CalculatorJava Edition 26.3
Minecraft ore levels
Every other Overworld biome, 42 in all; the mountains, the badlands and the Dripstone Caves each change one ore. Coal Ore above Y 136 and Iron Ore above Y 80: more veins wherever the ground rises that high, as in the mountains.
Y -59
deepslate: its ores come as their deepslate kind
Redstone Ore0.26 veins per chunk
100% of its best · best at Y -59
Diamond Ore0.16 veins per chunk
100% of its best · best at Y -59
Gold Ore0.04 veins per chunk
48% of its best · best at Y -16
Lapis Lazuli Ore0.03 veins per chunk
34% of its best · best at Y 0
Iron Ore0.07 veins per chunk
23% of its best · best at Y 16
Coal Orenone here
0% of its best · best at Y 96
Copper Orenone here
0% of its best · best at Y 48
Emerald Orenone here
not in these biomes
About this tool
Every Minecraft Java Edition ore, level by level, from the game’s world-generation files: the veins a chunk gets at each height, bedrock counted, for diamonds, iron, gold, redstone, lapis, coal, copper, emerald and the Nether’s quartz, gold and ancient debris. Pick a level to see what each ore gives there, or the biomes that change them: mountains, badlands, Dripstone Caves, Basalt Deltas.
From the game files: Minecraft Java Edition 26.3.
Every ore: its best level, its veins and what it takes
Coal Ore
Best at Y 96 · Y 136 in the mountains
From Y 0 to 319
- 20 veins of up to 17 blocks per chunk, most around Y 96 (Y 0 to 192), 50% of its blocks next to air skipped
- 30 veins of up to 17 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 136 to 319, only where the ground rises that high, as in the mountains
Takes a Wooden Pickaxe or better
Drops Coal, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchCopper Ore
Best at Y 48
From Y -16 to 112
- 16 veins of up to 10 blocks per chunk, most around Y 48 (Y -16 to 112), except in Dripstone Caves
- 16 veins of up to 20 blocks per chunk, most around Y 48 (Y -16 to 112), only in Dripstone Caves
Takes a Stone Pickaxe or Copper Pickaxe or better
Drops 2 to 5 Raw Copper, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchIron Ore
Best at Y 16 · Y 232 in the mountains
From Y -63 to 319
- 10 veins of up to 9 blocks per chunk, most around Y 16 (Y -24 to 56)
- 10 veins of up to 4 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y -64 to 72
- 90 veins of up to 9 blocks per chunk, most around Y 232 (Y 80 to 319), only where the ground rises that high, as in the mountains
Takes a Stone Pickaxe or Copper Pickaxe or better
Drops Raw Iron, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchEmerald Ore
Best at Y 232
From Y -16 to 319
- 100 veins of up to 3 blocks per chunk, most around Y 232 (Y -16 to 319), only in Cherry Grove, Frozen Peaks, Grove, Jagged Peaks, Meadow, Snowy Slopes, Stony Peaks, Windswept Forest, Windswept Gravelly Hills, and Windswept Hills
Takes a Iron Pickaxe or better
Drops Emerald, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchLapis Lazuli Ore
Best at Y 0
From Y -63 to 64
- 2 veins of up to 7 blocks per chunk, most around Y 0 (Y -32 to 32)
- 4 veins of up to 7 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y -64 to 64, never next to air
Takes a Stone Pickaxe or Copper Pickaxe or better
Drops 4 to 9 Lapis Lazuli, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchGold Ore
Best at Y -16
From Y -63 to 32
- 4 veins of up to 9 blocks per chunk, most around Y -16 (Y -64 to 32), 50% of its blocks next to air skipped
- 50 veins of up to 9 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 32 to 256, only in Badlands, Eroded Badlands, and Wooded Badlands
- one vein of up to 9 blocks every 2 chunks, evenly from Y -64 to -48, 50% of its blocks next to air skipped
Takes a Iron Pickaxe or better
Drops Raw Gold, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchRedstone Ore
Best at Y -59
From Y -63 to 15
- 4 veins of up to 8 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y -64 to 15
