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在Minecraft的世界里,采矿可谓玩家常遇之客。但是不要一个人傻傻地埋头苦挖,下文将提供一些非常赞的技巧。
快速到达基岩位置的最佳办法无疑是下挖垂直矿洞(虽然这并不能挖到很多矿并且非常非常的不安全,常常有掉落进天然矿洞和岩浆池的危险),然后在入口处浇一桶水以方便游回地面以及安全到达底部。
在哪儿采矿最好
根据所有矿石的海拔分布,包括罕见的钻石在内,也许高度Y的坐标为12的地区最适合采矿。在向下挖掘垂直矿洞的时候按下F3可以查看自己所在海拔,当发现岩浆池(通常在11层)的时候用方块堵上缺口便可以快速到达这一区域,或者你将直接下挖到基岩所在位置,这时你可以向上攀爬7层左右到达目标位置。在此之后,你可以使用下面列出的各种技术来开始你的采矿大业。
如何开始采矿
欲要进行采矿作业首先需要找到一个安全的区域开始进行采矿操作。切记在采矿时请自备工具和食物。请确保准备充足之后再行开始,为使您在不幸摔落后可以顺利返回,请不要忘记携带梯子。请在矿道内随机放置一定数量的熔炉,这可以是您在需要时进行食物的烹制。请确保您携带足够数量的食物、镐以及一个工作台,这样子当您需要工具时可以进行合成。对于采矿而言,熔岩极其危险,所以在采矿时记得携带一桶水。当进行多人游戏时,请只在附近进行开采,否则极易触发陷阱。当然,不要忘记携带火把以提供照明。万事俱备,现在出发!
在采矿过程中建造铁路系统是十分必要的,铁路系统可以使您更为迅捷地往来于危机四伏的地下和地面之间运送矿石。基于您拥有资源的多少,运输矿车、动力矿车或者是充能铁轨都是一个不错的选择。但是请切记:岩浆可以烧毁铁轨、爬行者也能炸毁铁轨。所以请在铺设铁轨时万分小心,可以使用如栅栏甚至是石头等方块对铁轨加以保护。当然,也需要保障您的铁轨系统的一定照明才能免遭损毁之虞。
以下三点是您开始采矿之旅的基本提示,虽然实际上这三点是紧密相关的:
- 在众多露天的洞穴中挑选一个洞穴并开始探险,尽可能的是您的探险道路向地心前进。即使是中空的洞穴也能提供储量丰富的煤和铁矿石,更深层还会有如金矿石等其他矿藏。洞穴探险可以是您在搜寻矿脉的同时开采到数量巨大的石头,但是另一方面,洞穴中经常会盘踞着许多怪物,地形险恶,无论是水还是岩浆都将会造成一定的阻碍。
- 如果您发现了竖井或者是峡谷的话,在那里进行采矿也是不错的选择。您可以使用水桶来人为地制造一个瀑布,这样可以游到峡谷底部(或者游上来),接下来如第一条洞穴提示一样探险峡谷。注意小心从高处坠落的怪物!您可以使用支柱跳的方式抵达那些看起来很高的隧道和突出边缘。
- 当然,您也可以自己制作一个通向地下世界的入口:在方便的位置上(比如房间的地下室)挖掘一口垂直竖井,并开始垂直挖掘至适合的高度。通常这种方法会浪费更多的工具(因为所有的通道均需自行挖掘),但是配以合适的照明,您将几乎看不到怪物。也有可能您挖通了一个天然洞穴,此时您可以参照第一条进行洞穴探险。关于采矿的最优策略众说纷纭,但是对于竖井而言,最安全的尺寸可能是1×3并在中间配以楼梯免遭坠落。无论您的矿道如何设置,请保障一定的光照以防生成怪物。当然在洞穴中资源采集殆尽时可以返回您的矿道中继续开采。
洞穴采矿
也被称为 洞穴狩猎,非常刺激和有挑战性的一项运动,往往会用掉你在游戏中大部分时间。洞穴采矿仅仅需要在探索天然洞穴的时候发掘被发现的矿物,它们将被暴露在墙壁,地面和洞穴的天花板位置。在更新1.2版本以后由于洞穴附件的矿产将会被增加(请看版本记录),因此这种方式收获会更佳。探索大型的洞穴系统结果往往是收获大量的矿石。相比其他方式由于单位时间内收获了更多的矿石,需求更少的工具(不会在挖掘石头,泥土和沙砾的时候消耗掉过多镐,锹的耐久度),洞穴采矿属于高回报的投资。
另一方面,洞穴探险也极度危险。未探索的黑暗洞穴中将出没许多生物;探索时必须带上剑,弓和盔甲。玩家在进行洞穴采矿时需要携带大量的火把来提供照明和防止生成更多的怪物。规模巨大的洞穴系统盘根错节需要加以留心定位才不至于迷路。在洞穴中移动过快会漏掉一些通道忘记安放火把(这些位置可能会生成怪物),有可能会使您掉落竖井以及熔岩池中。某些洞穴在高度11以下的部分充斥着岩浆。基于以上这些因素,通常在面对全新的洞穴时需要先行进行探索和安放火把,在返回的途中再行开采矿石。尽管这样增加所需时间和降低采矿效率,但安全为上。
洞穴页面提示我们将出现更大的洞穴系统,关于导航部分请参见教程/导航。
带上装水的桶是个好点子。洞穴会随机出现一些岩浆流,在10层以下的一些洞穴甚至被巨大的岩浆池所填充,当你无意中掉落其中可以用水桶来扑灭火焰。同时,也可以作为在岩浆池表面制造黑曜石的手段(在固体方块上倒水让水流流向岩浆池;不要站在水流和岩浆之间)。如果怪物无暇招架,您也可以在“选项”中将难度调为“和平”,这样会阻止生物的刷新。但是此时您掉进岩浆后依然会死掉,所以还是不要忘记带上水桶!
洞穴通常会包含许多死胡同和废弃矿井。这些死胡同实际上很多都只有薄薄的隔层,如果进一步挖掘,有时会探索到相邻的整个洞穴系统。漂流式挖掘是通过挖掘死胡同简单地寻找邻近的洞穴的方法。在死胡同里听到生物的声音传来的时候,使用漂流式挖掘可以非常高效率地发现地牢。您也可以利用活塞来帮助您发现附近的洞穴,甚至是透过岩石进行探测:面朝墙壁方向安放活塞,通过如拉杆、红石火把等工具为活塞充能。如果在活塞方向上12方格内出现空洞,则活塞会将岩石推入墙中留下一个小洞。
您也可以通过生成错误的方式调用"X-ray视野"来发现洞穴,但是在服务器中这一举动很有可能会被封禁。最为简单的小错误就是站在1×2的洞穴之中(也就是说四周被岩石覆盖)使用活塞向头部推动萤石或TNT。注意不要使TNT被充能!
