Mining
Mining | ||||
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Released | 4 January 2001 (Update) | |||
Also called | Mine | |||
Members | No | |||
Type | Gathering | |||
Statistics | ||||
Players with 99 |
38,195 as of 1 January 2021 - update | |||
Players with 200M XP |
70 as of 1 January 2021 - update | |||
Mining is a skill that allows players to obtain ores and gems from rocks. The higher a player's Mining level is the more likely they are to successfully extract ore. With ores, a player can then either smelt bars and make equipment using the Smithing skill or sell them for profit. Mining is one of the most popular skills in RuneScape as many players try to earn a profit from the skill. Mining areas are identified with a regular pickaxe icon, and mining shops are identified with a gold pickaxe
icon on the minimap and world map.
Contents
How to mine[edit | edit source]

To mine, a player will first need a pickaxe. Upon locating a mine, the player can select a rock and left-click it to begin mining. As a player is mining a rock, they will eventually obtain an ore (or a gemstone). This ore can either be used in the Smithing skill or it can be sold.
Every mining cycle, there is a chance to succeed and obtain an ore. Using a higher-tier pickaxe can increase mining speed by reducing the time to the next mining cycle. The chance of success each cycle varies by ore and increases with the player’s mining level.
Pickaxes[edit | edit source]
Pickaxes, or "picks," are needed to mine rocks. They can be equipped as a weapon, giving players one extra space in their inventory. However, pickaxes cannot be made using the Smithing skill. Pickaxes can be bought from either Nurmof in the Dwarven Mine or Tati in Keldagrim, or from other players. Nurmof's Pickaxe Shop in the Dwarven Mine is labelled on the minimap as a gold pickaxe.
A player's Mining level determines the type of pickaxe they can mine with. Higher level pickaxes grant more frequent opportunities to obtain an ore from a rock, but have no effect upon the chance of successfully doing so.[1]
Pickaxe | ![]() |
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GE Price | Members | |
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Bronze pickaxe | 1 | 1 | 100 | |
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Iron pickaxe | 1 | 1 | 59 | |
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Steel pickaxe | 6 | 5 | 321 | |
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Black pickaxe | 11 | 10 | 5,197 | |
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Mithril pickaxe | 21 | 20 | 345 | |
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Adamant pickaxe | 31 | 30 | 1,605 | |
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Rune pickaxe | 41 | 40 | 18,667 | |
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Dragon pickaxe | 61 | 60 | 3,968,288 | |
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Infernal pickaxe[p 2] | 61 | 60 | 6,023,790[p 3] | |
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3rd age pickaxe | 61 | 65 | 1,742,729,515 | |
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Crystal pickaxe[p 4] | 71 | 70[p 5] | N/A |
- ↑ The listed Attack levels are only required to wield the pickaxes, not use them.
- ↑ The infernal pickaxe also requires 85 Smithing to use.
- ↑ Listed price is the combined cost of a Smouldering stone and a Dragon pickaxe.
- ↑ Requires completion of Song of the Elves to create and use.
- ↑ The crystal pickaxe has an additional requirement of 50 Agility to wield.
Other equipment[edit | edit source]
Besides the pickaxes discussed above, the following items have some effect on mining:
- Parts of prospector outfit increase Mining experience rates.
- Varrock armour provides a 10% chance to mine two ores of certain types (depending on tier) simultaneously.
- Mining cape provides a 5% chance of receiving an extra ore while mining ore up to adamantite.
- Mining gloves, Superior mining gloves and Expert mining gloves provide a chance that when mining certain ores, the rock will not be depleted.
- Coal bag can store up to 27 Coal, possibly improving mining efficiency.
- Gem bag can store up to 60 uncut gems of each Sapphire to Dragonstone, possibly improving efficiency when mining gem rocks or perhaps even in Motherlode Mine.
- Amulet of glory increases the chances of randomly finding gems while mining from 1/256 to 1/86, if it has a minimum of 1 charge remaining.
Mineable items[edit | edit source]
Ores are obtained from the different types of rocks, usually found in mines. On the minimap, mines are labelled with a grey pickaxe. The colour of a rock corresponds to the ore's colour.
When players click on a rock, they will hit it with their pickaxe and try to get the ore out. The higher level rocks, such as mithril and adamantite, take longer for players to mine an ore out of them, making the player require patience.
