Every ore in Minecraft has a depth where it is most common, and since the 1.18 world generation update those depths matter more than ever. The table below is the short version; the guides under it cover each ore, its deepslate variant, the mineral blocks you craft from what you mine, and the amethyst geodes you dig through on the way down.
Best Y levels for each ore
| Ore | Generates between | Most common around |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | Y 0 to 320 | Y 96 and Y 136 |
| Iron | Y -64 to 320 | Y 16 and mountain peaks above Y 128 |
| Copper | Y -16 to 112 | Y 48, extra in dripstone caves |
| Gold | Y -64 to 32 (all badlands heights) | Y -16 |
| Lapis lazuli | Y -64 to 64 | Y 0 |
| Redstone | Y -64 to 16 | Y -59 |
| Diamond | Y -64 to 16 | Y -59 |
| Emerald | Y -16 to 320 (mountain biomes) | Y 232 |
| Ancient debris | Nether, Y 8 to 119 | Y 15 |
Ores, mineral blocks, and deepslate
- Amethyst: Learn how to find amethyst geodes in Minecraft, farm amethyst shards from budding amethyst, and craft spyglasses, tinted glass, and more.
- Amethyst Bud Block: Minecraft Amethyst Bud Block Guide: Farming Tips, Growth Stages, and Mistakes to Avoid
- Amethyst Cluster Block: Minecraft Amethyst Cluster Block Guide: Drops, Farming, and Best Uses
- Ancient Debris: Minecraft Ancient Debris Guide: Where to Find It and How to Turn It Into Netherite
- Block of Amethyst: Minecraft Block of Amethyst Guide: How to Find, Craft, and Use It
- Block of Bamboo: Block of Bamboo in Minecraft: How to Craft, Use, and Build With It
- Block of Coal: Minecraft Block of Coal Guide: How to Craft It, Use It, and Smelt More Efficiently
- Block of Copper: Minecraft Block of Copper Guide: How to Craft, Wax, and Use It
- Block of Diamond: Minecraft Block of Diamond: How to Craft, Use, and Build With It
- Block of Emerald: Block of Emerald in Minecraft: Crafting Recipe, Uses, and Best Tips
- Block of Gold: Minecraft Block of Gold Guide: Crafting, Beacon Uses, and Best Tips
- Block of Iron: Block of Iron in Minecraft: Recipe, Uses, and Best Ways to Get It
- Block of Lapis Lazuli: Block of Lapis Lazuli in Minecraft: How to Craft It, Find It, and Use It
- Block of Netherite: Block of Netherite in Minecraft: How to Craft, Use, and Get It Fast
- Block of Quartz: Minecraft Block of Quartz Guide: Recipe, Variants, and Best Uses
- Block of Raw Copper: Block of Raw Copper in Minecraft: How to Get It, Craft It, and Use It
- Block of Redstone: Minecraft Block of Redstone Guide: Crafting, Uses, and Best Builds
- Block of Resin: Minecraft Block of Resin Guide: How to Get It, Craft It, and Use It
- Budding Amethyst: Budding Amethyst grows amethyst clusters inside geodes. Here's how to find it, why you can't mine it, and how to farm shards from it.
- Calcite: Find Minecraft calcite inside amethyst geodes, mine it with any pickaxe, and use the smooth white block in builds. Full guide with tips and FAQ.
- Coal ore: Learn how to find coal ore in Minecraft, mine it with Fortune or Silk Touch, and use coal for torches, fuel, and emerald trades.
- Cobbled deepslate: Learn how to mine cobbled deepslate in Minecraft, craft polished deepslate and bricks, and use it for stone tools and dark-stone builds.
- Copper ore: Copper ore in Minecraft drops raw copper that smelts into ingots used for lightning rods, spyglasses, and copper blocks. Here's how to mine it.
- Deepslate: A full overview of deepslate in Minecraft: where it generates, how to mine it, every crafted variant, and the ores you find deep underground.