封堵无意义的洞穴。当你已经走到一条洞穴的尽头,并且挖光了沿途所有的矿物,那么,收拾好路上的火把,回到交叉路口,然后用建筑方块把洞口堵上。你一定不想被迷宫一样的洞穴搞得心烦意乱,或者从哪条洞穴里突然冲出一只怪物下你一跳。这么做同时也为你省下了不少火把。
废弃矿井
经常可以在交错的洞穴中发现废弃矿井,推荐将您自己的矿道与这些矿井相连。由于其与洞穴采矿相似,但是其资源储量及其丰厚,尤其是在蜘蛛网和木材方面。当然也会有极大的风险造成您迷失在这些结构十分相似的矿道之中,而在矿井中预先放置的火把更是您难以分辨该区域是否被探索过。当然,废弃矿井进场会有洞穴蜘蛛出没,这种生物极难接近和消灭。
由前文,由于其预先有一定数量的火把,遭遇有敌意生物的几率会大大下降。由于其中用以支撑矿道的木板数量巨大,可以减少因木材短缺而返回地面的次数。此外,在矿道中经常会发现一段段遗弃的铁轨和装满财宝的箱子。有一种避免迷失方向的方法是简单粗暴地去除矿道中所有的附加设施,只留下3×3的通道。这样做会使您能够回想起这里是否走过,但是缺点在于会浪费很多时间(以及镐)。最简单的方法是把火把全插在路的右边。这样回来的时候只要保证火把在左边就可以安全返回。还有一种方法是把3格宽地面的中间一格打掉,形成一个沟槽来标记走过的路。甚至可以在里面倒岩浆来照明,或是铺铁路。
洞穴采矿携带物品清单
- 一把镐。假如这是你的采矿初旅, 那么请采集一些圆石然后做一把石镐吧。如果你已稍有采矿阅历,那么采矿时请带上两把铁镐以及至少一把石镐。如果你已经得到了一些钻石,并且你希望在钻石存在的深度进行一次高效的采矿,那么一把钻石镐你值得拥有,它不仅耐久更高并且是唯一可以挖掘黑曜石的工具。矿镐常常没有挖到足够的钻石的时候就损坏掉了,如果你希望节约珍贵的材料,那么带一些石镐用来挖石头,带一把铁镐专门用来采矿。
- 一把锹。至少携带一把铁锹以帮助你快速地挖开泥土和沙砾,摆脱用手挖土的繁琐过程。如果你的铁别有他用那么带一到两把石锹应该也够用了。
- 建筑方块,包括泥土和受重力影响的沙子。由于地下没有天然的沙子存在,你可以用它来标记道路。同时在探索地下峡谷的时候沙子也特别有用。(详见地下峡谷那一章)泥土可以很方便地在峡谷和岩浆甚至是充满岩浆的峡谷(真的,非常壮观)上搭桥。如果发现一大波僵尸或爬行着向你接近来不及招架,立刻拿起手中的方块进行柱子跳,然后逐个击破(手头有一桶岩浆的话直接倒下去)。
- 火把。建议至少整整一组,多多益善。照亮你的四周可以使你了解探索过的地区以免迷路,亦将怪物生成的可能性降低至最小,并且有助于发现隐藏在阴影中的矿物。
- 木头。假如耗尽了工具或者火把,你可以用它们做一个工作台和木棍来补充你的镐,锹,以及火把(你会在采矿时找到够合成它们的煤炭的)。
- 一桶水。这将非常有用。当你着火的时候,它能扑灭火焰挽救你的生命和物品;当你遇见岩浆时你也可以使用它将岩浆变成黑曜石。
- 一个桶。空桶可以用来收集的岩浆可以当做炉子里的燃料,也可以当做另类的杀怪方式;当你失去了你的水桶的时候你也可以用空桶来装水。
- 食物。长期的采矿生涯会慢慢耗尽你的饥饿条。带上食物可以让你在洞穴中探索得更久,同时保持食物饱和度可以使你在受到攻击后能自动回复健康。
- 武器:任意一种剑(宜用石制或者更好材料的),一把 弓和一些箭。这些可以帮助你抵御遇到的怪物。
- 盔甲。可以防护在采矿时遇到的各种伤害,包括被怪物攻击,被岩浆流灼伤已经从高处掉落。
- 箱子。在你探索岩浆洞穴的时候你可以用箱子来存放物品以预防死亡的情况。没有箱子的你死掉之后也许会损失一整组的铁,许多黄金,所有的食物和武器,但是你也可以选择在一个地方放上工作台和箱子,这样当你死亡的时候最多损失少量的煤炭,火把,石头和采矿的镐。
- 告示牌。通过在告示牌上留下的信息和由ASCII码构成的箭头可以为您在洞穴中标记路线。常见的信息如:出口 ->、居住所^、此处有僵尸刷怪笼。
- 梯子(可选)。梯子的用途在于当您不慎摔落后却无法返回时……当然,也可以通过梯子到达高出的矿道和平台。
- 不同种类的标示物(可选)。除了上文提及的告示牌,木头应该是最早可以获得的资源,而随着采矿的逐渐深入会开采出红石粉。此时如果身上有南瓜的话,可以合成南瓜灯用以提供照明和指路。
- 栅栏。栅栏的用途不仅仅是标记为探索的矿道,当您遇到水流和地下河时身边却没有空桶,可以使用栅栏切断水流。
- 种子或西瓜种子(可选,中级技巧不在准备工具范围内)。种子的用途在于建立一座简单的农场。通过放置泥土和使用锄以及种子可以为您提供一些应急的食物。您可以通过猎杀骷髅来获得骨粉使作物快速成熟。
- 抗火药水(以下这些提示适用于那些精通于洞穴探险的高端玩家)。当你在岩浆或者火焰附近工作的时候喝下它,比如在你发现的资源位于一个地下岩浆湖里的时候就可以尝试着喝上一口(否则你需要挖下去绕过岩浆来采集)。 药水保护你免受火焰灼烧,也允许你免伤地在岩浆中游泳。 这种药水虽然成分罕见但一旦你找到了是很容易培育的。如果你还没有这种药水,切记带上装满水的桶子。
- 末影箱(可选)。不同位面内的末影箱内的物品可以不受位面限制的进行共享,不受地形和位面限制。
人工矿井采矿
也叫做垂直矿洞采矿 和矿井采矿,指的是开掘属于你自己的隧道来探索隐藏资源。在这样做的时候,需要一定注意的是你也许会挖开挡住岩浆的块,掉落进天然洞穴或者被敌对生物隔绝在狭小的矿道里。
方法
人工矿井采矿无论是使用阶梯式矿井还是直线式矿井最终都会是您到达您希望的矿层。在此之后可以在水平方向上向四周辐射是掘进矿道,通常在不同的水平层面上同时进行。而在竖直方向上可以通过如下这些使用的小型设备标记工作站:箱子、工作台,熔炉甚至是床。可以制作一个“水池”用以无限值的进行取水,做法如下:挖掘一个2×2,1格深的空地,在对角线的两方格中放水。1x3或L形的无限水源也是可以的,只不过取水的时候不要取端头的水,否则就不是无限水了。
阶梯式矿井
阶梯式矿井示意
阶梯式矿井的优势在于您可以在不使用梯子的情况下方便地出入。通过将您身上采矿而得的大量的是同合成为石质楼梯可以更为方便地上下(不需要跳跃!),但此时需要在矿道顶部额外挖掘一方格才能通行。阶梯式矿井在挖掘时需要每挖掘3方格时下降1方格(不包括头部空间)。以下是几种阶梯式矿井的可能形式:
直线式阶梯矿井
