Mining in Minecraft

In Minecraft, it is almost essential to mine if you want to survive. When mining, you can find ores that will help you when night falls. Even the most seemingly useless ores like Lapis Lazuli have a purpose. (Lapis Lazuli is used for enchanting tools when using an Enchanting table. It is also used as a dye.) Here, you can learn how to stay safe and have more chance of finding what you need!

First things first: you need to know how to stay safe when mining. What if you had just mined Diamond and was cooked by lava? What if you lost an Enchantment table (see my Enchanting page to find out more) because you drowned? These tips will help prevent that:

1. Never, Ever mine directly up or down. Never. Because there might be Water above you, ready to make sure you drown, or Lava below, ready to scorch you to a crisp. You don't want to waste all your mining efforts, so make sure you always mine diagonally (but be sure to mine 3 blocks high or 3 blocks deep).
2. Always have torches. Lots of torches. Torches make light. Light means no monsters. No monsters equals no death. It's that simple.
3. If you find a cave, you might get excited and want to start mining straight away. But be careful! You should mark your path, you could get lost and get trapped down there until you kill yourself.
4. Another note on Caves, is that it is likely monsters will be roaming around. Because caves can make it easier to spot ores, I recommend always bringing a Sword or Bow and Arrows when mining. (You can find out about swords, bows and arrows on my Weapons page.)

Next, I think it is easier to mine for ores when you know where to find them. Go to Minecraft 101 to find out where to go.

The last thing you should know is which type of pickaxe you need to mine with. To find out, go to Ore-Minecraft Wiki to make sure you don't lose your drop! (But you can usually figure out if an Ore isn't going to drrop something when it takes a very long time to mine.)

One last thing: here is a video of a mining trip!