- Deepslate: Where deepslate generates in Minecraft, how to mine it, every variant in the family, and tips for using it in your builds.
- Deepslate bricks: Learn how to craft deepslate bricks in Minecraft, where they spawn, recipes for slabs, stairs, walls, and the best builds to make with them.
- Deepslate coal ore: Where deepslate coal ore generates in Minecraft, how to mine it, what it drops, and whether it is worth hunting on its own.
- Deepslate copper ore: Find deepslate copper ore in Minecraft fast. Learn where it spawns, how to mine it, what it drops, and the best Y level for copper mining.
- Deepslate diamond ore: Learn where deepslate diamond ore spawns, the best Y level, what pickaxe to use, and how Fortune affects diamond drops in Minecraft.
- Deepslate emerald ore: Learn where deepslate emerald ore spawns in Minecraft, which pickaxe you need, how much XP it drops, and the best biomes for finding emeralds underground.
- Deepslate Gold Ore: Learn how to find deepslate gold ore in Minecraft, mine it with an iron pickaxe, smelt raw gold, and use Fortune for bigger yields.
- Deepslate iron ore: Where deepslate iron ore spawns, the pickaxe you need, how Fortune affects drops, and the best Y-levels for fast iron in Minecraft.
- Deepslate lapis lazuli ore: Find deepslate lapis lazuli ore in Minecraft, mine it for the best lapis yield, and use Fortune III to multiply drops at low Y levels.
- Deepslate redstone ore: How to find and mine deepslate redstone ore in Minecraft, what it drops, smelting and Fortune yields, plus tips for stocking up on redstone dust.
- Deepslate tiles: How to craft deepslate tiles in Minecraft, where they generate, and the fastest way to stock them in bulk for builds.
- Diamond ore: Find diamond ore in Minecraft fast. Y-levels, the right pickaxe, drop rates, and the common mistakes that waste your iron.
- Emerald ore: Learn where emerald ore spawns in Minecraft, what pickaxe you need, how Fortune affects drops, and the best biomes to mine it for villager trading.
- Gold ore: A practical guide to gold ore in Minecraft: where it spawns, which biomes hold the most of it, how to mine it, and what gold is actually good for.
- Iron ore: Learn where to find iron ore in Minecraft, the best Y-levels for mining, what pickaxe you need, and how to smelt it into iron ingots fast.
- Lapis lazuli ore: Lapis lazuli ore powers enchanting and crafts blue dye. Learn where it spawns, how to mine it, and the fastest way to farm it.
- Nether gold ore: Find nether gold ore fast, mine it without losing nuggets, and avoid piglin attacks. Full guide with Y levels, drop rates, and Fortune tips.
- Nether quartz ore: Nether quartz ore drops the quartz used for redstone parts and clean white building blocks. Here's where it spawns and how to mine it efficiently.
- Redstone ore: Learn where redstone ore spawns in Minecraft, which pickaxe you need, how Fortune boosts dust drops, and why the block glows when touched.
- Tuff: Learn where tuff spawns in Minecraft, how to mine it, the full 1.21 tuff family of polished, bricks, and chiseled variants, and how to build with it.
Mining tools and techniques
- Pickaxe: Learn how to craft every pickaxe tier in Minecraft, what blocks each one can mine, how durability works, and the best enchantments to add.
- Fortune: Learn how Fortune works in Minecraft, which blocks it boosts, the best level for diamonds, and how to get Fortune III on your pickaxe.
- Silk Touch: Silk Touch lets you mine blocks and keep them whole in Minecraft. Learn what it works on, where to get it, and why it can't combine with Fortune.
- Efficiency: Learn how Efficiency works in Minecraft: mining speed math, instant mining setups, and how to get high levels from books and trading.
- Mineshaft: Learn how to find a mineshaft in Minecraft, what loot the minecart chests hold, how to deal with cave spiders, and how to collect rails and string.
- Geodes: Learn how to find amethyst geodes in Minecraft, mine shards and clusters, farm them with budding amethyst, and craft spyglasses and tinted glass.