直线式阶梯矿井的方向向下,也有可能向“上”。不太好判断这种方式是否有用,因为当您在阅读地图时,您可能会发现随着您的开采的逐渐深入,当您需要通过挖掘来从另一条路线上返回地面时,您可以能会处于一个完全陌生的地区。同时,自您的居所延伸出来的楼梯随着您的深入很可能会超过了您居所的区块载入范围,或者至少是与您的居所超出了相当长的一段距离。此时您在居住地附近所耕种的庄稼将停止生长。直线式阶梯矿井的宽度可以为一方格、两方格甚至是三方格都有可能。
挖掘直线式阶梯矿井最常用的策略即使呈45°向下挖掘,每向下挖掘一块向前掘进一格。如果您在挖掘时将高度设置为4方格而非三方格,在您从地底返回时会较为容易一些,因为此时您在通过跳跃爬楼梯的时候并不会有“撞到头”的感觉。每隔5层安放一个火把既能保障一定的高度,又可以为您提供高度上的指示。
当然,您也可以以对角线为方向进行挖掘。很简单找到一个角落,面朝角落想象一个2x2x2方块缺一角的样子,然后挖掉这七个方块并放置火把。虽然这一方法增加了挖掘每层时需要的时间,但是却在其路线上可以显示更多的方块。
您也可以采用较为平缓的台阶式方法,每向下挖掘一层向前掘进两格。这样虽然会在水平方向上增加了许多距离,但是却大大方便了铁路和矿车系统的铺设。
螺旋式阶梯矿井
虽然螺旋式阶梯矿井有着结构复杂,转向频繁等缺点,但是其优点在于可以在保持区块不变的前提下向下不断深入。螺旋式阶梯矿井可以问您提供了一种对目标针对性的挖掘方案,同时也保障了您能安全迅速的抵达基岩。
3x3 螺旋阶梯矿井
一种水平占地3x3的螺旋隧道设计如下,在以你为中心3x3的区域内绕着圈移动,每移动一格向下挖掘一格,确保下挖过程中保证隧道有足够容纳你头部的空间。你可以选择保留中央的柱子来作为楼梯的隔墙,也可以挖掉它好在中间放梯子,这个柱子是否保留对阶梯无关紧要。同样地,你也选择可以在螺旋的阶梯上铺上楼梯块来提高返程效率。此外,完成阶梯后,可以挖走中央的立柱后在最底部放上一格水可以让你直接跳进矿洞节约时间。 移走中央的立柱可以透一些光进来,但是却增加了危险:小心不要掉下去。(尽管在底部放水后并不会使你受伤) 这种设计每8层转过一圈。
2x2 螺旋阶梯矿井
如同3x3的设计,然而你将在2x2的区域内开掘隧道,这意味着没有了中央立柱。 同样的你可以挖开每次遇到的第十块右前方的块(当然选择左后方向这样做也可以,这没什么紧要的)。这可以增加你发现矿物的几率。 这种设计下每转一圈下降4层。因为在隧道内前进你需要三层高的空间,因此某些层的沙砾和沙子掉落空出来的位置需要你用泥土和圆石填补。
5x5 螺旋阶梯矿井
与3x3的设计类似,但是你将在一个5x5大小的网格边缘挖掘。中央的柱子被清空来提供地下的光源。在外环安装楼梯,中间可以放上防止掉落的栅栏。 这种设计每一满转下降了16层,并且隧道探索到了水平范围更宽广的区域。同时它也容易错过螺旋之间的一些资源。
TNT爆破法
TNT爆破法的第一个步骤和传统地下挖垂直隧道来到达基岩位置类似,当你到达基岩后,你通过在脚下放置TNT的方法来上爬到达地面层,然后在那里引爆TNT。这种办法如同垂直矿洞方案,实际上的实用性值得怀疑。但是如果意图收集这些掉落下的资源可以下挖一个侧面的隧道到达位置去收集。
垂直矿洞采矿
垂直矿洞 是通过下挖垂直矿洞进入地下采矿地点的采矿技术。除了在1x1的方块上你可以选择任意尺寸来开掘。
1x2
- 选址(1x2的区域)
- 在你对着的地方向下挖一格(不要挖脚下)
- 跳进坑里
- 挖走你对着的块和它下方的块
- 在所有块上放满梯子 (1.5版你不能通过梯子往上爬)
- 按照2.1继续。
- 循环操作直到你到达希望去的层数。然后可以按照你选择的方法水平探矿。
挖掘1x1矿洞是非常危险的因为会有下落到天然洞穴中的悬崖或者岩浆湖内的风险。安全的垂直矿洞至少是2x2大小的,它能提供更多安全的保证,也可以放火把而非全部放梯子来照明。
三格嵌入爆破式
三格嵌入爆破式采矿是通过使用TNT来开掘隧道的技术。首先找到一面合适的石头墙,向内挖三格,在第三个镂空位置放置TNT,用打火石右击点燃后退后几步快速在洞口放置一个石头块:爆炸会创造出一个完美的4x3x3的洞。你可以按需要重复上面的操作。
一种更快速但是风险也更大的技术是在墙壁上挖出一个小的壁橱式的空间,然后用大量TNT填满后引爆:这会创造出相当大的洞穴,然而这种方法会摧毁大量的块,包括某些未被发现的珍贵矿藏,而且爆破也会让大量岩浆涌入通道,造成洞穴难以进入并且烧毁爆破产生的块。
跳水式矿井
在直上直下的矿井里,你可以极快达到底部:只需要纵身一跃,跳进底部的水洼中即可;攀升则通过梯子。完成这种矿洞必要的准备包括64节梯子和两桶水。然后你将下挖一个3格宽的垂直隧道。到达矿井底部后,一端做成水洼,另一端布置梯子。完成后把中间填满以免当你跳跃的时候落在水洼之外。 关于建造细节的直道可以参见Vertical Mine Shaft With Water Drop。
横向挖掘(或资源?采/分层)
安全
水平的挖掘是不一样垂直的危险。但也有一些类似的建议。携带一个水桶和一些一次性的,非易燃材料的一些方块:非易燃材料(如沙子,沙砾或圆石)。方块可以用来迅速堵塞泄漏在熔岩的岩浆,水可以通过源岩浆灌入变成黑曜石,以及扑灭火灾。
项目及定义
主轴/通道:1x2或2x2的连接通道。
效率:你的采?工作有多少,你就可以得到多少矿石;又或者是你得到多少矿石,就可以?采多少鹅卵石。
彻底:每一方块有多少矿石能够提炼出来。
公平交易:在一个矿井能够更有效获得更多的矿石,又或是反之亦然。
布局:矿场的俯视图。
分支:纯粹挖开隧道以收集矿石。
分支长度:有多少方块在开凿隧道时被?采出来。一个的建议就是量度开凿隧道的长度及十字镐的耐久度。
间距:分支隔开的长度。
彻底完成:矿井展示了4个新方块,并展示出每一方块包含一个大方块,就是彻底完成。
分层:"堆叠"一个矿洞分支在另一个之上,以加大?采的效率。
效率 vs 彻底性
"效率"一词,根据定义,是你用了多少时间获取多少的矿石;当然计算出要用多少的时间到达矿洞是很困难的,所以矿石提取及石头挖掘是一个较有用的项目。
"彻底性"是你在矿洞提取多少百分比的矿石。
可惜的是,效率经常被方块?采及显露的数量所粗略估计,同时彻底性亦常被粗略估计。
由于两者都包含"所显露的方块",它们通常都会被混淆起来,这是一个很大的错误。
