What is the hardest ore to mine in Minecraft?

In Minecraft, Ore blocks are mineable blocks that contain valuable materials, such as Iron, Emeralds, and Diamonds. As of the Minecraft 1.18: Caves and Cliffs Part 2 update,ores generate in veins and blobs in varying frequencies depending on the height range. Additionally, some ores generate only in specific biomes, making them harder to find.

With the max and minimum height of worlds being altered in Minecraft 1.18, the levels that ores generate more commonly have completely changed. Take a look at our handy guide to work out where best to find all the ores in Minecraft and at what level.

Searching for those Emeralds? Check out All mountain biomes in Minecraft 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Part 2 for more info on Pro Game Guides.

How To Find Any Ore In Minecraft 1.19+

Usage[]

Ore blocks are primarily collected for crafting purposes, such as for tools, weapons, armor and redstone circuits. Refined ore can also be combined to create a block of the materials type.

Most ores drop their resource when mined, and require a Silk Touch pickaxe to drop themselves.

Step 10: 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

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

The Nether[]

Nether Quartz	Nether Gold	Ancient Debris
Ore block
Raw resource
Refined resource
Manufactured	–
Mineral block
Minimum pickaxe tier required	Wooden		Diamond
Found in biome	Any Nether
Abundance	Very Common	Common	Very Rare
Most found in layers	10-114	15	13-17[g]
Commonly up to layers	120	95	23
Rare on layers	123-125	96-116	22-119
None at or above	128	117	120
Can Replace	Netherrack		Netherrack Basalt Blackstone

↑ This refers to coal ore blocks spawned in blobs and not as parts of fossils or mansion forges.

↑ Instead of multi-block blobs, emerald ore is placed in scattered blocks.

↑ Deepslate variants only generate in the deepslate under layer 0.

↑ Copper ore blobs generate in larger sizes in this biome.

↑ Gold ore has increased frequency in this biome.

↑ Deepslate variants replace only deepslate and tuff.

↑ Unlike most other ores, ancient debris frequency peaks at layer 15, and quickly tapers off above and below.

FAQ

What is the hardest ore in Minecraft?

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