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So I've made my own quarry for digging out resources. It is 5x6 long all the way to level 5. So it covers levels 5-11. Is this a good depth for hunting for diamonds and iron? and what will be the best strategy to get the most ores without losing too many picks?

5-11 should work alright. The way I like to do it is a 2-tier system. Each tier is 3 blocks tall with 2 blocks between each tier. I then mine 16 blocks in both directions for each branch and leave 2 blocks between each branch. Doing this, you will have a much greater chance of finding a high percentage of the resources in your area. If you do 2 tiers of this (one between levels 5-8 and one between 10-13) you will have no problem getting plenty of resources. I would definitely recommend making a diamond pickax as soon as possible as you will blast through Iron ones quickly.

Quote from LegitimateBlitz

So I've made my own quarry for digging out resources. It is 5x6 long all the way to level 5. So it covers levels 5-11. Is this a good depth for hunting for diamonds and iron? and what will be the best strategy to get the most ores without losing too many picks?

I'm glad you asked this question as I was wondering the same thing. I've gone down nearly every hole on my map and harvested a lot of "easy" resources but am now looking at needing more. I use stone pickaxes the most so I don't feel guilty wearing through them like crazy. (And my iron is allocated to other uses.) I'll save a diamond for things that can't be mined with stone though.

Make yourself a lot if dynamite, and blow a huge hole in the ground about 4 or 5 blocks above bedrock. You'll be amazed at how much good stuff you'll find afterward. Plus, it looks awesome afterward.

This is the way i strip mine.



As you can see on the left i dig 2 high tunnels spaced rigth from each other. This way u can see all the block around it and not be digging block u dont have to. The way on the left is correct the way on the right is wrong. If u dig the way on the right u will miss the small packs of diamonds like i have shown in the image. The way on the left u dont miss anything and its minimal digging.

Effieciency mining is the fastest way to go. You mine tunnels 2 high and 1 wide as far in as you want. Then, you move 3 spaces over, putting two blocks between each tunnel. When you are done mining that level, you move down, or up, 3 spaces putting 2 blocks between each floor. This way you are ONLY ever seeing new blocks. And you aren't missing new blocks hidden between tunnels. Its an absolute guarantee that you visually see every block on the map without having to also MINE every block on the map.

Its without a doubt the fastest way to find and mine resources. Unless you actually are trying to mine cobble, in which case a strip mine is fine. Even with an efficiency mine, you'll get tons of cobble though.

Quote from Gishgeron

Effieciency mining is the fastest way to go. You mine tunnels 2 high and 1 wide as far in as you want. Then, you move 3 spaces over, putting two blocks between each.....

I c what u mean with the 2 rows between but there is still room for blocks to be hidden in there. i have found diamonds either only 1 block patches or in the blocks u miss by doing that method. Thats why i changed to my way.

Here is where u will miss in your way
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Thanks for the suggestion guys. I am really going to use them.
One more question though. (Don't want to make a whole new topic for this)
Can i place lava in a + shape so that it becomes infinite? I searched this up and get different answers of yes and no. I want to know know if i can do this on the xbox one and i can't find that lava pool in my world again.

Quote from dustrho

Make yourself a lot if dynamite, and blow a huge hole in the ground about 4 or 5 blocks above bedrock. You'll be amazed at how much good stuff you'll find afterward. Plus, it looks awesome afterward.

I started doing this (I had a stack of 30 dynamite from all my creeper killing escapades) and I found 15 diamond in one area :D. Plus its fun!

I usually dig a 5x5 hole to bedrock then mine tunnels that are 2 blocks apart.

Allegedy, diamonds are more abundant between levels 5-12.

http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Diamond_Ore

For the xBox360 version, I can't be 100% sure of this, but it appears to work pretty well using the technique in post #5 above.

Quote from silentjoker

I c what u mean with the 2 rows between but there is still room for blocks to be hidden in there. i have found diamonds either only 1 block patches or in the blocks u miss by doing that method. Thats why i changed to my way.

Here is where u will miss in your way
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Its seems unlikely to miss those, since any deposit of ore is going to move outward from the initial spawn location. Now, that does mean that when you FIND ore...its in your best interest to dig a few stone blocks around the deposit even after you've cleared what you can see....which is a habit I recommend for anyone regardless. Sometimes the generator disconnects the vein, and you miss things if you aren't thourough.

Have you seriously found single blocks of diamond? I never have....did you find it near the map boundary? Even on PC minecraft...things spawning on a chunk boundary can be....odd at best.

no i found it diging down a 38x38 hole. found about 2 or 3 spots where it was just 1 random block of diamonds. nothing anywhere near another block.

also to the lava question. Lava does not make source blocks like water does. So you can only move source blocks with lava around u cannot make an endless pool of lava. Not sure if this will change in the future but right now you cannot.