为了使其变得简单,便假设所有矿石都是出自2x2x2或更大的方块。然后,这里绝对没有必要显露所有方块;事实上,三格间距,及分层堆叠的距离为四,便可以彻底完成。 现在,让我们假定 90%的矿石是 2 x 2 x 2,但 10%是 1 x 1 x 1 ;取得 100%的彻底性同时需要 3 间距和分层距离为 2,原矿 (3 空间 4-堆叠),然后维护减少那 98%-糟糕的彻底性。现在看看两个区块;矿井需要挖掘两倍石头以微不足道的 2%,100%增加总的收益,从而,基本上,是一半的效率的。为提高效率给予实际的数目,我们可以使用效率 = 100 * (矿石收集/区块的数目)或,效率 %= (区块?采的矿石收集数目)这个方程是类似于真实世界矿业计算如等级 = (克的金属/吨岩石中删除)。上述方程 " "中是区块所提到的是两个重要的性质,把目标定在观察到的最大块。这个简单的等式得出的最有效的方法的结论。必须提出几个假设:
- Ore 是随机分布
- Ore 随机是不能控制的
- Ore 占有一定宽度,即两条隧道运行太接近对方会相交同一矿体两次。
在这些假设本质上是真实的,虽然有一些失真,每个钻石矿不可能唯一一粒.所以我们达到论点 ;在所在隧道间。传统的"高效"采?方法中,隧道的间距紧靠在一起,以"观察"块的最大数目可能的因此从区域移除所有的矿石。所以,让我们考虑间距 1 ;这是从另一个隧道由一个块分隔的一条隧道。在第一条隧道的挖掘,期间遇到几个矿体。这条隧道已有可能是有最大的效率。第二隧道已很低的效率,因为几乎所有的矿体它遇到就已被第一条隧道删除。这将导致暴跌矿业运作的效率。1 的间距是非常低效的。现在我们将移动到 2 的间距。这是很多人使用,因为它会导致 100%的间距观察到单个图层中的块。然而,与 2 的间距,第二隧道仍遇到几个矿体,已被删除,所以它也是非常低效。我们可以继续像这样 ;只要第二隧道有机会遇到矿体已由相邻隧道被删除的它将具有一个小于最大的效率。因此矿山的最有效方式是放置足够的距离相邻隧道是有 '没有机会遇到已被删除的矿石的' 第二隧道。
你可以帮助我们来翻译此条目,但请勿使用机器翻译。
You don't have to take my word for it though. I have modelled the problem in matlab using a 2D slice of a real minecraft level and a virtual mining procedure. The model mines a 1 block wide tunnel through the 2D layer and removes all diamonds it encounters, just like a real player would do. The model is limited to diamonds but the principle applies to all ores. It repeats the mining for different tunnel spacings, from 1 to 10. The model then records how many diamonds were mined for each case, how many blocks were removed, and calculates the efficiency of each spacing. A simple graph is produced:
The results indicate what is expected - that when tunnels are close together they are not efficient because the miner will encounter diamonds which were already removed by the adjacent tunnel(s). A maximum efficiency is reached at a spacing of around 6 blocks (that is, 6 solid blocks left in-between the tunnels). At this spacing, efficiency is about 0.017, corresponding to 1.7% of blocks removed being a diamond. At this spacing, the tunnels effectively become independent of each other and so, statistically speaking, the chance of encountering an ore are maximised because there is no chance the ore has been removed by an adjacent tunnel. Above a spacing of 6, efficiency does not increase greatly because ore collection rate is simply a function of the distribution of ores within the level. Note: in the above graph, efficiency appears to drop-off at a spacing of 10. This is simply a limitation of the size of the level used to model the process, resulting in a large error at high spacings. If a larger level were used, the line would smoothly come to a maximum efficiency and stay there.
In summary:
- The term "efficiency" is often applied to the practice of making every block observable, however this is not usually the objective of a miner.
