Ore



An ore is any uncommon rock-type block used to obtain specific resources.
Contents
Usage[edit]
Ore blocks are primarily collected for crafting purposes, such as for tools and armor. Redstone dust is obtained from redstone ore or deepslate redstone ore[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17], which can be used to create redstone circuits. Refined ore can also be combined to create a block of the material's type.
There are two ways to obtain a resource from an ore block, depending on the type of ore:
- Mining: The indicated yield can be increased by mining the ore with a pickaxe enchanted with Fortune. Ores that drop their resource when mined require a Silk Touch pickaxe to drop themselves.
- Coal, copper[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17], iron[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17], gold[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17], diamond, emerald, their respective deepslate variants[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17], and nether quartz ores drop 1 unit of their corresponding raw material.
- Redstone and deepslate redstone[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17] ores drop 4–5 redstone dust.
- Lapis lazuli and deepslate lapis lazuli[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17] ores drop 4–9 lapis lazuli.
- Nether gold ore drops 2–6 gold nuggets.
- Smelting: Iron ore and gold ore[until JE 1.17 & BE 1.17], and ancient debris all drop themselves when mined. They must be smelted to obtain the corresponding resource (iron ingot, gold ingot, and netherite scrap, respectively).
Smelting ingredient[edit]
Ingredients | Smelting recipe |
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Any ore + Any fuel | |
Raw Iron or Raw Copper or Raw Gold + Any fuel |
Ores can be smelted faster using a blast furnace.
It is not efficient to mine with Silk Touch and then smelt an ore block that normally drops multiple pieces of its resource, because smelting these ores yields less experience and only 1 piece of the resource.
Further uses[edit]
Refined ore resources can be crafted into blocks for bulk storage, for crafting recipes or for decoration. Coal blocks and most mineral blocks are crafted by putting 9 of the refined material items in a square. Mineral blocks that only need 4 items are nether quartz and copper[upcoming: JE 1.17 & BE 1.17].
Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
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Any processed ore | |
Any raw ore |
All of the above block recipes are reversible, excluding quartz and oxidized copper.
Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
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Most mineral blocks | |
Any raw ore blocks |
Iron and Gold ingots can be converted into nuggets and vice-versa.
Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
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Metal Ingots |
Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
---|---|
Metal Nuggets |
Lapis Lazuli can be crafted into a dye, or even used as one.
Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
---|---|
Lapis Lazuli |
Netherite scraps, obtained by smelting ancient debris, are used alongside gold ingots to create netherite ingots. This is the only mineral used alongside another mineral to create an alloy.
Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
---|---|
Gold Ingot, Netherite Scrap |
Netherite ingots can be used on a smithing table to upgrade diamond items to netherite items. Data such as durability, enchantments, and custom names are preserved.
Ingredients | Smithing recipe |
---|---|
Diamond items + Netherite Ingot |
Availability[edit]
The following is the distribution of ores according to the altitude (layers are number of blocks above the lowest layer of bedrock) in the Overworld and the Nether. The highest layers that gold, redstone, diamond, and lapis lazuli ore can be found on are two layers lower.[1]
Overworld[edit]
[until 1.17]:
Coal[a] | Iron | Lapis Lazuli | Gold | Redstone[b] | Diamond | Emerald[c] | ||
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Ore block | ![]() |
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Refined resource | ![]() |
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Manufactured | ![]() |
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Mineral block | ![]() |
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Minimal pickaxe for drop | Wooden | Stone | Iron | |||||
Found in biome... | Any | Badlands | Any | Mountains | ||||
Abundance | Very Common | Common | Rare | Uncommon | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Very Rare |
Most found in layers... | 5-52 | 5-54 | 13-17[d] | 5-29 | 5-12 | 5-29 | ||
Commonly up to layers... | 128 | 61 | 23 | 29 | 76 | 12 | 29 | |
Rare on layers... | 129-131 | 62-63 | 31-33 | 31-33 | 77-79 | 13-15 | 30-32 | |
None at or above... | 132 | 64 | 34 | 34 | 80 | 16 | 33 | |
Can Replace | Stone |
[upcoming: 1.17]:
Coal[e] | Copper | Lapis Lazuli | Iron | Gold | Redstone | Diamond | Emerald[f] | ||
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Ore block | ![]() |
