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Mineshafts are generated structures found primarily underground in the Overworld. They consist of interlinked 3×3 tunnels with incomplete rail lines running through them, with oak wood platforms bridging gaps or hanging in larger exposed caverns. Mineshafts are the only structures where cave spider monster spawners can be found.

A unique variant of mineshafts made out of dark oak wood can generate on the surface in badlands biomes.

Generation[]

Mineshafts generate underground in any Overworld biome. They generate before chunk features such as ores. Multiple mineshafts can generate near each other, producing larger complexes. When mineshafts intersect with caves and canyons, corridors generate a bridge of planks over empty space, either suspended with chains above or supported by log pillars below. When a mineshaft intersects with an aquifer, a barrier of solid blocks generates to prevent fluids from flowing into the mineshaft, often resulting in corridors cut off from the rest of the mineshaft.[1]

Mineshafts often generate on the surface in badlands biomes. Badlands mineshafts are composed of dark oak planks and fences with railways more complete above ground. Since badlands biomes generate gold ore often and at higher altitudes, they are good places to easily find gold.

Structure[]

Main article: Mineshaft/Structure
Mine shaft chest

A minecart with chest in a mineshaft.

MineshaftRoom

The central room of the mineshaft.

21w07a Mineshaft

A mineshaft generating across a large cave.

All mineshafts have:

  • Starting point: a 10×10 parlor, with an arched ceiling and one to four exits in each direction.
  • Corridors: some 3×3 tunnels and junctions are supported by planks and fences. Some places are decorated with torches and cobwebs. On long corridors, these supports are placed four blocks away from each other, while some have missing planks which may be filled up with cobwebs or blocks of stone jutting out from the top. The tunnels are connected by incomplete rail systems on the ground, upon which minecarts with chests generate uncommonly. Cobwebs do not generate if they would not be connected to solid blocks, while corridors generate with log pillars, chains and fences for support if they are in mid-air.
  • Crossings: dual-floor, 5×5 intersections supported by wooden columns.
  • Staircases: diagonal tunnels, stairs blocks are not used.
  • Abandoned passageways: accessory corridors with cobwebs concealing cave spider monster spawners.

Any chest found in a mineshaft always occurs as a minecart with chest that rests on top of some rails.

Loot[]

See also: Chest loot

In Java Edition, each mineshaft chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:

Item Stack Size [A] Weight [B] Chance [C] Avg.
per chest
[D]
Avg. # chests
to search
[E]
2–4× 2–4×
Rails 4–8205078.4%7.2001.3
Torch 1–16155065.7%7.6501.5
Name Tag 1307142.3%0.4232.4
Glow Berries 3–6159838.7%2.0662.6
Bread 1–3159838.7%0.9182.6
Golden Apple 1207128.2%0.2823.6
Coal 3–8109827.3%1.6843.7
Beetroot Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Melon Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Pumpkin Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Iron Ingot 1–5109827.3%0.9183.7
Activator Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Detector Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Powered Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Lapis Lazuli 4–959814.5%0.9956.9
Redstone Dust 4–959814.5%0.9956.9
Gold Ingot 1–359814.5%0.3066.9
Enchanted Book[F] 1107114.1%0.1417.1
Diamond 1–23988.9%0.13811.3
Nothing[G] 15717.0%0.07014.2
Iron Pickaxe 15717.0%0.07014.2
Enchanted Golden Apple 11711.4%0.01471.0

In Java Edition 1.20.2, each mineshaft chest contains items drawn from 4 pools, with the following distribution:

Item Stack Size [A] Weight [B] Chance [C] Avg.
per chest
[D]
Avg. # chests
to search
[E]
2–4× 2–4×
Nothing[G] 115714581.4%0.8701.2
Rails 4–8205078.4%7.2001.3
Torch 1–16155065.7%7.6501.5
Name Tag 1307142.3%0.4232.4
Glow Berries 3–6159838.7%2.0662.6
Bread 1–3159838.7%0.9182.6
Golden Apple 1207128.2%0.2823.6
Coal 3–8109827.3%1.6843.7
Beetroot Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Melon Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Pumpkin Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Iron Ingot 1–5109827.3%0.9183.7
Activator Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Detector Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Powered Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Enchanted Book[H] 11520.0%0.2005.0
Lapis Lazuli 4–959814.5%0.9956.9
Redstone Dust 4–959814.5%0.9956.9
Gold Ingot 1–359814.5%0.3066.9
Enchanted Book[F] 1107114.1%0.1417.1
Diamond 1–23988.9%0.13811.3
Iron Pickaxe 15717.0%0.07014.2
Enchanted Golden Apple 11711.4%0.01471.0

In Bedrock Edition, each mineshaft chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:

Item Stack Size [A] Weight [B] Chance [C] Avg.
per chest
[D]
Avg. # chests
to search
[E]
2–4× 2–4×
Rails 4–8205078.4%7.2001.3
Torch 1–16155065.7%7.6501.5
Name Tag 1307142.3%0.4232.4
Glow Berries 3–6159838.7%2.0662.6
Bread 1–3159838.7%0.9182.6
Golden Apple 1207128.2%0.2823.6
Coal 3–8109827.3%1.6843.7
Beetroot Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Melon Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Pumpkin Seeds 2–4109827.3%0.9183.7
Iron Ingot 1–5109827.3%0.9183.7
Activator Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Detector Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Powered Rail 1–455027.1%0.7503.7
Lapis Lazuli 4–959814.5%0.9956.9
Redstone Dust 4–959814.5%0.9956.9
Gold Ingot 1–359814.5%0.3066.9
Enchanted Book[F] 1107114.1%0.1417.1
Diamond 1–23988.9%0.13811.3
Nothing[G] 15717.0%0.07014.2
Iron Pickaxe 15717.0%0.07014.2
Enchanted Golden Apple 11711.4%0.01471.0
  1. a b c The size of stacks (or for unstackable items, number) of this item on any given roll.
  2. a b c The weight of this item relative to other items in the pool.
  3. a b c The odds of finding any of this item in a single chest.
  4. a b c The number of items expected per chest, averaged over a large number of chests.
  5. a b c The average number of chests the player should expect to search to find any of this item.
  6. a b c All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, and Swift Sneak), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
  7. a b c 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.
  8. Enchanted with a random level of Efficiency.


