Mining Ores (and Other Materials) in Minecraft

Minecraft wouldn't be what it was without mining! In this Instructable I go over all the different ores and special resources you can mine in the game and what awesome things you can do with them!

Furnace and Smelting

In order to craft some things, you will need to smelt an ore into an ingot. To smelt you need to build a furnace out of 8 cobblestone.

To smelt with the furnace, first place it like you would a crafting table. To use, put the ore you want to smelt in the top spot and a fuel in the bottom spot (fuels can include coal, charcoal, wood and a bucket of lava). The ingot you create will show up on the right.

Coal

Facts about Coal:

Most common ore
Must be mined with a pickaxe, but it can be mined with just a wooden one
Used for fuel in furnace
When you destroy the coal ore block you will get a piece of coal
Can be found at any level in the world as long as there is stone for it to form next to

Crafting with Coal:

9 Coal = 1 Coal Block and vice versa
1 Coal + 1 Stick = 4 Torches
1 Coal + 1 Gunpowder + Blaze = Fire Charge

Iron

Facts about Iron:

Use a stone pickaxe or better to mine
When destroyed with drop the iron ore block
Will appear in levels 63 (1 block above sea level) and lower.
Use it as with any material to make Iron tools and weapons
Use it as with any material to make Iron armor
Smelt Iron Ore to get Iron Ingots

Crafting with Iron:

9 Iron Ingots = 1 Block of Iron and vice versa
3 Iron Ingots in a "V" = Iron bucket
2 Iron Ingots diagonal from each other = Shears
1 Iron Ingot + 1 Flint = Flit and Steal (for starting fires)
5 Iron Ingots in a "U" = Minecart
6 Iron Ingots + 1 Stick = 16 Rails
6 Iron Ingots + 1 Redstone Torch in the center + 2 Sticks above and below the torch = 6 Activator Rail
6 Iron Ingots + 1 Redstone + 1 Stone Pressure Plate = 6 Detector Rail
7 Iron Ingots in a big "U" = Cauldron
4 Iron Ingots + 1 Redstone = Compass
3 Iron Blocks + 4 Iron Ingots below = Anvil
5 Iron Ingots + Chest = Hopper
6 Iron Ingots (in 2 columns) = 1 Iron Door
6 Iron Ingots (in 2 rows) = 16 Iron Bars
2 Iron Ingots = Weighted Pressure Plate
1 Iron Ingot + 6 Wooden Planks + 4 Cobblestone + 1 Redstone = Piston
1 Iron Ingot + 1 Stick + 1 Wooden Plank = Tripwire Hook

6 Iron Ingots (in 2 rows, top and bottom + 3 Diamonds) = Nether Core Reactor

Gold

Facts about Gold:

Mine it with iron pickax or better
When mined, will drop one gold ore block
Appears in bottom 32 layers of the world
Use it as with any material to make golden tools and weapons
Use it as with any material to make golden armor
When used to make tools is very strong (can mine fast) but not very durable (will break quicker)
Smelt gold ore to get Gold Ingots

Crafting with Gold:

Craft 1 gold ingot = 9 gold nuggets and vice versa
Craft 9 gold ingots = 1 gold block and vice versa
Craft 4 iron ingots (in each edge middle) + red stone in the center = clock
8 gold ingots surrounding 1 apple = 1 golden apple
8 gold blocks surrounding 1 apple = enchanted golden apple
8 gold nuggets surrounding 1 carrot = 1 gold carrot
8 gold nuggets surrounding 1 melon slice = glistening melon

Lapis Lazuli

Facts about Lapis Lazuli:

Mine with a Iron pickaxe or better
Lapis Lazuli Ore will drop 4 or more pieces when mined
Found in layers 31 and lower in the game
Is a primary dye
Apply to sheep to dye them
Apply to tamed wolves to dye their collars
Can be used to dye leather armor

Crafting with Lapis Lazuli:

9 pieces = 1 lapis lazuli block and vice versa
1 Lapis Lazuli + 1 wool = 1 blue wool
8 blocks of Hardened Clay + 1 lapis lazuli = 8 Blue Stained Clay
8 Glass Blocks + 1 lapis lazuli = 9 Blue Stained Glass

Dye Combinations (when you mix dye with another dye you will get an outcome with an equal amount of dye):

1 Lapis Lazuli + 1 green dye = 2 cyan dye
1 Lapis Lazuli + 1 bone meal = 2 light blue dye
1 Lapis Lazuli + 1 bone meal + 2 red rose = 4 magenta dye
1 Lapis Lazuli + 1 pink dye + 1 rose red = 3 magenta dye
1 Lapis Lazuli + 1 rose red = 2 Purple Dye

Diamond

Facts about Diamonds

Use a Iron pickax or better to mine
Drops 1 Diamond gem when mined
Found in layers 15 and lower in the world
Use it as with any material to make diamond tools and weapons
Use it as with any material to make diamond armor