- A more practical definition of "efficiency" describes the percentage of blocks removed that are ores, in other words efficiency = (ores removed / blocks removed).
- Maximum efficiency is reached when adjacent tunnels become independent of each other, since there is no chance that an adjacent tunnel has already removed an ore.
- This maximum efficiency, for diamonds, is reached at a spacing of 6. Since other ores are usually collected in copious amounts compared to diamonds, this spacing is recommended for every-day mining operations.
Methods
Branch Mining
Branch mining consists of mining out side tunnels from an access shaft to expose as many blocks as possible with a minimum of blocks removed.
layout 1
(antennae layout) An effective technique if you want to find rare resources with minimal effort. It is basically mining down to any level, usually to bedrock, and then mining outwards to the sides, much like a tree with a trunk and branches.
- Use the staircase method to dig down to bedrock.
- Go up 2 blocks and fill any space below you mined out.
- Dig a 3x3 room.
- Dig a straight 2x1 tunnel in a straight line then dig out 32 blocks every 4th block.
- To further increase efficiency, you can end the 20-block tunnel by digging 4 blocks of an 1x1 tunnels as each of the mined block reveals more than a 2x1 tunnel.
This method is based on the relatively low probability of desirable blocks being created without any neighbors, so it will occasionally miss small/narrow ore deposits that fall entirely between the branches, but it covers ground faster, so you'll usually get more ore for your time. If you'd rather be sure of 100% coverage, simply place the tunnels closer together. it is also meant to be done quickly.
Diagram:
X = Tunnel "Trunk"
B = Branch
S = Staircase
Y = Outpost (for supplies etc.)
B B B B
B B B B
B B B B
B B B B
B B B B
B B B B
B B YYY B B
X X X X X X X X X X X X X YYY X X X X X X X X X X X X
B B YYY B B
B B S B B
B B S B B
B B S B B
B B S B B
B B S B B
Each branch can be any length, but about 32 blocks long is a good length to begin with, as it can be measured with the durability of a stone pickaxe.
layout 2
a pinwheel mine with a spacing of 2
(pinwheel mining system.)
the pinwheel mining layout:
the pinwheel mining layout is designed to cover HUGE squares of land-over LONG periods of time.
- get to the diamond layer by your prefered method,
- dig out a room-as large as 10x10x8 if you want to set it up as a self-sufficient base, or as small as 4x4x2 if you just want to get mining. (use even numbers if you like 2x2 access shafts; odd numbers if you prefer 1x2 access shafts)
- mark the access shafts into the middle of the walls; the picture shows 2x2 tunnels. (if you do not use the wide tunnels, mark the main shafts with signposts.)
- dig a given access shaft out untill your inventory is full. (you'll have plenty of chances to get the ores out of the access shafts)
- note: If you use a simple straight staircase to get down, you may need to leave off the south tunnel for a while.
- mark the branches at the desired interval. The picture shows a spacing of 2, which is 100% thorough but inefficient.
- dig out each branch untill your inventory is 3 spaces away from full, then turn around
- On the way back, place torches in any dark spots, and collect any missed ores-collecting all the coal is advised, but not required.
As always, you can use any spacing; a spacing of three provides both reasonable efficiency and reasonable thoroughness.
This layout can compete with the pheonix mine in terms of efficiency, and is easier to modify if necessary, but it does require a lot of time for each trip.
layout 3
(room and fork layout)
- Dig a room that is 7 blocks long, 10 blocks wide and 3 blocks high. Have your stairway/ladder in the middle of one of the 10 block walls, preferably 2 spaces wide.
- Starting in one of the corners, dig parallel to one of the walls of the room you just dug, for 20 spaces, placing a torch every 5 blocks.
- Then, dig another 20 block tunnel that has two blocks between it and the previous tunnel.
- Continue until you reach the other side of the room.
Diagram:
Key: A = Air
B = Stone block
S = Staircase
T = Tunnel
A A A A A A A A A A T T T T T
A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B
A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B
A A A A A A A A A A T T T T T
A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B
A A A A A A A A A A B B B B B
A A A A A A A A A A T T T T T
T B B T S S T B B T
T B B T S S T B B T
T B B T S S T B B T
T B B T S S T B B T
T B B T S S T B B T
By utilizing this variant properly you can uncover all the blocks in quite a large area, and the mineral yields are quite high. Having the stairs 2 blocks wide allows for thorough strip mining as they can be strip mined around. Also, a good length for each tunnel is 20 blocks long.
Tiered Branch Mining
Advanced branch mining is one of the most efficient way to mine 100% of the ores on multiple levels.
This setup allows for linear navigation along tunnels by first selecting depth, then choosing an appropriate tunnel at that depth.
Tiered branch mining is the art of stacking shaft mines on top of one another.
If you decide to stack your mineshafts, however, you should use an odd-spacing, or you'll get inefficiency AND blindspots.
for instance, The following tiering has the advantage of being very efficient, while finding any 2x2x2 cube of valuable ore. It has the disadvantage of missing some of the smaller veins, though it doesn't miss as many as you might expect-it yields somewhere between 80 and 90 % of the ores in a region. (mine at y=12, y=16, and y=8)
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- ooooooooooooo
- ooooooooooooo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- ooooooooooooo
- ooooooooooooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- ooooooooooooo
- ooooooooooooo
(bedrock begins.) (x=branch, o=stone)
This is a good mine for single player if you can't stand the mere possibility of leaving a 2x2x2cube of diamonds just below or above your initial mineshaft-this will find them.
The next one has a tiering distance of 3, and is noticeably less efficient in terms of ores found/cobble removed, but it finds at least 90% of the diamonds in a chunk:
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- ooooooooooooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- ooooooooooooo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- ooooooooooooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
(bedrock begins.) this is a good mine for somewhat crowded multiplayer, where thoroughness is actually worth something.
should you be willing to sacrifice efficiency in exchange for revealing every last block, you can use a tiering distance of 2:
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oooxoooxoooxo
- oxoooxoooxooo
- oxoooxoooxooo
This particular tiering, however, is not only inefficient, but requires one of the access methods shown in the pictures-either an 8 tall, 2-3 wide tunnel with staircases as shown in the grey picture, or with one access shaft for 2 sets of layers. this should be used only in ridiculously crowded multiplayer servers, when what matters is finding that one redstone vein that got missed by all the random-miners.
however, nearly any spacing and layout can be used with a given tiering distance. , as it is fairly thorough, only slightly less efficient than a straight shaft, and it can be transformed into nearly any level of thoroughness without wasting effort.
however, Nearly any layout, spacing, and branch-lenght can be combined with any tiering distance, though doing it with a pheonix mine on the compact spacing is NOT recommend for anyone who gets headaches easily.
