Minecraft Forums

I just got the minecraft Xbox.I want to know what is the best way of mining.

Probably with a pickaxe....

What exactly did you have in mind when you said "mining?"
Strip mining?
Making a large room?
Changing landscapes?

I meant the type of mining.

Quote from MightyRay101

I meant the type of mining.

Hack the ore or stone with a pickaxe, silly.

Quote from RaVeNh00d363

Hack the ore or stone with a pickaxe, silly.

I already know that.I didn't mean that.I meant it like which is the best mining type.Whether it is strip mining,cave mining,branch mining etc.

Do Branch mining 1st then strip mine.

And also which layer is best area to mine underground.

Which layer to mine depends on what you need. The upper layers have coal, important for torches and for use in furnaces, and stone for pickaxes. The middle layers usually have iron, for better pickaxes. The lowest layers have redstone and diamonds.

Everyone has their own favorite way of mining, but I like a combo of each. What I do is pick a spot. Dig a 4 block wide spot. Then dig another 4 block wide 'trench' at a 45 degree angle down. Keep digging your shaft down at a 45 degree angle till you reach the bottom. You'll not only have cleared out all the ores in a 4 block wide area, you'll have steps to get back up. Place torches on one wall every 5th layer to light your way. Important: always dig from a step (don't stand on the bottom layer where you've just dug). If you run into lava it won't get your feet!

When you've reached the bottom of that shaft, move over and start another 4 wide, 45 degree shaft down, leaving 1 block between shafts. Repeat till you've got as many side-by-side shafts as you want. At that point you can move on to a new spot OR bridge the gap at the top so you can move forward about 4-5 blocks, then start a new shaft down.

It's the safest, most efficient way to mine that I've found.

I like to dig 16 x 16 quarry's and dig strips at the bottom.

When I first got This game, I dug a 20x20 square all the way down to bedrock.....That took forever and wasn't very efficient. Now I cave dive a new seed to gather enough iron and coal to make iron tools, torches and shears. Don't waste wood on ladders, Use the shears to gather vines and then dig either a 2x2 or just a 2 wide hole straight to level 12ish with the vines as a way back to the surface.

From there I clear out a room about 11x11 and start branch mining. The good thing about branch mining is that once you are done with it you can use the branches as underground railways to travel around the map underground.

Also remember that you need an Iron pickaxe to get anything better than iron ore or coal. If you use a stone pick on diamonds, you won't get the drop. Same with gold, redsotne and obsidian.

Here ya go sir...
I made this a while back

Branch mining is generally been the most successful way I have found diamonds as well as more iron, gold, redstone, and coal than I could ever possibly use.

Pretty simple steps I use as I want diamonds right away for an enchanting table. In brief:

1. Get enough wood to make a stack of ladders
2. Gather materials and build pickaxes and shovels [stone is fine]
3. Gather materials [coal/charcoal] and make a stack of torches
4. Save your game
5. Find where you want your mineshaft and dig straight down. Yup, that's why you save first. If you want a slightly-safer method you can dig a 1x3 trench as you work your way down so you are never digging directly under your feet and have a nice big area for what follows in later steps.
6. As you dig down, toss ladders on one side and torches on the other. I usually stop every 8 blocks to place a new torch and ladders.
7. Dig down until you are at Y=11 and stop! This is the bottom of your shaft. From there dig out a room like 3x4 or so away from the bottom of your shaft and toss down your crafting table, furnace, and double chest [all three are optional but useful]. If you made a 1x3 shaft you can install a water drop for a quick way down.
8. From there... just dig a hallway 2 wide in a straight line. You will run shafts off this hallway. I usually run the same shaft from hallway all the way to edge of map. Repeat as needed.


Now for horrible ASCII layout!


##X##X##X##X
XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXX
X##X##X##X##X

X = open space
# = solid blocks

Basically just skip 2 blocks between shafts. I also stagger shafts on each side of the hallway so if you are running back from one you don't accidently auto-pilot past the hallway. The shafts themselves are just 1x2. This method is very efficient as standing at Y=11 you see the Y=10 blocks under you, Y=12 blocks above you, and then everything on the left/right of. If you are not on Peaceful, make sure to throw torches every 8-10 blocks or so to prevent mob spawns.

I've seen videos with this same method so I can't say I've invented it. Some people go crazy and do a layer of shafts at Y=11 then another layer ABOVE THAT at Y=13 but I have never had a situation where I needed to stack my shafts that much.

Works like a champ. Once I get a chant table and get Fortune 3 on a pickaxe I end up with stacks of diamonds easily.

One more side tip...

Once you start enchanting, try for a Fortune III pickaxe first. This gives you up to 4 diamonds per block of diamond you break which adds up fast. You can save/reload to keep trying for that enchantment if you want. I also use that same Fortune pickaxe on Coal as I often need quite a bit of that as well. Sadly does not work for Iron or Gold as you only get 1 block no matter what. Works a little *too* well on Lapis and Redstone but if you need a lot... there ya go.

Hope that helps.

Thanks everyone.I did not get diamonds yet but I got gold and redstone.

I would say the best way is to be realistic. Lots of not so important blocks. Just gotta keep swinging. This applies too all types of mining.

Branch mining is most efficient. Dig 1-wide parallel trenches every 3rd row, leaving 2-wide walls in between. You can see every block in those walls, from one trench or another. So you end up seeing all the minerals in a big space while only digging through a third of the blocks.

When I go mining for diamonds I go strip mining. Strip mining in my opinion is also great for xp. (When you find lots of coal and redstone)

I sometimes go hunting for caves (If it is a useless cave, I dig a stair case downwards until I drop into a better cavern. I've had great luck by not digging straight into a top of a ravine!;))

no need to comment now.

I find that the patches of dirt and gravel seem to have the most recourses around them. I don't know if that's my game, but I've been lucky with going to bedrock and strip mining and getting tons of diamonds (it really pays off if you have enchanted pick axe)

Strip mining is only good if your goal is to make a huge hole in your world. But if your goal is to find the most ores with the least amount of digging, proper branch mining is by far the best method.

I went online to see if I could find a video or written guide to save me some time, and I was horrified to find that people are calling all sorts of different things "branch mining". I could not find a single video that wasn't confusing, or just plain wrong. So I guess I'll try to explain this one more time.

Here is a helpful image I found out there:


This is a top view of a branch mine. The spiral pattern is not what's important, or even necessary. What matters is the pattern of empty space (white) and solid blocks (grey). For every 1-wide trench dug into the ground, there is a 2-wide wall of blocks that have not been mined. Every single one of those blocks is visible, from one trench or another. So there is no need to mine them unless they are something you want (gold, diamonds, etc). If they are just dirt, stone, gravel, etc, they can stay right where they are.

The net result is that you see every single block in the mined space while only digging through one third of them. It saves you well over half the time, even taking into account the cross tunnels and the ores you will be mining out of those walls.