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Deepslate variant [g] | ![]() |
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Raw resource | ![]() |
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Refined resource | ![]() |
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Manufactured | - | - | ![]() |
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- | - | - | |
Mineral block | ![]() |
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Minimal pickaxe for drop | Wooden | Stone | Iron | ||||||
Found in biome... | Any | Badlands | Any | Mountains | |||||
Abundance | Very Common | Common | Rare | Common | Uncommon | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Very Rare |
Most found in layers... | 5-52 | 5-192 | 13-17[h] | 5-54 | 5-29 | 5-12 | 5-29 | ||
Commonly up to layers... | 128 | 96 | 23 | 61 | 29 | 76 | 12 | 29 | |
Rare on layers... | 129-131 | [more information needed] | 31-33 | 62-63 | 31-33 | 77-79 | 13-15 | 30-32 | |
None at or above... | 132 | 193 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 80 | 16 | 33 | |
Deepslate variant generates naturally? |
No | Yes | No | ||||||
Can Replace [i] | Stone |
[upcoming: 1.18]:
Coal[j] | Copper | Lapis Lazuli | Iron | Gold | Redstone | Diamond | Emerald[k] | |||
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Ore block | ![]() |
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Deepslate variant [l] | ![]() |
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Raw resource | ![]() |
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Refined resource | ![]() |
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Manufactured | - | - | ![]() |
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- | - | - | ||
Mineral block | ![]() |
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Minimal pickaxe for drop | Wooden | Stone | Iron | |||||||
Ore veins distinguishable block [m] | - | Granite | - | Tuff | - | |||||
Found in biome... | Any | Badlands | Any | Mountains | ||||||
Abundance | Very Common | Common | Uncommon | Very Common | Uncommon | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Rare | |
Total range... | 0 to 256 | 0 to 96 | -64 to 64 | -64 to 256 | -64 to 79 | -64 to 16 | 29 to 256 | |||
Most found in layers... | [more information needed] | |||||||||
Commonly up to layers... | 96 | 48 | 0 | 256 | -16 | 76 | -48 | 256 | ||
Rare on layers... | [more information needed] | -64 to -32 | [more information needed] | |||||||
None at or above... | -64 to -1 | 63 | 56 to 127 -33 to -28 |
33 | 80 | 17 | -64 to 28 | |||
Deepslate variant generates naturally? |
No | Yes | No | |||||||
Can replace [n][o] | Stone Tuff Deepslate |
The Nether[edit]
Nether Quartz[p] | Nether Gold | Ancient Debris | ||
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Ore block | ![]() |
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Refined resource | ![]() |
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Manufactured | ![]() |
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Mineral block | ![]() |
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Minimal pickaxe for drop | Wooden | Diamond | ||
Abundance | Very Common | Common | Very Rare | |
Found in biome... | Any Nether | |||
Most found in layers... | 10 to 114 | 15 | 13 to 17[q] | |
Commonly up to layers... | 120 | 95 | 23 | |
Rare on layers... | 123 to 125 | 96 to 116 | 22 to 119 | |
None at or above... | 128 | 117 | 120 | |
Can Replace | Netherrack |
- ↑ This refers to coal ore blocks spawned in ore veins and not as parts of fossils or mansion forges.
- ↑ Redstone has the same layer and line-size statistics as Diamond, but is generated eight times per chunk as opposed to once.
- ↑ Instead of multi-block veins, emerald ore is placed in scattered blocks.
- ↑ Unlike most other ores, lapis lazuli's frequency peaks around layer 15, and slowly tapers off above and below.
- ↑ This refers to coal ore blocks spawned in ore veins and not as parts of fossils or mansion forges.
- ↑ Instead of multi-block veins, emerald ore is placed in scattered blocks.
- ↑ Deepslate variants only generate in deepslate blobs. Coal, Copper and Emerald Deepslate Ores aren't naturally generated.
- ↑ Unlike most other ores, lapis lazuli's frequency peaks around layer 15, and slowly tapers off above and below.
- ↑ Deepslate variants replace only Deepslate.
- ↑ This refers to coal ore blocks spawned in ore veins and not as parts of fossils or mansion forges.
- ↑ Instead of multi-block veins, emerald ore is placed in scattered blocks.
- ↑ Deepslate variants only generate under layer 0. Coal, Copper and Emerald Deepslate Ores aren't naturally generated.
- ↑ The block which allows to distinguish its large ore veins.
- ↑ Deepslate variants replace only Deepslate and Tuff. However, Coal and Copper don't become their deepslate variants when replacing Tuff.
- ↑ While Coal, Copper and Emerald technically can replace Deepslate and Tuff, as they do not generate on layers under 0, they can't replace them naturally.
- ↑ Nether quartz spawns equally in all parts of the Nether.
- ↑ Unlike most other ores, ancient debris' frequency peaks at layer 15, and quickly tapers off above and below.
