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I'm curious as to what the most efficient method is. basically what i've been doing is digging to bed rock, dig out a long 2 high tunnel, and then a series of 2 high tunnels spread out by two blocks branching off of the main one. i like to be at bedrock level because i feel that its less likely to hit lava and everything can be found there (diamonds, gold, etc). it's worked out well,

any better methods?

You can try to build a 12 x 12 quarry mine.

branch mining seems to be the most effective way. you could build a monster farmer to get gunpowder then use dynamite to mine but you run the risk of losing valuable items

There are caves that you can find that are really big and have 3 smaller caves inside (Not sure how to really explain) and there are alot of Iron,Diamond,etc. I found one and I haven't really been looking around it but all together I've found 11 diamonds and 2 sets of 64 Iron Ingots.

I use the same bed rock branching method you describe, though you could probably get away with doing 3 blocks for the side branch spacing. Most of the ore veins are more than 1 block wide so you likely wouldnt miss anything.

I go down to bedrock, then I go back up about 2 levels (floor, ceiling, 2 bocks between = 1 level) thats where i usually find all the goodies. I do one 2x2 horizontal shaft from map end to map end and then do 1x2 shafts spaced 2 blocks apart off of that. Alot of running into lava but if your smart you can work around it.

Well I got 2 64 gold and a 64 diamind by mining 3x3 tunnels at floor 10 its great

This article might help you out, it offers a lot of different ways to mine with notes ad efficency and effectiveness: http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Tutorials/Mining_Techniques

I go to bedrock make a 9 x3 room then go every 3 blocks lengthwise and dig a line about 100 or until i hit lava. thats about 8 lines i make of 100 if lava doesnt stop me then i go above that 2 blocks and do the same thing i literally see every block in those spaces ive mined Works all the time i come out with tons of iron gold and diamond

I do the oil dipping method of mining. Basically I dig down and use ladders so I can get out. If I find any caves I explore. If not I abandon the 1x1 mine shaft and dig somewhere else.

So basically I dig straight down like the game tells you not to do. I also dig straight up so the smart digging method!

+1 to all the replies.

Cool no one complained about the search bar.

Quote from miner_king123

I go to bedrock make a 9 x3 room then go every 3 blocks lengthwise and dig a line about 100 or until i hit lava. thats about 8 lines i make of 100 if lava doesnt stop me then i go above that 2 blocks and do the same thing i literally see every block in those spaces ive mined Works all the time i come out with tons of iron gold and diamond

i might actually start doing this instead of my usual method.

I saw a video a while back that said dimonds spawn most comonly between layers 10 and 16. What i do is make 2 branch mines, one on top of the other, and space the branches 2 blocks apart. it works rathar well, i have about 80 dimonds now but i never use them haha

I use the standard branch mining method once I explore an initial cave system and get down to lava. I also take a lot of glass with me. It makes a great bridge across lava while lighting everything up. On a few occasions I have found diamond and other ores under a lava block if it is only 1 deep by placing the glass. Me an my brother have glassed over several lava lakes so it makes traveling very easy through our mining areas. It can be a resource drain but in a world with a lot of sand its no big deal.

Quote from Sol_Rokks_Teddy

I saw a video a while back that said dimonds spawn most comonly between layers 10 and 16. What i do is make 2 branch mines, one on top of the other, and space the branches 2 blocks apart. it works rathar well, i have about 80 dimonds now but i never use them haha

also between 5-9 because the space inbetween is more likely to be filled with lava thus replacing diamonds.
can be either, ive used both.,
but mostly layer 5 because its easier to notice your their.

I go down to bedroock place a four block well then come up 1 block to start 3 block high tunnels 2 blocks apart. Then after mining there move up so 2 blocks seperate ceiling and floor and start tunneling again.

Use TNT. Its efficient if you have lots of gunpowder and sand.

I dig a 6x6 hole all the way to Y=12 then i dig a 6wide 4tall tunnel leaving 2 rows in the middle. you can still see the ore in the middle i found that to be the most efficient way to mine. Also try to enchant a fortune 3 pickaxe as son as you can.

Dig shaft down from secure place in my base, to bedrock. It is big enough for a railing, minecart track and stairs to walk up. Dig 3x3 tunnel around the vertical shaft, leaving a block for the shaft everywhere except a 3x3 opening at the corner platform. Then I dig 3x3 tunnels all four directions centered on the vertical shaft, to the edge of the map. Rail in the 3x3 tunnel around the vertical shaft as well as down the 4 tunnels. That is all preparation, after that I do generic 1x2 tunnels leaving 5 spaces in between, parallel to either the north south or east west tunnels. That is all at ground block level being 10, meaning feet are at 11 and face is at 12.