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Not to be confused with Ore vein or Blob.
For all ore blocks in the game, see Ore.

An ore[1][2][3] is a feature consisting of a natural deposit of ores or other blocks in the ground.

Generation[]

The ore feature has two types: ore blobs and scatter ores.

An ore blob is an ellipsoidal cluster of blocks. In the overworld, underground deposits of dirt and gravel are generated in this form, followed by the more precious ores, like coal, copper, iron, gold, redstone, diamond, emerald (in mountains biomes) and lapis lazuli. They can form only in stone, deepslate, andesite, diorite, granite and tuff[JE only]. Two or more ores can form next to each other and appear as an ore made of more than one material.

Each ore blob has a spawn size. The maximum number of generated blocks in a blob each spawn size corresponds to is shown in the table below[4]:

A scatter ore is a slightly dispersed cluster of blocks. Currently only ancient debris is generated in this form. Scatter ores also have a spawn size value. The maximum number of generated blocks in a scatter ore is just the spawn size.

There was also a deprecated ore type, which generates only one block in each generation attempt. It was used by emerald ore before 1.18.

List[]

Dimension Block Can replace
Overworld

Andesite
Clay (Only in lush caves)
Coal Ore
Copper Ore
Diamond Ore
Diorite
Dirt
Emerald Ore (Only in mountains and windswept hills biomes)
Gold Ore
Granite
Gravel
Infested Stone (Only in mountains and windswept hills biomes)
Iron Ore
Lapis Lazuli Ore
Redstone Ore
Tuff

Andesite
Diorite
Granite
Stone

Andesite[JE only]
Clay[JE only] (Only in lush caves)
Deepslate Coal Ore
Deepslate Copper Ore
Deepslate Diamond Ore
Diorite[JE only]
Dirt[JE only]
Deepslate Emerald Ore (Only in mountain biomes and windswept hills biomes)
Deepslate Gold Ore
Granite[JE only]
Gravel
Infested Deepslate (Only in mountain biomes and windswept hills biomes)
Deepslate Iron Ore
Deepslate Lapis Lazuli Ore
Deepslate Redstone Ore
Tuff

Deepslate
Tuff[JE only]

The Nether Ancient Debris

Basalt
Blackstone
Netherrack

Blackstone
Gravel
Nether Gold Ore
Nether Quartz Ore
Soul Sand

Netherrack

Magma Block

Netherrack
Blackstone[BE only]

Overworld[]

Blocks Spawn size Spawn tries per chunk Minimum height Maximum height Ore concentrate[note 1] Skipped when air exposed[note 2] Biomes
Dirt 33 7 0 160 Uniform 0 All
Clay 33 46 -64 256 Uniform 0 Lush Caves
Gravel 33 14 -64 320 Uniform 0 All
Granite 64 2 0 60 Uniform 0 All
16 64 128
Diorite 64 2 0 60 Uniform 0 All
16 64 128
Andesite 64 2 0 60 Uniform 0 All
16 64 128
Tuff 64 2 -64 0 Uniform 0 All
Coal Ore
Deepslate Coal Ore
17 20 0 192 Triangle 0.5 All
30 136 320 Uniform 0
0‌[JE only]
20‌[BE only]
128 156 Uniform 0 Grove
Cherry Grove
Jagged Peaks
Meadow
Frozen Peaks
Stony Peaks
Snowy Slopes
Iron Ore
Deepslate Iron Ore
4 10 -64 72 Uniform 0 All
9‌[JE only]
10‌[BE only]
10 -24 56 Triangle 0
90 80 384 Triangle 0
Copper Ore
Deepslate Copper Ore
10 16 -16 112 Triangle 0 Other
20 Dripstone Caves
Redstone Ore
Deepslate Redstone Ore
8 4 -64 15 Uniform 0 All
8 -96 -32 Triangle
Lapis Lazuli Ore
Deepslate Lapis Lazuli Ore
7 2 -32 32 Triangle 0 All
4 -64 64 Uniform 1
Gold Ore
Deepslate Gold Ore
9 4 -64 32 Triangle 0.5 All
12 -64 -48 Uniform 0.5 All
50 32 256 Uniform 0 Badlands
Eroded Badlands
Wooded Badlands
Badlands Plateau[BE only](Unused)
Modified Badlands Plateau[BE only](Unused)
Modified Wooded Badlands Plateau[BE only](Unused)
Diamond Ore
Deepslate Diamond Ore
4 7 -144 16 Triangle 0.5 All
8 4 Triangle 1
12 19 Triangle 0.7
Emerald Ore
Deepslate Emerald Ore
3 100 -16 480 Triangle 0 Windswept Hills
Grove
Cherry Grove
Jagged Peaks
Meadow
Frozen Peaks
Stony Peaks
Windswept Forest
Snowy Slopes
Windswept Gravelly Hills
Mountain Edge[BE only](Unused)
Gravelly Mountains+[BE only](Unused)
Infested Stone
Infested Deepslate
9‌[JE only] 14 -64‌[JE only]
0‌[BE only]
63‌[JE only]
64‌[BE only]
Uniform 0 Windswept Hills
Grove
Cherry Grove
Jagged Peaks
Meadow
Frozen Peaks
Stony Peaks
Windswept Forest
Snowy Slopes
Windswept Gravelly Hills
Mountain Edge[BE only](Unused)
Gravelly Mountains+[BE only](Unused)

