14a			It now drops raw iron when broken without Silk Touch, instead of itself.
		21w15a			All changes to iron ore generation in the previous 1.17 snapshots have been reverted, but they can be re-enabled with the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack.
		21w18a			Extended the vertical range of the smaller blobs of iron ore, to make it possible to find iron in caves near the surface, but only if the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack is applied to a world.
					Slightly reduced the amount of normal-sized iron ore blobs, to compensate for large ore veins and the increased range of smaller blobs, but only if the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack is applied to a world.
1.18		Experimental Snapshot 1			All previous changes to ore distribution from the prototype data pack have now been implemented into the base game.
					Expanded the generation vertical range. The highest iron generation range: previously Y = 128 to 384, now Y = 112 to 384. The middle iron generation range: previously Y = -64 to 64, now Y = -64 to 72.
		experimental snapshot 4			Normal-sized blob now generates more frequently.
		21w40a			Decreased minimum generation height of the upper range of Iron Ore from Y=112 to Y=80, and increased the number of blobs.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.1.0					Added iron ore.
v0.3.0					Iron ore is now obtainable in Survival mode.
v0.3.2					Iron ore is now available in the creative inventory.
					With the addition of furnaces, iron ore is able to be smelted into iron ingots.
v0.12.1		build 1			Iron ore now gives experience when smelted.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			The texture of iron ore has been changed.
1.16.220		beta 1.16.220.50			The texture of iron ore has been changed.
					In the Caves and Cliffs experimental gameplay, additional blobs of iron ore now generate in new mountain biomes between Y=129 and Y=256.
1.17.0		beta 1.16.230.52			Added deepslate iron ore behind the Caves and Cliffs experimental gameplay.
		beta 1.16.230.54			Iron ore texture was updated.
		beta 1.16.230.56			In the Caves and Cliffs experimental gameplay, iron ore now attempts to generate four times: the first as a triangle spread peaking at an altitude of Y=256, generating above Y=129; the second as a triangle spread peaking at Y=16 and generating with a minimum height of Y=-23 and a maximum height of Y=55; the third generating in smaller blobs evenly from Y=-64 to Y=-32; and the forth as extra blobs introduced in beta 1.16.220.50, generating in new mountain biomes.
		beta 1.17.0.50			It now drops raw iron when broken without silk touch, instead of itself.
		beta 1.17.0.52			Now deepslate iron ore generates without the Caves and Cliffs experimental gameplay.
1.17.30		beta 1.17.20.21			In the Caves and Cliffs experimental gameplay, extended the vertical range of the smaller blobs of iron ore, and slightly reduced the amount of normal-sized iron ore blobs.
1.17.40		beta 1.17.40.20			In the Caves and Cliffs experimental gameplay, expanded the generation vertical range. And normal-sized blob now generates more frequently.
1.18.0		beta 1.18.0.20			Removed “Caves and Cliffs” experimental toggle. New granite generation are now available through normal gameplay.
					Iron ore generation height has now been tweaked.
					Increased the spawn size of normal-sized iron ore blobs from 9 to 10.
		beta 1.18.0.21			Decreased minimum generation height of the upper range of Iron Ore from Y=113 to Y=81, and increased the number of blobs.
		beta 1.18.0.22			Iron ore generation height has now been tweaked to be in parity with Java Edition.
		beta 1.18.0.24			Removed extra blobs generating in mountain biomes.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.0	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added iron ore.
?					Smelting iron ore now gives experience.
		1.90			The texture of iron ore has been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					Added iron ore.

Data history

Java Edition
1.13		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 15.
1.17		21w08a			Added iron_ores block tag.

Issues

Issues relating to "Iron Ore" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Gallery

• 

  A total of 20 iron ore blocks were obtained from this blob, which was most likely composed of two smaller blobs.

• 

  Iron ore blob.

• 

  Ravine with multiple ores, water and lava falls, and stronghold bridge over it.

• 

  Vein of deepslate iron ore with some raw iron blocks.

• 

  Iron ore in a cave.

External Links

• Block of the Week: Iron Ore – Minecraft.net on June 30, 2017