Simple Strip Mining
My technique is to take off the top 6 layers of a mountain completely. Continue until your mountain is entirely flat. TNT is useful for the first 5 layers, since the explosion will destroy only cobblestone for the most part.
Diagram:
Key: A = Air
B = Block
L = Ground Level
Step 1:
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
First 5 layers are gone when you start mining.
Next couple steps are as shown:
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
This time consuming method is a useful tool for when you need minerals or a flat area.
Quarry Mining
A 16x16 quarry being looked at from the top.
Looking up from the bottom of a quarry mine.
Quarry Mining is very similar to branch mining, sharing the prospect of taking all resources within an area. These mining shafts are used very commonly in minecraft. The difference between Quarrying and Branch Mining is that the process of Quarrying involves a large rectangular or square strip, continually mined downwards with a staircase running along the side. This method got its name by its similarity to real world quarry sites. Quarries are typically ceased when a large cave is discovered (This does not directly stop the excavation, it just makes it difficult to continue), the miner abandons the Quarry for another project, or bedrock is reached. One can place a minecart track(powered) in a spiral, to allow ease of access.
An unfinished 20x20 quarry.
A 25x25x57 quarry.
The Construction of a Quarry is as follows:
1: Determine the size of the project, there is no standard so simply choose how big you want it to be, however it is advised that the area is large, to maximize resources within a single quarry. (A typical quarry can be 20x20 or 20x30, for example)
2: Begin Mining until the entire area is one block deep, save for one block which will become the stairs
3: Continue mining one block deep while keeping an extra block to extend the stairway, until the mine reaches bedrock or until you wish to abandon the project.
Example:
Key: - = Air
B = Stone block
S = Staircase
Top of mine:
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
BS----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Next few levels down:
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
B-----------------------------B
BS----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
BS----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
B-----------------------------B
BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
Although the yielded amount of cobblestone, dirt/sand, coal, iron, and to some extent gold, will be enormous, and the possibility of lava is very high, this is not the best method for mining diamond and lapis lazuli, because they're found only at the bottom of the map (Note: Diamonds and Lapis Lazuli CAN be mined using this method, but due to their rarity the placement of the quarry along with its size will determine the amount). This type of mining is suggested for getting large amounts of cobblestone, iron and coal, besides the ability to gain large amounts of resources, this type of mining exposes many caves for further exploration/mining.
Besides mining, Quarries also have some non-resource related benefits, such as keeping the area clean and fresh (not ruining the nature), and a handy trap as the mine is very deep.
Water blocks placed two high at the bottom of a quarry can allow quick descent (by just jumping into the water), and water elevators can be used to quickly return to ground level from the bottom.
Warning: Be extremely careful around this mine, as a fall will surely be fatal, unless you covered the 2 bottom levels of it with water. Make sure the shaft is either covered up by a layer of blocks or a fenced perimeter. The shaft should also be well-lit to avoid being a mob pit.
Tunnel-mining
This involves digging a long tunnel. You will need many logs (for sticks), and optimally, crafting tables, chests, and furnaces. The simplest tunnel is 2 high by 1 wide, but the wider and higher the tunnel, the more cobblestone you get per chunk you explore (you will not gather cobblestone any faster, also you will get less ores). Dig at about level 50 if under land; 40 if underwater; or 12 if for precious ores. You may want to use the cobblestone to seal off caves already explored. This is like a quarry - but more useful since less resources are spent going through the dirt/sand layer, and it can also be used in conjunction with minecart tracks to go from one base to another. A 4X3 tunnel that is 1800 blocks long will yield as much as an 18X18 quarry to bedrock, though arguably safer as you won't hit the lava layer, and it will yield more diamond/redstone if at layer 12, as well as the fact that falling in is completely non-lethal!
Best used for ores AND cobblestone - for ores only, use Branch mining instead.
Multi-mining
The name fits any combined mine such as the following:
Quarry-Branch Mine
This involves digging a quarry and adding ledges every few blocks down around the outside while digging. The sides of the quarry have to be a certain length, for example with a two-space branch mine, you need each side to be [(something divisible by 3) + 1] blocks long. The result will vaguely resemble a shopping mall atrium with one massive open space and then a bunch of "shelves". Then, dig the shafts to at least 20 blocks for a ton of ores, including quite a few diamonds (about 3 veins) down on the lower levels. For a 10x10 quarry, you will get about 150 stacks of cobblestone, while for larger mines (e.g. 40x40) you will get around 2000 stacks, handy for massive building projects.
Quarry-Cave Mining
Dig a quarry down to under Y-level 25, and attempt to unearth a cave. If you do, you can explore that cave. Many of the deeper caves have no surface entrance, and being able to expose a cave that is otherwise sealed to the outside world through a quarry can garner you both large amounts of cobblestone, dirt, and gravel, as well as the rewards of mining out a deep cave. If you don't want to hold on to the stone that is excavated, you can use it to fill in dead ends, allowing you to navigate the remainder of the cave more easily.
"Mass Mining"
For those who favor mining in a straight path but try to not make it very long. Once you reach bedrock level, go up a few blocks and start mining and make it a large corridor. If you reach a cave, continue to make the large corridor (but secure the cave first). This will give you large stores of cobblestone and more of a chance of finding lava. Find ores that are nearby that would be hidden if you did another technique and did not get lost in your mine. This a very basic technique yet a tiring way of mining. It is suggested to use a diamond pickaxe with max efficiency enchantment and unbreaking enchantment so that the pickaxe doesn't break during the process and also consumes less time compared to using a non-enchanted stone pickaxe.
Aesthetic Mines
This section is for mines that focus more on aesthetics rather than efficiency.
Clc's Vertical design
A mine of mine (No pun intended) I decided to talk about, seeing as how few aesthetic mine designs there are it should be a welcome change. Mind you don't expect to do all the connections, let alone open/maze connections (Variations section) unless you're on a server, or you have a will you can break diamond on.
Design
This design consists of a Hub and a Push leading into another Hub.