Data values[]

NameIdentifier
Mineshaftmineshaft
Mesa Mineshaftmineshaft_mesa

History[]

Java Edition Beta
1.8Pre-releaseAdded mineshafts.
Pre-release 2 ;)Mineshafts are a lot less dense and do not stretch out as far as before.[2]
To counter this change, they were made 212 times as common throughout the world.[3]
1.8.1Support beams in mineshafts are converted from oak planks to oak fences.
Java Edition
1.2.112w05aAdded wooden bridges under floating sections of mineshafts.
1.4.612w50aAdded enchanted books to mineshaft chests.
1.513w02aChanged mineshaft chests to minecarts with chests on rails.
1.6.113w18aAdded iron horse armor to mineshaft chests.
1.7.213w36aMineshafts appear as often as in the future release of Java Edition 1.8-pre1 again,[4] but without any increase in density or size, which makes them 60% less common than before.
1.915w44aAdded torches, beetroot seeds, name tags, enchanted and normal golden apples, activator, detector, and powered rails to minecart chests.
Removed saddles and iron horse armor from minecart chests.
Decreased the average yields of iron and gold ingots, melon and pumpkin seeds, diamonds, lapis lazuli, redstone, and bread.
Increased the average yield of iron pickaxes and substantially increased the average yield of rails and enchanted books.
1.1016w20aMineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
If directly exposed to the sky during generation, no wooden parts spawn at that exact location.
No longer generate floating in the air when using a low ground level in a superflat world.
1.1721w06aMineshaft pieces no longer generate if they were fully floating in the air.
Corridors now generate with wooden pillars for support if needed.
Floating cobwebs from open spaces no longer generate.
21w07aCorridors are now supported by chains above.
Wooden pillars are now made of oak logs instead of bark wood.
21w13aIncreased the max length of pillars and chains.
Glow berries now generate as loot in mineshaft minecart with chests.
1.1821w37aThe starting room in mineshafts no longer generates with a dirt floor.[5]
21w41aMineshafts in badlands generate higher up.
Upcoming Java Edition
Villager Trade Rebalance
(Experimental)
1.20.2 Pre-release 1Efficiency enchanted books now have a higher chance of generating in mineshaft chest loot.
Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0build 1Added mineshafts.
Cave spider spawners are replaced by regular spiders until potion effects are added.
v0.10.0September 9, 2014Tommaso Checchi tweeted a picture of mineshafts generated at surface level within a badlands biome.
build 1Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in badlands biomes.
Above-ground mineshafts now use dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
v0.11.0build 12Mineshafts now generate with cave spider spawners.
v0.13.0?Added enchanted books to mineshaft chests.
v0.14.0build 1Mineshafts now generate minecarts with chests.
v0.15.0build 1Name tags now can be found inside chest minecarts.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0?Mineshafts are now more common.
1.11.0beta 1.11.0.1Mineshafts are now less dense.
1.17.0beta 1.16.230.54Glow berries now generate as loot in mineshaft chest minecarts.
beta 1.16.230.56Mineshafts now fit into large caves.
Mineshaft corridor is now attached to the ceiling via chains or to the floor via wood columns when missing support platform.
beta 1.17.0.50Cobwebs no longer generate suspended in the air in mineshaft.
1.18.0beta 1.18.0.20Mineshaft tunnels can't replace bedrock anymore.[6]
beta 1.18.0.24The starting room in mineshafts no longer generates with a dirt floor.
Mineshaft support pillars are no longer able to extend into lava.[7]
Wooden pillars are now made of oak logs instead of bark wood.[8]
Legacy Console Edition
TU5CU1 1.0 Patch 11.0.1Added mineshafts.
TU12Added wooden bridges under floating sections of mineshafts.
TU43CU33 1.36 Patch 13Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0Added mineshafts.

Issues[]

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

Trivia[]

  • The central room of a mineshaft never generates in the same chunk as (0, 0) in any Minecraft world.‌[Java Edition only]

Publicity[]

  • In LEGO Minecraft Micro World – "The Village", a mineshaft is beneath a village.[9]

Gallery[]

Badlands mineshafts[]

Odd generation[]

References[]

  1. MC-214787 — resolved as "Works As Intended".
  2. de:Datei:Mine Ausdehnung b1.8.gif
  3. de:Datei:Mine Verteilung b1.8.gif
  4. de:Datei:Mine Verteilung 13w36a.gif
  5. MC-215876 — "Dirt can generate below y=0 from mineshafts" — resolved as "Fixed".
  6. MCPE-141123 — "[Experimental] The passage from the mine created a passage to the bedrock" — resolved as "Fixed".
  7. MCPE-135221 — "Mineshaft can generate on lava lakes, causing fire" — resolved as "Fixed".
  8. MCPE-125133 — "Mineshaft support pillars are made out of bark oak wood, not logs" — resolved as "Fixed".
  9. http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Micro-World-The-Village-21105
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