Ore Deposits

Typical example of ore distribution.

Finding ore can be quite challenging. A picture of a typical ore distribution is shown (right). The main point to notice is that the ores are distributed at random heights in disks at various angles. Some ores have wider disks than others. Quartz has the widest disk by far, but most disks average 5.5 blocks wide. The overall shape of the ore disk will typically be shaped to reflect the surface above and will always cover the same horizontal area. This means that regions with flat ground will also have flat ore disks, and where the surface is jagged, the disks will be tilted and distorted. Thus, in flat areas mining horizontally reduces the chances of finding an ore disk. This continues to be true until the surface is jagged enough that its slope is greater than the width of the ore disk.

For more information on the prospecting pick and how to prospect to detect ores, see the mining page.

Ore generation

As of version 1.9, ores only appear in certain rock types. Many ores are only found in some host rocks, and different rocks can have different ore qualities. Ores are distributed evenly throughout their range given by Y min and Y max, it is important to note that these values are given as portions of the total world height, i.e. .5 is half the world's height. They also have an average radius which is the average width, a generator that specifies the way the deposit is formed, average thickness, and tries per chunk which is is how many times the game tries to generate a deposit in each chunk.

Shallow ores

Some ores are found in shallow deposits and deep deposits. Shallow deposits are indicated by the presence of loose stones containing ore on the surface. Surface copper deposits are a good source of metals in early game stages.

Ore	Y min	Y max	Average radius	Thickness	Generator	Tries per chunk
Lignite	0.48	0.92	10	2	disc follow surface	8
Bituminous coal	0.1	0.9	10	2	disc follow sea level	7
Anthracite	0.0	0.8	8	1.5	disc follow sea level	6
Copper	0.962	0.968	4.25	1	disc follow surface	0.2
Cassiterite	0.92	0.98	3	1	disc follow surface	0.007
Galena	0.0	1.0	4	1	disc follow surface	40
Lapis lazuli	0.05	0.85	2	1	disc follow surface	5
Sulfur	0.3	0.9	8	1	disc follow sea level	15
Borax	0.4	1.0	8	1	disc follow sea level	6
Cinnabar	0.0	0.4	8	1	disc follow sea level	1
Fluorite	0.2	0.6	8	2	disc follow sea level	2
Graphite	0.05	0.85	8	2	disc follow sea level	6
Kernite	0.2	0.6	8	2	disc follow sea level	2
Olivine	0.0	1.0	32	1.2	disc anywhere	0.5
Phosporite	0.2	0.6	8	2	disc follow sea level	2

Deep ores

Deep ores do not have surface hints and most can only be found using the prospecting pick. Some ores, saltpeter for example, can't be found with a propick at all and must be found caving.

Ore	Y min	Y max	Average radius	Thickness	Generator	Tries per chunk
Saltpeter	0.0	0.8	10	7	disc follow sea level	7
Deep native copper	0	0.6	6	1	disc follow surface	25
Malachite	0.1	0.9	6	1	disc follow surface	15
Sphalerite	0.0	0.95	4	1	disc follow surface	10
Cassiterite	0.4	0.75	5	1	disc follow surface	7
Rare massive deposit of tin	0	0.6	12	1	disc follow surface	0.1
Bismuthinite	0.05	0.85	4	1	disc follow surface	16
Limonite	0.05	0.85	26	1	disc follow sea level	0.8
Hematite	0.05	0.85	26	1	disc follow sea level	0.5
Magnetite	0.05	0.85	26	1	disc follow sea level	0.3
Diamond	0.0	0.2	2	1	disc follow sea level	18
Emerald	0.0	0.26	1	1	disc follow sea level	64
Chromite	0.0	0.4	3	1	disc follow sea level	6
Ilmenite	0.05	0.85	3	1	disc follow sea level	2
Pentlandite	0.0	0.4	6	1	disc follow surface	10
Rhodochrosite	0.0	0.4	3	1	disc follow sea level	5

Ore specifics

Gold

Gold only spawns in layers of quartz. Following a quartz layer is a good way to find them. Ore blasting bombs can be utilized to great effect to clear out quartz.

Silver

Silver can be found alongside gold in quartz deposits, but it can also be found in deposits of lead.

Cassiterite

There's a 0.003% chance to come across a massive cassiterite deposit in a chunk. Players who find locate these are extremely lucky, since the smallest of these deposits are larger than the largest of the normal sized deposits.

Generally Cassiterite is very rare yet it is needed to make tin bronze and to progress to iron tools. Some players may find this frustrating. Some traders sell tools that can be used to work iron, so only a tin bronze anvil is needed.

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