Key:
B - Block
_ - Air
Hub:
Top view:
BBBBBBB
BB___BB
B_____B
B_____B
B_____B
BB___BB
BBBBBBB
Side view:
BBBBBBB
BB___BB
BB___BB
B_____B
B_____B
B_____B
BBBBBBB
Each push is basically the design behind it (The side view) dropped a square repeated several times, the amount is dependent on the miner but an even number is preferred due to torch placement (Discussed later)
The central hub (The first hub made in the mine) will have 4 pushes in each of the cardinal directions, eventually, if you are in need of ores you may choose to go down in one direction until you have what you need. I recommend you check your y coordinate about now, you may want a push length that will allow you to get your y value as close as you can to 12 (Lava spawns in caves at 10, and your y is up 2 for the positioning of your head) After you've decided on your length and finished a push you make another Hub in the same size as above. Continue until you reach the last of your hubs (You should end it before you hit bedrock, otherwise it won't be very nice looking)
Torch Placement
Torch placement is simple in this design. You will have 8 torches in each hub, on both sides of the bottom of the corners. If you want you may add a torch to the center floor to add more light, but it is enough to prevent mobs spawning as it is now.
For every push you put two torches on every other left and right hangs.
Connections
After you finished all of the cardinal pushes you'll be wondering what next to do, considering the amount you've mined you may want a place to store away items, connections are great for this.
Each connection is a hub formed by two of the cardinal branches intersecting, meaning if you went to the first north hub down, you'd have to mine one push/hub to the left and connect to it from the first west hub down by pushing right. It's the same as the hub but it leaves two walls with nothing to do, if you try to continue with them you will get intersections that are hard to make aesthetic unless your looking for a large open mine, or a maze mine. Instead, you can use it for chests, and it works well for it's purpose. Very hard to describe with letters, so here's a picture instead: Picture
Continuations
After your cardinal directions are done, you have your as many connections as you care for, what's next? You continue Adding onto your bottom hubs, only with straight pushes. The bottom hubs will branch in all directions except backwards (Unless your going with a open/mine variation) and each of those hubs may spread in the same direction so long as it's not backwards for the original hub. If you positioned well in the first central hub and push size, you'll be scraping a long in a fairly wide tunnel along the same height you find diamonds. It's easy sailing from here on.
Varations
Central Drop shaft:
Central hub is under an area of flat ground, you put a three deep hole where torches will go, ladders go on the bottom and top, torches in the middle, you go above the hub as normal only there will be a 2 high gap under the hangs on this first hub to allow for the ladders as a way up. Due to update you will need the ladders to go all the way down, and such won't have a place for a torch. You can circumvent this by putting them on the middle of part left over at the top of the next section, the lighting is the same and you won't need an extra torch to prevent mobs spawning. This also works particularly well if you want to replace the top with glass.
Open Mine Connections:
Same as original, only every connection you make splits off in all four directions. It goes up with a 1 wide path in the center in all four directions and the both of the two wide paths go down until they merge (Which is when it can do so without getting rid of the upward path)
There are two variations, one where you will go up when you make a connection, so you will have a stack of hubs in all directions, another where you only dig down in the connections, where they intersect you build the 1 central path down to the hub. The latter is more efficient as all of it will eventually lead to the bottom and therefore be mining ore.
Maze Mine Connections:
The same as an Open Mine except your down path is one wide, not your up path. Same two variations, same correlation in efficiency.
Lava lights:
You can replace the torches in the center (If you placed them at all) of the hubs with a piece of glass and lava under it and it gives only one light less. You can change it for a 3x3 if you feel so inclined and have enough lava.
Drop Shafts:
This combines the Central Drop Shaft and optionally the Open and Maze Mine Connections. It requires close tallies if you don't want to combine them though.
At your Hub you mine down the same as if you were going to make a Central drop Shaft, but continue until you are on the same level as your next hub (Depends on the size of your push, like a 8 push would be 8 blocks down) After you reach the bottom you make another hub in the same style as a Central Drop Shaft. This will require more ladders, so it's not a very good idea if your short on wood, but it allows a certain maze quality that I find welcome.
There are two places where you can put the ladders, but the two per corner type of the Central Drop Shaft style is preferred, however the other style uses less ladders. You mine your shafts in the blocks directly north/south/east/west of the center so that you have 4 shafts all the way to the next hub, this require 5 blocks to hang down from the hub, some like it, others don't.
Two variations on top of that, you may use the drop shaft for all your hubs, thus any hub with a hub above will be able to ascend, or you can only use the shafts for the central hub, adding 'terraces' to your mine.
Where does open/maze mine connections come in? After you get down to the bottom level you may continue to stretch out and connect with the original push/hubs. Once you connect you may use the open style, leaving 1 wide path up or the maze, leaving 2x2 wide up.
Other Aesthetic Mine Ideas
Central Mine
- is open space;
- are rails
Once every x blocks you should change the rail/torch/rail combination for a Powered Rail/Redstone torch/Powered Rail
You will have a central rail system with smaller hallways for pedestrian traffic. On interesting locations, you should add some kind of rail station with access to the rail.
Side Mines
Connections
(From the top)
Random Mining
Mining randomly is very simple: dig, dig, dig wherever and however you just happen to feel like digging at the moment.
Very simple, and potentially the most rewarding type of mining around: you can find dungeons, massive cave networks, and maybe the enemy base. HOWEVER! it is also, potentially, the least rewarding: you could be 2 blocks away from a 16-ore diamond vein (two cubes, from 2 different chunks) and HAVE NO IDEA! -and in general, it's possible to twist and turn and miss all the ores, even the coal....
But it is DEFINITLElY the most dangerous: you can get lost, mine your way into lava (and thus lose ALL your items), mine your way into a ravine, mine your way into a skeleton spawner with 5 angry skeletons, or even into your own 40 block drop. alternatively, you could embarrass yourself by mining straight up into a patch of gravel or sand, or flooding half your mine digging into the ocean.
That said, there is one major benefit to random mining; it will confuse potential griefers. Surrounding a main base with all kinds of twisty passages is certainly a viable option-though it won't stop a determined, deliberate griefer from finding you with a widely-spaced branch mine.
Note: In order to preserve safety it is recommended to never dig directly below oneself, or directly above.
Space/Portion Mining
Not to be confused with Strip Mining; however, this does involve a similar method.
Room Mining
This form of mining involves someone to make a hall way and then make a small opening in the wall. From there, one must simply dig out a portion of the block to create a space. This method is repeated many times down the hall on either side to create rooms for various purposes, while finding several ores and valued materials in the process. This method is useful for the creation of houses, barns, indoor-gardens, storages, and in the creation of hard-to-find/secret places as it offers a variety of places one may go to in order to find something, but they may likely give up in the process unless they are determined.
