The deposits you find through man-made mines will be a lot bigger than the ones you find in caves, since caves are generated after ores and cut right through them. However, you're likely to find much more deposits through caves since you don't have to waste time mining through stone. On the whole you'll find about the same ores either way, though strip mining is much safer if you aren't playing on peaceful. Also, I find strip mining is much better at getting diamonds.
Also, caves are a good way to get horrendously lost. A strip mine will give more stone, and about the same amount of ores, depending on how far down it goes.
Also, caves are a good way to get horrendously lost. A strip mine will give more stone, and about the same amount of ores, depending on how far down it goes.
This, as a normal cave might give you some ores, the huge caves that you find or stumble into sometimes seem to get you extreamly lost and finding your way back out without signs or something to mark you path is just to dang hard. A strip mine may take longer like most say but you won't get lost in it and unless you do hit a cave you won't have to worry about mobs really.
well it depends how old your save is, i have a save that i made about a week ago and it is right before notch made diamond picks stronger, like a day before. he had also right before then made diamonds and other ores (especialy the redore) way more common
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I think i have to much blood in my caffeine system.
The amount of time and tools used strip mining an area is not worth the bounty.
There are 3 methods for gaining ore: Spelunking, Strip-mining, and Grid Mining.
Spelunking: This is by far the best method for gaining ore, with minimal change to the land and minimal usage of tools. By finding a cave, you are uncovering far more surface area along the rock walls than you would when mining, and you travel at a far faster rate than if you are mining. If you were to mine out the equivalent volume of a cavern, you would make more ore per cubic meter, but at the cost of ridiculous amounts of time and tools.
Strip mine: This is the most inefficient form of mining you can do when gathering ore. Due to the fact that each new rock destroyed uncovers only a bare minimum of new rock faces, the chances of finding new ore are very slim. The more cube shaped your strip mine, the worse it will work.
Grid Mining: This is done by only mining out corridors to walk through, with consideration to boosting the surface area to a maximum with the least digging. By mining 4 blocks in every direction, placing a torch at the end, and mining 4 blocks from each of those torches, you are left with a 3x3 pillar with corridors all around it. This gives ridiculously large amounts of surface area, as you can see all sides of each pillar have no ore, and the likely hood of the centre of the pillars having ore is very slim.
They each have their drawbacks: If you spelunk, you could get lost or killed by lava or various predators. If you strip mine, you will not gain many ores and waste lots of time. If you Grid mine, you can get lost in there as well, but it is safer than spelunking.
In the end: Want the most ores in short time? Go spelunking. You also find mob spawners and gain arrows/feathers/string/gunpowder as well. Want to be safe? Strip mine or Grid mine. Don't want to get lost? Strip mine. Want lots of cobblestone? Strip mine or grid mine.
The absolute best method I have found has been to spelunk down till I am near the bottom of the map and then grid mine out from there if I want to hunt for diamonds.
Diamonds are only resource really rare enough to warrant the effort of mining and since they only occur near the bottom there is no point in strip mining down to them.
Now in SMP I expect grid mining to become the search method of choice as all the cave visible ore will be quickly snatched up.
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Tis far better to be a witty fool than a foolish wit.
I often need large amounts of cobblestone, so I always strip mine down to the bottom of the map. Once I'm there, however, I got on a large and highly unorganized version of grid mining. It seems to be a decent compromise for me. I agree that strip mining is the worst way to find ores, I hardly find any at all.
I remember reading somewhere that the most efficient pattern for mining through solid rock is something like
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and so on, since it lets you view the most surface area for the fewest pick strokes. Caves are way less aggravating though, as long as you dont mind occasionally getting lost and can handle yourself decently well in combat.
I'm rather sure you could leave 3x3 chunks instead of 2x2 chunks, as usually minerals come in clumps of two to five for diamonds. Every degree that you increase has huge effects on how quickly you can mine.
I'm rather sure you could leave 3x3 chunks instead of 2x2 chunks, as usually minerals come in clumps of two to five for diamonds. Every degree that you increase has huge effects on how quickly you can mine.
You could mine a single block in one of those 3x3 and see into the center if you're super-worried about missing a single ore, too, so yeah, 3x3 chunks are better. :wink.gif:
strip mining sideways i believe is the best way just get to the bottom go up 5 and make a 5*5 tunnel i have gotten 3 veins of diamond in like 20 min using this method and enough iron and everything else to easily pay for the tools i used
See, there are no caves around my base, and I don't want to venture far lest I get lost.
This, as a normal cave might give you some ores, the huge caves that you find or stumble into sometimes seem to get you extreamly lost and finding your way back out without signs or something to mark you path is just to dang hard. A strip mine may take longer like most say but you won't get lost in it and unless you do hit a cave you won't have to worry about mobs really.
The amount of time and tools used strip mining an area is not worth the bounty.
There are 3 methods for gaining ore: Spelunking, Strip-mining, and Grid Mining.
Spelunking: This is by far the best method for gaining ore, with minimal change to the land and minimal usage of tools. By finding a cave, you are uncovering far more surface area along the rock walls than you would when mining, and you travel at a far faster rate than if you are mining. If you were to mine out the equivalent volume of a cavern, you would make more ore per cubic meter, but at the cost of ridiculous amounts of time and tools.
Strip mine: This is the most inefficient form of mining you can do when gathering ore. Due to the fact that each new rock destroyed uncovers only a bare minimum of new rock faces, the chances of finding new ore are very slim. The more cube shaped your strip mine, the worse it will work.
Grid Mining: This is done by only mining out corridors to walk through, with consideration to boosting the surface area to a maximum with the least digging. By mining 4 blocks in every direction, placing a torch at the end, and mining 4 blocks from each of those torches, you are left with a 3x3 pillar with corridors all around it. This gives ridiculously large amounts of surface area, as you can see all sides of each pillar have no ore, and the likely hood of the centre of the pillars having ore is very slim.
They each have their drawbacks: If you spelunk, you could get lost or killed by lava or various predators. If you strip mine, you will not gain many ores and waste lots of time. If you Grid mine, you can get lost in there as well, but it is safer than spelunking.
In the end: Want the most ores in short time? Go spelunking. You also find mob spawners and gain arrows/feathers/string/gunpowder as well. Want to be safe? Strip mine or Grid mine. Don't want to get lost? Strip mine. Want lots of cobblestone? Strip mine or grid mine.
I hope you understand this.
A simple suggestion on geology here.
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Slaves of the Coal Mine
An interesting Novel to pass the time.
Diamonds are only resource really rare enough to warrant the effort of mining and since they only occur near the bottom there is no point in strip mining down to them.
Now in SMP I expect grid mining to become the search method of choice as all the cave visible ore will be quickly snatched up.
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[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] []
[] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] []
[] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []
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and so on, since it lets you view the most surface area for the fewest pick strokes. Caves are way less aggravating though, as long as you dont mind occasionally getting lost and can handle yourself decently well in combat.
Well, yeah. That goes without saying.
You could mine a single block in one of those 3x3 and see into the center if you're super-worried about missing a single ore, too, so yeah, 3x3 chunks are better. :wink.gif:
You heard that, green and red.