History[edit]
Java Edition Classic | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 21, 2009 | Notch shows interest in adding ores. | ||||
0.0.14a | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
These ores could be found exposed only in amounts ranging from roughly 10 to 30 in a vein. | |||||
October 24, 2009 | A texture change for gold ore has been teased by Notch. | ||||
0.27 SURVIVAL TEST | ![]() | ||||
Mining an ore now gives the corresponding block of it. | |||||
Java Edition Indev | |||||
0.31 | 20100129 | ![]() | |||
20100201-2 | Ores can no longer be mined without a pickaxe. | ||||
Java Edition Infdev | |||||
Minecraft Infdev | 20100320 | Random ore is now placed randomly around the terrain. | |||
20100327 | Ores now replace stone upon a world reload. | ||||
20100330 | The ore change of replacing stone upon a world reload has been reverted. | ||||
Java Edition Alpha | |||||
v1.0.1 | ![]() | ||||
Java Edition Beta | |||||
1.2 | ![]() | ||||
Java Edition | |||||
1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 4 | Coal, lapis lazuli, redstone, and diamond ore now also drop as ore blocks with Silk Touch. | |||
May 21, 2012 | The week before the release of 12w21a, Jeb released a screenshot of himself testing the trading system.[2] At this time, what would become emerald ore was ruby ore.[3] | ||||
1.3.1 | 12w21a | ![]() | |||
12w21b | ![]() | ||||
12w22a | All ores except iron and gold (which give experience when smelted) now drop experience points when mined. | ||||
1.5 | 13w01a | ![]() | |||
Texture Update | ? | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
1.14 | 18w43a | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
18w50a | ![]() | ||||
19w08a | ![]() | ||||
1.14.1 | Pre-Release 1 | ![]() | |||
1.16 | 20w06a | ![]() | |||
20w11a | ![]() | ||||
20w12a | Nether gold ore now drops gold nuggets instead of itself. | ||||
20w13a | ![]() | ||||
October 3, 2020 | ![]() | ||||
Upcoming Java Edition | |||||
1.17 | 20w45a | ![]() | |||
21w07a | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
Changed ore distribution. See Ore/Pre-1.17 distribution for the old distribution. | |||||
February 17, 2021 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
February 18, 2021 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
February 18, 2021 | ![]() | ||||
February 22, 2021 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
21w08a | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
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The new ore distribution has been tweaked. | |||||
March 2, 2021 | ![]() ![]() | ||||
March 4, 2021 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
21w10a | ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
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Fossils that generate below Y=0 now generate with deepslate diamond ore instead of coal ore. | |||||
Tweaked again the ore distribution. | |||||
21w13a | Iron ore and diamond ore distribution has been slightly tweaked. | ||||
Copper ore now generates uniformly between levels 0 and 63 instead of generating with a normal curve from 0 to 96. | |||||
21w14a | If Iron Ore, Gold Ore and Copper Ore are broke without silk-touch, they will drop Raw Metal instead. | ||||
April 13, 2021 | ![]() | ||||
21w15a | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
All of the changes to Ore distribution made in the latest snapshots have been reverted. | |||||
Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
v0.1.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
v0.3.0 | Coal ore now drops coal. | ||||
v0.3.2 | Diamond ore now drops a diamond. | ||||
Iron and gold ores are now smeltable into ingots. | |||||
v0.4.0 | Lapis lazuli ore now drops lapis lazuli . | ||||
v0.8.0 | build 2 | Redstone ore now drops redstone dust. | |||
v0.9.0 | build 1 | ![]() | |||
v0.12.1 | build 1 | ![]() | |||
Mining ores now gives experience. | |||||
Bedrock Edition | |||||
1.10.0 | beta 1.10.0.3 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
1.11.0 | beta 1.11.0.5 | ![]() | |||
1.16.0 | beta 1.16.0.51 | ![]() | |||
beta 1.16.0.57 | ![]() | ||||
1.16.210 | beta 1.16.210.57 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
release | Copper Ore has been made inaccessible in the full release. | ||||
1.16.220 | beta 1.16.220.50 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
beta 1.16.220.52 | Copper ore can no longer be randomly rotated. | ||||
Upcoming Bedrock Edition | |||||
1.16.230 | beta 1.16.230.52 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Ore is generated as normal, when the ore is generated where Deepslate has been generated, deepslate ore is generated instead. | |||||
beta 1.16.230.54 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
1.17.0 | beta 1.17.0.50 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
Legacy Console Edition | |||||
TU1 | CU1 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
TU7 | All ores except iron and gold (which give experience when smelted) now drops experience points when mined. | ||||
TU14 | 1.04 | ![]() ![]() | |||
1.90 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||
New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
0.1.0 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Gallery[edit]
Naturally generated Diamond Ore, Redstone Ore and Lapis Lazuli Ore found in a canyon. Check the image for seed and cords.
Caves and Cliffs development[edit]
An image showing another texture for deepslate Diamond Ore which improves on blending the ore texture with the base deepslate.
Trivia[edit]
- Ancient debris has two ways to generate, similar to gold ore.
- Since it is exclusive to only one Overworld biome, Emerald ore is actually rarer than ancient debris per chunk.
References[edit]
- ↑ http://i.imgur.com/djSvZ.png
- ↑ https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/204619936616808451
- ↑ snapshot 12w21a/b lang/en_US.lang: tile.oreRuby.name=Ruby Ore
- ↑ https://twitter.com/jeb_/status/205641953742819328