Tunnel Mining
This is highly similar to Room Mining, except that instead of Building rooms, you build tunnels. However, this takes much longer to do and tunnels are usually much larger than rooms. Because of this, Tunnel Mining is lesser to be used as the tunnels take up many tools in the process of making them as well as the mining process may dig into a body of water and flood the tunnel. However, if the player wants to make an artificial river for boats, this may not be a problem. Despite the fact that they may yield many resources, players may use up several pick axes or shovels in the process of making them as well as torches to light up the tunnel. Players may get bored of doing this and may abandon the tunnels while still in the process of making them. Some may not consider beginning construction on future tunnels due to lost supplies and the tunnel not being rewarding enough to continue. This method is useful for making minecart subways, large indoor-gardens, art galleries, tree farms, boat rivers, large barn(s), mazes, doing construction on vertical and horizontal structures, constructing strip mines, and secret/hard-to-find areas by making tunnels that seem to go nowhere.
Clear Mining/Safe Mining
The general purpose of Clear Mining (or Safe Mining, whichever one may prefer to call it) is a variation of Box Mining and other simple techniques. A player first finds a suitable area, preferably one block above the bedrock layer so that the player can easily obtain diamonds and other rare minerals. The player must also have at least 5 to 6 stone picks, one iron pick for rare minerals such as gold, and 3-4 shovels for gravel. A sword is optional depending on the players preferred difficulty settings. Once the player has found a suitable and deep area that they are confident in they may either begin or set up a small chamber near the area to store minerals and construct tools to further their mining. To begin, make a simple 1 block wide and 2 blocks high that spans roughly 8-10 blocks in length. Once this has begun, the player then uses their stone picks to mine directly in front of them where their tunnel ends, but, there is a catch. The player does not move once they make their initial 8-10 block tunnel, and mines only the above block of the two block height making a small box, 4 blocks long. Once the player makes a half tunnel 4 blocks long, the turn to their left or right and do the same; not breaking any of the blocks below the first block. (when done the concept is much more simple) After the player makes a reversed "T" shape, then the player can start to mine out the remaining areas around the tunnels, only using their reach length to clear away stone and any materials. Once the player has maxed out their reach length, they will be in small "box" that reduces risks of being suffocated by gravel or possibly lava. The player then should have a clear area, and then mines out the remaining second blocks, still avoiding the "edges" of the safety box. Once all materials are mined, the player can then break the box and gather the resources in one quick run. Once the player is done in this, there will of course be small "edges" that they not reach, and these should be mined out making a clear box. To further the effectiveness of this strategy, one may then place torches in the "frontal" corners of the area and repeat the process on each side, however this time, rotating their view to clear away all areas of their reach, so long as they are away from their initial entrance tunnel. The end result should be a very fast, resourceful, and safer approach to mining at bedrock. However, mobs may spawn in areas of the mine that are poorly lit, and lava is a factor, along with tediousness, so the player must make a commitment to a clear mine, leaving when satisfied with their bounty of materials. Like parenthesized above, this strategy is best played out rather than explained.
Amphitheater Mining
Start with a basic U-shaped mine, and make an "amphitheater" down the levels until you have a one-block space. Then, make a doorway ahead to make another amphitheater mine. This is very useful, and you can even make it decorative by adding staircases as stairs or chairs.
Wanderer mining
This is a simple mining technique, but isn't used much because of the risk of getting lost. Start by making a staircase down until you reach the level where the desired ore is most commonly found, and begin mining. Occasionally change directions and make multiple branches.If there is a rise, plow through it. If there is a fall, bridge it with cobble. the point is to cover as much area without changing your y coordinate.
Worst Case Scenario
If you fall into Lava, do not panic; try to get far away from the lava. This way even if you die, your stuff won't be destroyed by the lava. If you need to heal, eat Food and hide in a corner/away from Mobs, and make sure you use a bucket of water if you have one. If you know you are going to die anyway press F3 and F2 to find out your coordinates and take a screenshot.
If you are trapped in blocks and are suffocating, try to dig looking downwards. This could assist you in getting out of the trapped pit.
If you are fighting and are going to die, press F3 then F2.
Whatever happens, you should look back upon what you did, and analyze how you died, and what you could do to improve.
If your pickaxe breaks and you've stumbled into a cave and you have lost your way the only option is to punch your way out and this could take a while.
Best Case Scenario
Should you happen to accumulate a large amount of resources, such as, perhaps, 2 stacks of Iron Ore and 10 Diamonds you may be tempted to delve further into the cavern. Resist this urge and return to your base to empty your loot. Dumping off your goodies instead of trying to explore longer may help in the long run, and will reduce the chance of losing your loot. Having a bed at the base of your mine is also helpful; if you die, you will spawn a the base of your mine, hopefully surrounded by your chests full of goodies!
Safety
When going for a mining trip, do NOT dig when in a desert or place abundant in gravel. If you dig under gravel or sand, it will fall on you and suffocate you.
When going mining, after you are finished and you make your way back, try to go out the way you came. That way, you know you are safe and there is no risk of lava, water, gravel, or sand falling on you and killing you. Digging a new shaft to escape the underground could result in sand falling on you when it turns out you dug your exit below a desert biome. Or you could be drowned when the entire ocean floods your exit shaft.
Never take valuable items when going mining. You don't want to delve into the gorges down below while carrying tons of iron and diamonds, for if you lose them while mining, you will be sorry. A crafting table is always suggested to carry while mining, so that you may make more picks if one breaks. Use stone picks if you choose to be safe as they hack through stone quite fast and are cheap to make. Carry only at least one iron pick for mining that redstone or diamond that you stumbled upon. This way, you have less to lose. Take a diamond pick if you want to be fast and efficient for its durability. Never take your diamond sword while going mining, as you know that swords are disposable and you want to make them last, so losing it on a mining trip is pretty sad. Also, if needed, although this is rare, carrying a furnace while mining might be needed in order to smelt that iron ore you found so you can mine the diamond because your iron pick broke earlier.
Mining stone blocks is very dangerous no matter what direction it is. Mining right above risks suffocation from gravel or sand, or even mining the ceiling from a distance could risk water, lava (though blocks holding fluids above them are unmistakable for the drops of that liquid seeping through) or even hostile mobs flowing in. mining the walls risks lava flow or mobs (water flow is quite harmless in the occasion other that putting out torches and destroying rails). and mining right below you risks falling great heights or into lava. If you hear lava, it is advised you mine blocks with water covering it, turning lava into obsidian before you or drops can fall in.
Tragic Accidents like this can happen! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUpgnWTZrlM
