The Best Y-Level for Every Ore (Mining Guide)
Mine diamonds and redstone at Y=-59, lapis at 0, gold at -16, iron at 16, copper at 48 and coal at 96. Emeralds peak at Y=232, only in mountains.
Those are the layers to tunnel along. Press F3: Y is the middle number on the XYZ line and gives the height of your feet (the Block line shows it as a whole number), so a two-block-tall tunnel also clears the layer above.
Every ore, height by height
| Ore | Generates at | Best Y | Minimum pickaxe | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal | 0 to 319 | 96, or 136 in a mountain | Wooden | Densest at 136, where both batches overlap |
| Copper | -16 to 112 | 48 | Stone | Bigger veins in Dripstone Caves |
| Iron | -64 to 72, and 80 to 319 | 16 and 232 | Stone | The high band needs a mountain |
| Lapis Lazuli | -64 to 64 | 0 | Stone | Some veins are sealed in solid rock |
| Gold | -64 to 32 | -16 | Iron | Badlands add more from Y=32 to 256 |
| Redstone | -64 to 15 | -59 | Iron | Even down to Y=-32, then richer every layer |
| Diamond | -64 to 16 | -59 | Iron | Richer every layer you go down |
| Emerald | -16 to 319 | 232 | Iron | Mountain biomes only |
| Nether Quartz | 10 to 117 | Any | Wooden | Twice the attempts in Basalt Deltas, but only in its scarce Netherrack |
| Nether Gold | 10 to 117 | Any | Wooden | Twice the attempts in Basalt Deltas, but only in its scarce Netherrack |
| Ancient Debris | 8 to 119 | 16 | Diamond | Never touches air |
A Copper Pickaxe mines the same ores as a Stone Pickaxe. Mined with a lower tier than listed, an ore drops nothing. Every ore here except Ancient Debris drops more with Fortune; the enchantment calculator shows your odds of rolling it.
How the game decides where ore goes
Ore is placed in batches. Each batch gets a set number of vein attempts per chunk and a height rule: either even between two levels, or a triangle, thickest in the middle and thinning to nothing at both ends. "Best Y" in the table is the point of that triangle, or Y=-59 where the point sits at or below bedrock.
- Diamond and redstone have no middle to aim for. Their triangles centre on Y=-64, the world's floor. Diamond gets denser with every layer you descend; redstone is even down to Y=-32, then does the same. Bedrock can appear anywhere from Y=-64 to -60, so Y=-59 is the lowest layer you can tunnel cleanly.
- Iron and coal peak twice. Iron has an underground triangle from Y=-24 to 56 peaking at 16, an even scatter of small veins from the bottom to Y=72, and a mountain triangle from Y=80 up peaking at 232, with 90 vein attempts per chunk against 10 for the underground one. Coal has a triangle from 0 to 192 peaking at 96, plus an even batch from Y=136 to the top of the world.
- A peak only counts where there is rock. Y=96 and Y=232 are open sky across most of the map, and Y=136 has rock only inside a mountain.
Caves or tunnels
Some batches may skip an ore block that would generate against open air, and that chance decides whether caves or tunnels pay better.
| Ore | Ore that can sit against air | Best found by |
|---|---|---|
| Iron, copper, redstone, emerald | All of it | Exploring caves |
| Coal | All of the high batch, half of the low one | Either |
| Gold | Half, but all of the Badlands bonus | Tunnels, or Badlands caves |
| Lapis Lazuli | 2 of every 6 vein attempts, but two thirds at Y=0 | Either at Y=0, tunnels elsewhere |
| Diamond | Half or less, and one batch never touches air | Tunnels |
| Ancient Debris | None | Tunnels or explosions |
This is why dry cave walls show plenty of redstone but fewer diamonds than the rock behind them holds. Lava and water don't count as air, so the lava-filled caves below Y=-54 are the exception. The diamond guide covers when to scan caves and when to tunnel.
Ore veins: iron and copper by the stack
Ore veins are separate: long, twisting bands of ore running through the rock.
- Copper veins run from Y=0 to 49 through Granite and are thickest between Y=20 and 30.
- Iron veins run from Y=-60 to -9 through Tuff, carry Deepslate Iron Ore, and are thickest between Y=-40 and -28.
About 2% of a vein's ore is a Block of Raw Copper or Block of Raw Iron, which crafts into 9 raw ore. If a cave opens onto Tuff studded with iron, follow it: a single vein can hold over 2,000 ore.
Biomes that change the numbers
- Badlands (including Eroded and Wooded Badlands) add 50 gold vein attempts per chunk, evenly from Y=32 to 256, on top of the normal 4. None are removed by air, so gold shows on cave walls far above its usual depth.
- Dripstone Caves swap normal copper for large veins of up to 52 blocks instead of 16, with the same number of attempts.
- Sulfur Caves replace most of their stone and deepslate with Sulfur and Cinnabar. Scattered ore can't form in either, so it is rare there, though copper and iron ore veins still run through.
- Emerald generates only in Meadow, Cherry Grove, Grove, Snowy Slopes, Jagged Peaks, Frozen Peaks, Stony Peaks, Windswept Hills, Windswept Gravelly Hills and Windswept Forest. Each chunk gets 100 attempts at the smallest veins of any Overworld ore, richer every layer up to Y=232.
Those same ten biomes hide Infested Stone and Infested Deepslate from Y=63 down. They break in half the time of the block they copy and release a Silverfish unless mined with Silk Touch or on Peaceful, so a block that pops too quickly is a warning.
Deepslate ore
From Y=0 down the rock is Deepslate (outside Sulfur Caves), and between Y=0 and 8 stone and Deepslate mix. Ore in Deepslate takes its deepslate form, such as Deepslate Diamond Ore: hardness 4.5 against 3, so it takes 1.5 times as long to break. Efficiency closes most of that gap.
Nether ores and Ancient Debris
Nether Quartz Ore (16 attempts per chunk) and Nether Gold Ore (10) are spread evenly from Y=10 to 117. Basalt Deltas double both counts to make up for their scarce Netherrack, which is the only block these ores can replace. No layer is favoured, so mine whatever you see.
Ancient Debris is different: a small triangle from Y=8 to 24 peaking at 16, a thin even scatter from 8 to 119, and none of it touching air. Bed mining and the smithing upgrade are in the netherite guide.
Which level to dig at
- 1.Y=16 with a Stone Pickaxe. Iron peaks here and copper is still common. Three Iron Ingots and two Sticks make an Iron Pickaxe, which you need for gold, redstone, diamond and emerald.
- 2.Y=0 to -16 for lapis and gold. Lapis peaks at the top of that band, gold at the bottom.
- 3.Y=-59 with an Iron Pickaxe or better. Diamond and redstone are densest here. Caves below Y=-54 generate flooded with lava, so carry a Water Bucket and dig down in a staircase, never straight down. Y=-54, just above the lava, is safer for a first trip. Stop if you hit sculk: it marks a Deep Dark, where the Warden can appear.
- 4.High inside a mountain if one is close. Above about Y=160, iron is denser than at Y=16, and only mountains generate emeralds.