Crafting with Diamonds:

Craft 9 gems = 1 diamond block and vice versa
Craft 8 wood plans surrounding 1 diamond gem = Jukebox
Craft 1 book + 2 diamond gems + 4 blocks of obsidian = Enchantment Table
Craft 3 diamond gems + 6 iron ingots = Nether Reactor Core - in Pocket Edition (PE) only

Redstone

Facts about Redstone:

Mine with an Iron pickaxe or better
Mining Redstone ore will drop multiple Redstone
Found in layers 16 and lower in the world
Used as a potion ingredient in brewing
When it is placed it becomes Redstone Dust and is used to create circuits
Redstone dust will be dark in color when it has no power running through it, and will turn bright red when powered

Crafting with Redstone:

9 Redstone = 1 Redstone Box and vice versa
1 Redstone + 1 Stick = Redstone Torch
1 Redstone + 4 Iron Ingots = Compass
1 Redstone + 4 Gold Ingots = Clock
1 Redstone + 1 Stone Pressure Plate + 6 Iron Ingots = Detector Rail
1 Redstone + 6 Gold Ingots + 1 Stick = Powered Rail
1 Redstone + 3 Stones + 2 Redstone Torch = Redstone Repeater
1 Redstone + 7 Cobblestone + 1 Bow = Dispenser
1 Redstone + 7 Cobblestone = Dropper
1 Redstone + 8 Wooden Planks around it = Note Block
1 Redstone + 4 Cobblestone + 1 Iron Ingot + 3 Wood Planks = Piston
4 Redstone + 1 Glowstone = Redstone Lamp

Obsidian

Facts about Obsidian:

Can only be mined by a Diamond Pickaxe
Is the second toughest block in the game next to Bedrock
Is immune to almost all explosions
Instead of just forming in the game, it is formed by the environment in the game: it is created when flowing water hits a lava source block
Is not formed from lava hitting water, that creates cobblestone
Since it is created by water flowing into lava, even if you are able to clear the lava from on top, there will probably be some underneath making it difficult to mine. If you mine the obsidian and there is lava underneath, it will destroy the piece of obsidian you just mined.
Used to create a Nether Portal to go to the Nether - made by making a standing 4 by 5 obsidian rectangle and then igniting the center with Flint and Steel (this will create a see through purple haze)
Obsidian can't be moved by pistons

Crafting with Obsidian:

4 Obsidian blocks + 1 book + 2 Diamonds = Enchantment Table
3 Obsidian blocks + 5 Blocks of Glass + Nether Star = Beacon
8 Obsidian blocks + Eye of Ender = Ender Chest : acts like a normal chest for storage, except you can access contents of one Ender Chest from another

Mining Obsidian: You will, undoubtedly, develop your own technique for mining obsidian, but I wanted to share one way I have tackled it. (I've put notes on the pictures to help.)

Block off water and lava flows (keeps you safe), you can even completely stop flows if you find where the source is and block it off with a block of stone.
Find the edge of the obsidian and dig down. (Your goal is to work your way around the Obsidian "lake" and put cobblestone below the obsidian blocks before mining them.)
Once you get around the edge of the obsidian, try to dig down so you can get to the blocks below the obsidian.
Once you are there, destroy the block on the edge that reveals the lava under the obsidian.
Place cobblestone under the obsidian block you want to mine.
Go ahead and mine that obsidian.
Repeat (this takes a long time, but you guarantee you won't destroy the blocks in the lava this way)

Create Your Own Obsidian

If you don't want to venture underground looking for places obsidian has formed, you can create your own!

First you have to find a lava lake (not a lava fall, that won't help you here, it needs to be standing lava).
Go to one edge and create a little indent, it only needs to be one block (I did three blocks) (you don't have to create an indent, but if you do, you can control the flow of the lava, if you just drop it near the edge it will go everywhere).
Drop your bucket of water so it flows into the lava.
Once it has spread out as far as it is going to go, either pick the water source back up or block it off so it stops flowing.
You have created a obsidian block.
You will still probably have lava below it so take your time and carefully mine it all out.

Emerald

Facts about Emeralds:

Used as a currency in the game, you can usually trade with villagers for them
Unlike other ores, they can only be naturally found in Extreme Hill Biomes
Shows up between levels 4 and 32 of the world
Use an iron or diamond pickax to mine
Each ore drops one emerald
Cannot be used to make tools or armor

Crafting with Emeralds

Can only be crafted to make a Emerald block and vice versa

Tools and Armor

Out of all the ores, you can only make weapons, tools and armor out of Iron, Gold and Diamond. They all have different durability and strength, and are crafted the same for each ore.

Crafting Ore Tools (Stone, Iron, Diamond, and Gold shown; can also be made from cobblestone and wooden planks):