Mining Guide

Mining is a gathering skill that lets players break down mining nodes into ores. It feeds directly into Smithing and is one of the more reliable ways to make gold early on, growing steadily more profitable at higher tiers - especially once Mithril Ore and Gold Ore enter the picture.

Requirements

• A pickaxe must be equipped - having one in your inventory isn't enough.
• You need the node's required Mining level.
• Higher Mining Power from gear improves your success rate.
• Inventory is 28 slots and ores don't stack, so plan bank trips ahead of time.
• Every ore has a chance to also yield a bonus gem, with rarer ores producing better gems.
• All players start with a Copper Pickaxe equipped.
• Banking your ores lets you sell them or feed them into Smelting/Smithing; dropping them instead trades that value away for a faster mining rate.

Ore XP & Profit

Approximate rates for mining continuously at each tier. Gather Difficulty is the node's internal difficulty rating (higher = harder/slower to mine); it isn't a direct time value, but it scales roughly with how punishing a node is relative to its neighbors. The Essence Geode, Ebony Ore, and Ebony Dust XP/Hour and Gold/Hour numbers are unconfirmed, since nobody's timed continuous mining sessions on them yet.

Ore	Level	Gather Difficulty	XP per Ore	Approx. XP/Hour	Approx. Gold/Hour
Tin Ore	1	10	15	~24,000	~1,600g
Copper Ore	1	10	15	~24,000	~1,600g
Iron Ore	10	100	30	~29,000	~1,900g
Coal Ore	20	1,000	80	~73,000	~1,500g
Mithril Ore	30	10,000	150	~71,000	~3,700g
Gold Ore	40	20,000	350	~153,000	~24,500g
Gold Dust	40	12,000	350	~271,000	~54,000g
Essence Geode	50	65,000	550	~172,000*	~21,900g*
Ebony Ore	60	40,000	550	?*	?*
Ebony Dust	60	30,000	825	?*	?*

Best Mining Locations

Ore	Location	Notes
Mithril Ore	West Mine	Quick trips, but only 3 rocks here
Mithril Ore	Elven Haven	More rocks than West Mine, at the cost of a longer bank run
Gold Ore	Grave Town	The best gold spot, close to a bank
Gold Dust	Darklands	The only source of Gold Dust; a dangerous PvP zone
Copper Ore / Tin Ore	Town Mine	Best starting spot for new miners
Iron Ore / Coal Ore	Near the Forest Alcove entrance	Low-risk, suited to mid-level players
Essence Geode	Essence Rock	Requires level 50 Mining

Recommended Progression

Levels	Ore	Notes
1–9	Copper Ore & Tin Ore	Fast XP, low profit, low-quality gems
10–19	Iron Ore	Decent XP and profit, medium-quality gems
20–29	Coal Ore	Moderate profit; can also be bought at Grave Town
30–39	Mithril Ore	Strong XP and profit; can't be purchased, must be mined
40+	Gold Ore / Gold Dust	The best XP and income in the skill; mine near Grave Town

Tips

• Always equip your pickaxe before you start - an unequipped one in your bag does nothing.
• Plan around the 28-slot inventory limit; know your bank route before you start a session.
• Mining next to a bank is almost always more efficient than mining somewhere scenic but far away.
• Dropping ores as you go raises your XP/hour but earns no gold - decide which you're optimizing for.
• Stick to one ore type per session rather than bouncing between tiers.
• Upgrade your pickaxe and Mining Power gear as soon as you can afford to.
• Banking Mithril Ore ahead of time saves a trip when you're ready to smith it.
• Gold Dust has the best XP and income in the skill, but the Darklands carries real PvP risk - go prepared.