Mining

This page was last verified for Vintage Story version 1.20.7.

Mining is a game mechanic that allows players to collect ores for use in various crafting recipes including casting and smithing advanced Tools and Weapons . You can gather some minerals and form them into metal or keep others as they are in the form of gemstones .

Required Materials

To begin mining, a player needs two specialized tools, the pickaxe and the prospecting pick . Some optional items include a mining bag , which has 10 available inventory slots and exclusively holds ores, a light source to see underground, and ladders or a water bucket to aid in traversing the depths.

While the prospecting pick is used to find ores, the pickaxe is needed to actually harvest stone and ores; blocks broken by the propick drop nothing. A hammer is also required to crush the chunks obtained from mining into nuggets (an ore nugget is 5 units of base metal).

Obtaining Metal Ores Prior to Mining

Herein lies the conundrum. The tools required for mining must be made from metal by casting , but the materials that players require to create metal tools can only be harvested when using metal tools!

There are four methods available to collect enough smeltable ore nuggets to create a pickaxe and hammer (40 nuggets or 200 units) without mining: Panning , looting cracked ore vessels , buying them directly from a trader , or via surface ore bits.

• Panning sand, gravel, or bony soil can yield a 15% chance to receive copper nuggets, and a very small chance to receive gold, silver or tin nuggets, which can be good in a pinch.
• Cracked ore vessels contain a small assortment of various nuggets, including copper; these vessels can be found in surface or underground ruins or sold by Treasure Hunter traders.
• Commodities traders might have bismuth, copper, tin, and zinc nuggets circulating in their current goods rotation.
• Small stones containing ores appear on the surface of the world and are a good early game source of ore nuggets.
  • These surface ore bits contain 1 - 3 nuggets that can be collected by breaking the stone or right clicking with an empty hotbar slot, and are an indicator of larger underground deposits directly beneath.
  • They can be found in most rock types, with the exception of bauxite, halite, obsidian, scoria volcanic rock, suevite impact rock, and tuff volcanic rock.
  • Depending on the ore and stone combination, they can blend into the environment and be easily missed.
  • While suevite impact rock is by itself not a host rock for ore, its presence is an indicator of meteoric iron .

It is recommended to add waypoints ( on world map) to any ore location for later collection operations, especially with regards to a full inventory or a current lack of need for that particular ore.

An alternate source of metal comes from metal bits , which can be obtained by combining a chisel with any metal tool head or ingot in the crafting grid. This allows players to break down metal items and re-cast them for other uses.

Obtaining Metal Ores by Mining

For more information about natural deposits and ore generation, see the Ore Deposits page.

When rock blocks are broken using a pickaxe , small stones are dropped. However, rocks containing ores will drop ore chunks. The challenge is in finding the ore-containing rocks. As of game version 1.9, certain ore types only spawn in certain rock types. To determine which ores can occur in a rock type, examine a block, hold Shift+H, and the handbook will provide information about what ores can appear in that rock type.

There are two general methods used to choose a location, "Exploration" and "Prospecting". These are not mutually exclusive and work very well when combined. Players can prospect to find a region with the desired ore, and then explore caves within that region to find exposed ore to mine.

Protip: Mining in a vertical shaft is more effective because ores exist in "disc" shaped deposits. To find out at which height specific ores might spawn, check the Ore Deposits Page linked above.

Exploration (Random Method)

Explore the map to locate regions with rock types used in crafting (chalk, limestone) and rock types that are known to generate ores used in crafting tools, weapons, and metal items. Sometimes ores can be located by exploring caves with entrances exposed to the surface of the world. When exploring caves, it's a good idea to bring ladders to provide a way to climb up or down shafts, and lots of torches to light the cave and mark a path back out. The possibility for "Adventure" exists in every cave, so be ready to face great danger, but also to reap great rewards.

Caving Rewards

• Ores may be found in caves.
• Underground ruins can be located, which often contain treasures and materials that a player cannot acquire any other way, such as Static Translocators. These machines can be used to transport the player into uncharted regions of the world.
• Saltpeter can be found lining the walls of some caves, and cannot be prospected for.
• Locust nests can be broken for a chance to get Jonas parts and other useful materials.