- 8 veins of up to 8 blocks per chunk, most around Y -64 (Y -64 to -32)
Takes a Iron Pickaxe or better
Drops 4 to 5 Redstone Dust, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk TouchDiamond Ore
Best at Y -59
From Y -63 to 16
- 7 veins of up to 4 blocks per chunk, most around Y -64 (Y -64 to 16), 50% of its blocks next to air skipped
- 4 veins of up to 8 blocks per chunk, most around Y -64 (Y -64 to 16), never next to air
- one vein of up to 12 blocks every 9 chunks, most around Y -64 (Y -64 to 16), 70% of its blocks next to air skipped
- 2 veins of up to 8 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y -64 to -4, 50% of its blocks next to air skipped
Takes a Iron Pickaxe or better
Drops Diamond, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk Touch
Nether Quartz Ore
Best anywhere from Y 10 to 117
From Y 10 to 117
- 32 veins of up to 14 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 10 to 117, only in Basalt Deltas
- 16 veins of up to 14 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 10 to 117, except in Basalt Deltas
Takes a Wooden Pickaxe or better
Drops Nether Quartz, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk Touch
Nether Gold Ore
Best anywhere from Y 10 to 117
From Y 10 to 117
- 20 veins of up to 10 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 10 to 117, only in Basalt Deltas
- 10 veins of up to 10 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 10 to 117, except in Basalt Deltas
Takes a Wooden Pickaxe or better
Drops 2 to 6 Gold Nugget, more with Fortune, the ore itself with Silk Touch
Ancient Debris
Best at Y 16
From Y 8 to 119
- 1 cluster of up to 3 blocks per chunk, most around Y 16 (Y 8 to 24), never next to air
- 1 cluster of up to 2 blocks per chunk, evenly from Y 8 to 119, never next to air
Takes a Diamond Pickaxe or betterDrops Ancient Debris
Ore veins
Copper Ore veins: from Y 0 to 49, thickest from 20 to 30, in Granite; 2% of their ore comes as a Block of Raw Copper.
Deepslate Iron Ore veins: from Y -60 to -9, thickest from -40 to -28, in Tuff; 2% of their ore comes as a Block of Raw Iron.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best Y level for diamonds in Minecraft?
- Y -59. Diamond veins get more common all the way down to the world floor at Y -64, but bedrock fills part of the five lowest levels, so -59 is the richest level free of it. Y -16 holds a little over half as many, Y 0 under a fifth.
- What is the best Y level for iron in Minecraft?
- Y 16 underground, where its two lower kinds of veins peak; iron forms anywhere from Y -64 to 72. In the mountains, Y 232 holds nearly twice as many veins per level: the game adds 90 veins per chunk from Y 80 up, which form only where the ground rises that high.
- What do “veins per chunk” mean?
- A chunk is a 16 by 16 column of the world. The game tries a set number of veins of each ore in every chunk, spread over a range of heights; the chart counts how many of them fall at each level on average. Compare two levels of one ore, or two ores at one level.
- Why are there fewer ores along cave walls?
- Many veins skip the blocks that would touch air: half of them for diamond, gold and the lower coal, 70% for large diamond veins, and all of them for buried diamond and lapis veins and for ancient debris. Digging through solid rock finds more than following caves.
- Where do ores generate in the Nether?
- Nether Quartz Ore and Nether Gold Ore spread evenly from Y 10 to 117, twice as many of each in Basalt Deltas. Ancient Debris peaks at Y 16, in a cluster between Y 8 and 24 and a second one anywhere from 8 to 119, and never next to air.
In the news
All newsMinecraft 26.3 ore levels: best Y for diamonds and every ore
The best Y level for every Minecraft ore in Java 26.3, computed from the game's world-generation files: diamonds, iron, gold, emerald, ancient debris and more.
Sep 28, 20264 min read
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