Ores

This page is an overview page over the ores found in Minetest Game.

General facts

All ores are generated by replacing stone at a certain height and always are formed in clusters.

Underground ores

The underground ore generation is simple: The deeper you get, the more you find. Ores generate at a height of Y = 64 or lower, starting with coal ore and becoming more and more valuable as you go deeper. At a height of Y = -1024 or lower, all ores can be found at their peak probability. All ores (except mese blocks) are generated in 2 variants: rare and common. The rare variant has smaller clusters and is less likely to appear and is found in the underground at a higher height. The common variant has usually a larger cluster size and is more likely to appear, but is found deeper.

Sky ores

All ores can also be generated at Y=1025 or above (i.e. high in the skies) at the same probability as common underground ores, as long there is stone. Unlike the underground ore generation, all ores already generate at peak probability at Y=1025 or above, they will not gradually become more common as you go higher.

Note that ores still require stone to be generated at all. This means you won't find any ores in the map generators v5, v6, v7, valleys and flat at default settings because no stone is generated so high. But if you use custom map generator settings, a custom modded map generator or the fractal map generator which generates stone at these extreme heights, you can find plenty of all ores at this height.

Ore-free zone

No ores are generated between Y = 65 and Y = 1025.

Ores overview

	Ore type		Drops		Weakest required tool	Ores in cluster	Rare at Y ≤	Common at Y ≤	Common at Y ≥
	Coal Ore		1 Coal Lump		Wooden Pickaxe	8-27	64	0	1025
	Iron Ore		1 Iron Lump		Stone Pickaxe	5-27	0	−64	1025
	Copper Ore		1 Copper Lump		Stone Pickaxe	4-5	−16	−64	1025
	Gold Ore		1 Gold Lump		Stone Pickaxe	3-5	−64	−256	1025
	Mese Ore		1 Mese Crystal		Steel Pickaxe	3-5	−64	−256	1025
	Diamond Ore		1 Diamond		Steel Pickaxe	4	−128	−256	1025
	Mese Block		1 Mese Block		Steel Pickaxe	3	N/A	−1024	1025