Caving Dangers

• Locusts are a dangerous mob that spawns in caves and caverns near locust nests.
• Drifters , Bowtorns and Shivers that are tougher than those encountered on the surface can be found underground.
• Drop shafts may extend for tens or hundreds of blocks in caverns, and players who fall into these cavernous pits have no chance of survival.
• Temporal stability will begin to drop faster the deeper you are underground.
• Lava exists at deeper levels underground and will burn players (and gear) if personally encountered!

Prospecting (Systematic Method)

For a detailed guide on prospecting, see the Guide:Prospecting page

Mining at locations marked by small surface deposits can be a good way to find ores, but not all ores in a region will spawn in surface stones. To find deeper ores, use the prospecting pick or "propick". Prospecting can be performed on the surface before choosing to mine in an area, and help players decide which regions are worthwhile to mine based on the ores present in the chunk.

Prospecting picks have two modes, Density Search and Node Search. You can select them with the F key.

• Durability: Each block broken with the Node Search mode will reduce the durability of the propick by 2, while blocks broken with the Density Search mode will reduce the durability by 1.
• Drops: Blocks broken by the prospecting pick do not drop any materials.

Jump to Node Search mode

Density Search Mode

This is the first mode of the propick (F key), which is by default always enabled. It offers a long range search for possible deposits over a large area. Specifically, it shows the chance (in permille) for specific ores to be present within the area, based on the column of the first point sampled all the way from surface to mantle.

Prospecting Process

To prospect, a player must break any 3 rock blocks in 'close' proximity to "sample" the area for ores. These blocks must be located with a minimum of 3 blocks between them and a maximum of 16 blocks between them.

• Prospecting "Too Close": If a player breaks a block that is too close to another previously sampled block, the game dialog (displayed in the chat window) will repeat the request for that sample number. However, the game registers the faulty sample as a hit. To take a new sample, players must prospect at least 3 blocks from the faulty sample block hit, even though the action did not count toward the prospecting total.
• Prospecting "Too Far": If a block is prospected that is too far (over 16 blocks) from the initial sample, the game dialog (displayed in the chat window) will display a message stating that this sample is too distant to be used with previous samples taken. The game will convert this last block hit into a new starting sample. If blocks are broken "too far away" from each other, the consequence is that a player must restart the process of sampling.

Upon breaking the third valid sample block, it will display the possible densities of all the ores in the chat window based on the column of the first block broken. The results will also be saved as a waypoint on the world map.

Prospecting Results

The prospecting results of a region spanning approximately 1600 blocks x 1056 blocks; the prospecting layer of the world map is filtered to show all minerals

The previous image, but filtered to only show the results for borax.

One must understand that this mode does not detect the actual presence of ore blocks, but detects the chance that ores are present in permille (parts-per-thousand).

• The game uses randomly generated ore density maps whenever a chunk is generated. These, along with the rock strata present in the column prospected, determine the chance for ores to appear.
• Even if a player removed all the ores from a chunk, the prospecting reading would remain the same.
• Additionally, some deposits are not detected by prospecting with this mode, such as quartz, surface copper, surface tin, saltpeter , or halite lake beds ("Halite" readings from the propick are for halite salt domes).

The display is based on the column of the first of the three blocks broken. The game displays the densities and chance of spawning of all the ores in the chat "Info log". These values reflect the chance to spawn and potential density, not the actual ore available in the chunk nor does it account for quality. An example reading is shown below:

The information displayed is as follows:

• The relative density of the ore compared to how dense the ore can get. The densities are as follows: Ultra High, Very High, High, Decent, Poor, Very Poor, Miniscule. A reading of "Ultra High" means the ore is as dense as it can get. A reading of "Miniscule" means the ore can be present in the area, but in very small quantities. A Very Poor reading of one ore may have a much higher permille reading than an Ultra High reading of another ore.
• The name of the ore. You can click on the name to see the handbook entry for it.
• The actual density of the ore in parenthesis, given in parts-per-thousand (‰, notice the second zero at the bottom), based on the column prospected¹, which represents the average number of blocks in the area that may be of that specified ore should it have spawned.

¹Though the data is based on only the column prospected, the information will likely be similar for nearby columns and even chunks, since rock strata usually does not change a great deal over a short distance except when elevation changes.