The Nether[]

Blocks Spawn size Spawn tries per chunk Minimum height Maximum height Ore concentrate[note 1] Skipped when air exposed[note 2] Biomes
Magma Block 33‌[JE only]
24‌[BE only]
4‌[JE only]
8‌[BE only]
27 36 Uniform 0 All
Nether Quartz Ore 14 16 10 117 Uniform 0 Others
32‌[JE only]
16‌[BE only]
Basalt Deltas
Nether Gold Ore 10 10 10 117 Uniform 0 Others
20‌[JE only]
10‌[BE only]
Basalt Deltas
Ancient Debris 3 1‌[JE only]
2‌[BE only]
8 24 Triangle 1 All
2 1‌[JE only]
3‌[BE only]
8 119 Uniform
Soul Sand 12 12 0 31‌[JE only]
32‌[BE only]
Uniform 0 Soul Sand Valley
Gravel 33 2 5 41‌[JE only]
36‌[BE only]
Uniform 0 Nether Wastes

Crimson Forest
Warped Forest
Soul Sand Valley

Blackstone 33 2 5 31‌[JE only]
36‌[BE only]
Uniform 0 Nether Wastes

Crimson Forest
Warped Forest
Soul Sand Valley

  1. a b Ores generate using either uniform distribution, or triangle distribution. Uniform distribution have all ores spread in same frequency at any height, while triangle generate more frequent in center height.
  2. a b When an ore block is about to be placed, if it is exposed to air then it has this chance of being skipped instead.

Data values[]

ID[]

Java Edition:

NameIdentifier
[No displayed name]ore_ancient_debris_large
[No displayed name]ore_ancient_debris_small
[No displayed name]ore_andesite
[No displayed name]ore_blackstone
[No displayed name]ore_clay
[No displayed name]ore_coal
[No displayed name]ore_coal_buried
[No displayed name]ore_copper_large
[No displayed name]ore_copper_small
[No displayed name]ore_diamond_buried
[No displayed name]ore_diamond_large
[No displayed name]ore_diamond_small
[No displayed name]ore_diorite
[No displayed name]ore_dirt
[No displayed name]ore_emerald
[No displayed name]ore_gold
[No displayed name]ore_gold_buried
[No displayed name]ore_granite
[No displayed name]ore_gravel
[No displayed name]ore_gravel_nether
[No displayed name]ore_infested
[No displayed name]ore_iron
[No displayed name]ore_iron_small
[No displayed name]ore_lapis
[No displayed name]ore_lapis_buried
[No displayed name]ore_magma
[No displayed name]ore_nether_gold
[No displayed name]ore_quartz
[No displayed name]ore_redstone
[No displayed name]ore_soul_sand
[No displayed name]ore_tuff

Bedrock Edition:

FeatureIdentifier
[No displayed name]andesite_feature
[No displayed name]clay_ore_feature
[No displayed name]coal_ore_feature
[No displayed name]coal_ore_upper_feature
[No displayed name]copper_ore_feature
[No displayed name]deepslate_feature
[No displayed name]diamond_ore_buried_feature
[No displayed name]diamond_ore_feature
[No displayed name]diamond_ore_large_feature
[No displayed name]diorite_feature
[No displayed name]dirt_feature
[No displayed name]dripstone_caves_copper_ore_feature
[No displayed name]emerald_ore_feature
[No displayed name]gold_ore_extra_feature
[No displayed name]gold_ore_feature
[No displayed name]gold_ore_lower_feature
[No displayed name]granite_feature
[No displayed name]gravel_ore_feature
[No displayed name]iron_ore_feature
[No displayed name]iron_ore_small_feature
[No displayed name]lapis_ore_buried_feature
[No displayed name]lapis_ore_feature
[No displayed name]nether_soul_sand_underground_feature
[No displayed name]redstone_ore_feature
[No displayed name]silverfish_feature
[No displayed name]tuff_feature
[No displayed name]nether_gold_ore_feature
[No displayed name]nether_gravel_underground_feature
[No displayed name]nether_quartz_ore_feature
[No displayed name]nether_magma_feature
[No displayed name]blackstone_feature
[No displayed name]nether_netherite_deep_feature
[No displayed name]nether_netherite_tall_feature

History[]

This section is missing information about other editions' information, all the 1.13 changes and details. 
Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.
Java Edition Classic
0.0.14aAdded gold ore, iron ore, and coal ore, which generate in blobs.
Java Edition Infdev
20100227-1Ore blobs no longer generates.
20100320Ore blobs now generate, but differently.
20100325Ore blobs now appear more like they do today.
20100617-2Added underground ores of dirt and gravel.
Java Edition Alpha
v1.0.1Added ores of redstone ore.
Java Edition Beta
1.2Added ores of lapis lazuli ore.
Iron, diamond, and coal ores are now larger on average.
1.2_02Lapis lazuli ore can now be found at bedrock level.
1.6Test Build 3Fixed ore density varying per quadrant from the center of the world.
1.8Pre-releaseThe highest layer for some ores has been lowered by 2.
Diamond ore has now become about 25% rarer.
Java Edition
1.3.112w21aAdded ores of emerald ore to Extreme Hills and Extreme Hills Edge biomes.
12w22aEmerald ore now generates as single blocks.
1.4.212w38aStone monster eggs now generate underground in extreme hills biomes.
1.513w01aAdded ores of nether quartz ore to the Nether.
1.814w02aAdded ores of granite, diorite, and andesite to overworld generation.
14w17aAdded custom worlds allowing for ore customization.
14w29aOre now generates faster.
1.1016w20aAdded magma block ores to the Nether.
Added extra gold ore ores to the mesa biome and its variants.
1.1620w06aAdded ancient debris, which generates in the Nether in two different ore specifications.
20w11aAdded nether gold ore to the Nether.
20w19aAdded ores of blackstone and gravel to nether wastes, soul sand valley, crimson forest and warped forest biomes.
Added underground soul sand ores to the soul sand valley.
Basalt and blackstone can be replaced by nether ores, like with netherrack.[is this the correct version?]
1.16.220w28aNo longer use 32-bit floats for generation, which used to cause a crash when using mods to generate terrain between 67,108,864 and 134,217,728 blocks.
1.1720w45aAdded copper ore, which generates evenly between levels 0 and 63.
21w06aThe height limit was expanded down to Y=-64. All overworld ore features except lapis lazuli ore are temporary generating from Y=-64 instead of Y=0.
21w07aOre distribution has changed.
Pockets of diorite, granite and andesite are now larger and more spherical but less common.
Diorite, granite, gravel and dirt no longer generate below Y=0, but gravel and dirt are more common than in pre-21w06a versions.
21w08aOre distribution has changed once again.
Added deepslate variants of diamond, iron, gold, lapis lazuli, and redstone ores, which take place of ores that generate in deepslate.
Iron ore no longer generates as often due to a bug.[5]
Tuff ores now generate below Y=0.
Andesite ores no longer generate below Y=0.
21w08bIron ore now generates correctly.[6]
Redstone ore generation is tweaked, matching the latest ore distribution chart.[7]
21w10aOre distribution has changed for a third time.
Normal lapis ore no longer generates in deepslate.[8]
Added clay blob, which can now generate in the lush caves.
21w11aSlightly increased the frequency of diamond ore blobs.
If any ore replaces tuff, it will now be its deepslate variant.
21w13aDeepslate blobs now generate between Y=0 and Y=16.
Added large diamond ore blobs, generated same with the range and method of the regular one.
Copper ore now generates uniformly between levels 0 and 63 instead of generating with a triangle distribution from 0 to 96.
21w15aMost ore generation has been reverted back to the pre-21w06a generation and requires the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack to enable. However, emerald ore and diamond ore generation was not properly reverted due to bugs.[9][10]
Now triangle distribution generation works correctly. Before, the base line was one blocks lower than expected, and the maximum height was two blocks lower than expected.
Tuff ores now generate between Y=0 and Y=16 as well.
21w16aEmerald ore now generates at the correct Y-levels. And it now attempts to generate 6-24 times per chunk in mountains, instead of 1 time.
Deepslate emerald ore variant now generates naturally.
In the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack, emerald ores now generate in the form of ore blobs instead of single blocks.
21w17aDeepslate coal ore and Deepslate copper ore now generate naturally.
Emerald ore can now replace granite, andesite, diorite, tuff, and deepslate upon generating.
21w18aOre distribution has changed again, but only if the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack is applied to a world.
Removed deepslate blobs, but only if the Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack is applied to a world.
1.17.1Pre-release 2Now emerald ore generates in the correct frequency.[11]
Now diamond ore generates at the correct Y-levels.[10]
1.18Experimental Snapshot 1All previous changes to ore distribution from the prototype data pack have now been implemented into the base game.
Ore distribution has changed for a fifth time.
Experimental Snapshot 2Emerald ore blobs and infested stone blobs now generate in the new mountain biomes.
experimental snapshot 4Large copper ores can now generate in dripstone caves.
Increased the amount of iron ore in mountains.
Reduced the number of diorite/andesite/granite blobs on the surface.
21w38aCopper ore now generates up to Y=95, and increased its amount.
Buried lapis lazuli ore now generates in ore blobs instead of scatter ores.
21w39aDirt ores no longer generate above Y=160, and becomes rarer than before. Before, the spawn attempt is 15 times per chunk.
21w40aOre distribution has changed again.
Deepslate emerald ore can now generate naturally.
21w42aIncreased top height limit of badlands gold generation from Y=79 to Y=256, and increased the number of blobs.
21w44aDeepslate coal ore can now generate naturally, again.
Release Candidate 4Fixed an issue where coal ore at lower heights (Y=0 to Y=192) is not distributed as intended since 1.18-pre1.
1.1922w11aLarge copper ores can now generate in deep dark.
1.19.3Pre-release 1Large copper ores no longer generates in deep dark.[12]
Bedrock Edition

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. "Minecraft Snapshot 20w45a" – Minecraft.net
  2. "Minecraft Snapshot 21w13a" – Minecraft.net
  3. "Minecraft Changelog 1.17.0.50" – Minecraft.net
  4. This table is based on Java Edition.
  5. MC-216744 — "Iron ore doesn't generate (only iron ore in deepslate is generated)" — resolved as "Fixed".
  6. MC-216744 — "Iron ore does not generate above Y=0." — resolved as "Fixed".
  7. MC-216101 — "Redstone ore generates with a flat distribution below Y=12" — resolved as "Fixed".
  8. MC-216735 — Stone Lapis Ore generating in Deepslate
  9. MC-223260 — Emerald ore does not generate as intended
  10. a b MC-229191 — Diamond ore distribution changed between 1.16.5 and 1.17
  11. MC-226926 — Emerald ore generates too often
  12. MC-255133 — "Extra copper ore generates in deep dark" — resolved as "Fixed".
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