Using the Bismuthinite reading above as an example, you have a medium chance of locating the ore in the area, approximately 1.9 blocks of 1000 in the area contain the ore, while the Copper reading shows a poor chance of locating the ore in the area, but at 9.1 out of 1000 blocks, meaning while there is less copper in the area than what could be found in other areas, you would still find more copper than bismuthinite.

Note: The prospecting pick only detects ores above a certain threshold. Players will very occasionally find ore deposits in a region when the prospecting pick did not indicate the ores are present. Such 'undetected' occurrences are extremely rare.

Prospecting for Ore Fields

Prospecting results should be similar for 4 chunks in an area because the ore densities are created from a density map generated with the world, at a resolution of approximately 32 blocks. The ore densities will tend to have a more concentrated 'center' and then decrease when moving towards the circumference. So when locating a low density reading of any desired ore, try taking other prospecting samples some distance away in other directions to find an area with a higher reading. With enough sampling, a player can locate the center of the ore field, which often spans a great many chunks.

Node Search Mode

This is the second mode of the propick, which can be activated with the F key. It offers a short to medium range search for exact and actually available deposits in a specific place.

To prospect, break any stone block with the propick. Unlike density mode you will only need to break one block, and the results will immediately be listed in the chat info log. Remember that each block broken with the node search mode drains 2 durability from the propick.

Prospecting Results

The propick by default searches a 6 block cubical radius around the block broken.

• If no ores are deteced within that radius, the info log will display the "No ore node nearby" message.
• If any ores are detected, the prospecting pick will display "Found the following ore nodes" with a list of ores and anywhere between "Trace amounts" to "Huge amounts" of each ore, depending on how much is in the area. The results are based on the amount of ore blocks in the area and does not account for the quality of the ore.
  • Halite and saltpeter cannot be detected with this mode.

Verified...	Trace amounts	Small amounts	Medium amounts	Large amounts	Very large amounts	Huge amounts
Amount	1-9	10-19	20-39	40-79	80-159	160+

Activating Node Search Mode

Since v1.18, this second mode is enabled by default when creating a new world. You can disable it or modify its radius in the advanced settings ("Customize" button) - in the middle of the list, the option "ProPick Node Search Radius" lets you switch between disabled or, if you want to use it, for what size you want it to work. The radius you select here describes the size of the cubic search area, for instance the radius 4 equals a search area of 9x9x9 blocks, 729 blocks searched in total.

Radius	2	4	6	8
Search Size	125	729	2197	4913

If you have already created a world where this mode was disabled, you can use a simple command in chat to activate it - and set or change the radius. Simply type the following into the chat:

/worldConfig propickNodeSearchRadius [Radius]

Insert the radius you want to use and enter - the final command should not have any brackets. Please keep in mind that higher radius numbers might be hard on your computer and could potentially lead to freezes. Additionally, even going with in game considerations, knowing the ores in such a big search area might be just as helpful as doing a density search in the first place. Before you will be able to switch between the two modes using the F, you will have to restart the game once.

Prospecting Written Guide

For an excellent guide on the methodology of prospecting, see Guide:Prospecting

Additionally, this reddit post is a wonderfully written guide from the user Streetwind on how to start prospecting if you are completely new to prospecting in general. It clearly explains how to begin prospecting, what to bring with your first expedition, and how exactly you figure out where to dig down.

Mining Products

Smeltable nuggets do not drop from rocks when mined. Instead, ores contained in chunks of stone will be dropped. When mining, inventory space is generally at a premium, and these chunks occupy less space than "smeltable nuggets". Ores within rock must be crushed with a hammer in the crafting grid to obtain smeltable nuggets. "Richer" chunks have a higher concentration of ore and will generate more nuggets when crushed, so be sure to create smithy storage containers to store the ores!

Video Tutorial - How to Use the Prospecting Pick

How to Use the Prospecting Pick

Video Tutorial - Ore Deposits

Ore Deposits in Vintage Story English	Erz Verteilung in Vintage Story Deutsch

Notes

The head developer settled a debate in 2023 about density readings. To the question "Are prospecting reading in density mode chunk-based, or position-based?" Tyron responded "They are position based. thats why i don't want to represent them in the same way as prospector info". The mod Prospector Info displays density-reading results on the map in squares aligned with chunk borders, and many video tutorials have perpetuated the misconception that prospecting results are chunk-based.

History

Version	Description
v1.19.0	The results of density samples are now not only printed to the chat box but also saved to the map.