After the ore has been mined, the rock will turn grey for a while. Eventually the ore will respawn and the rock will regain its colour. Players can only mine a rock when ore is available. Ore respawn times differ with the difficulty of the rock. For example, runite rocks take 12 minutes to respawn while iron rocks take about three seconds.
Item | ![]() |
GE Price | Members | ||
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Level | Exp | ||||
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Clay | 1 | 5 | 118 | |
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Rune essence | 1 | 5 | 9 | |
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Copper | 1 | 17.5 | 58 | |
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Tin | 1 | 17.5 | 76 | |
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Rock (elemental) | 1 | 1 | N/A | |
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Limestone | 10 | 26.5 | 67 | |
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Blurite | 10 | 17.5 | N/A | |
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Iron | 15 | 35 | 47 | |
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Elemental | 20 | 0 | N/A | |
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Daeyalt | 20 | 17 | N/A | |
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Silver | 20 | 40 | 40 | |
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Volcanic ash | 22 | 10 | 54 | |
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Pure essence | 30 | 5 | 2 | |
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Coal | 30 | 50 | 179 | |
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Pay-dirt | 30 | 60 | N/A | |
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Sandstone | 35 | 30-60 | N/A | |
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Dense essence block | 38 | 12 | N/A | |
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Gem rock | 40 | 65 | Varies | |
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Gold | 40 | 65 | 124 | |
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Volcanic sulphur | 42 | 25 | N/A | |
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Granite | 45 | 50-75 | N/A | |
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Mithril | 55 | 80 | 94 | |
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Lunar | 60 | 0 | N/A | |
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Daeyalt shard | 60 | 5 | N/A | |
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Lovakite | 65 | 10 | N/A | |
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Adamantite | 70 | 95 | 883 | |
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Soft clay | 70 | 5 | 158 | |
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Salts | 72 | 5 | N/A | |
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Runite | 85 | 125 | 11,033 | |
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Amethyst | 92 | 240 | 3,161 |
Gems[edit | edit source]
When mining, players have a 1/256 chance of rolling an uncut gem table instead of receiving an ore; this neither depletes the ore nor grants mining experience.[2] Gems that can be found in rocks are uncut sapphires, uncut emeralds, uncut rubies and uncut diamonds.
A player's chances of finding gems are increased to 1/86 when wearing a charged amulet of glory.[3]
Geodes[edit | edit source]
Clue geodes are rare rocks that can be found when mining in place of receiving an ore. Searching them will give players a clue scroll of the same difficulty as the geode given.
Mines[edit | edit source]
Mines are areas where players can mine their ores. These may be on the surface or underground and are scattered around Gielinor. Some of these locations are accessible only after certain quests are complete and some are members-only.
Special mining areas[edit | edit source]
Mining Guild[edit | edit source]
The Mining Guild is a special mining area within the dwarven mines, requiring level 60 Mining to enter (can be boosted). While accessible by Free-to-play players, an area of the mine is accessible solely by Members. There are numerous rocks in both sections, with especially large numbers of Coal rocks.
Within the members' area of the mining guild, players will receive an invisible +7 level boost to their Mining, and have a chance to receive unidentified minerals while mining, which can be traded in for various mining gloves. It also contains two Runite rocks and is the only place players can mine Amethyst. Players also have access to a Bank chest to deposit their ores quickly.
Motherlode Mine[edit | edit source]
The Motherlode Mine, requiring level 30 Mining and found within the dwarven mines, allows players to instead mine Pay-dirt and deposit it into a dwarven machine. When withdrawn, the player receives various random ores attainable at their current mining level. This process also has a chance of rewarding Gold nuggets, used to purchase helpful mining-related items such as the Coal bag, Gem bag, and Prospector outfit, as well as Soft clay packs and Bags full of gems.
Blast mine[edit | edit source]
The Blast mine, requiring level 43 Mining and found within Lovakengj, allows players to collect Blasted ores through the use of Dynamite; the usage of which also rewards a small amount of Firemaking experience. Blasted ores are then deposited to obtain various random ores; the blast mine is unique as players can receive ores that have level requirements up to ten above their current level.
Coal Trucks[edit | edit source]
Tips[edit | edit source]
Power mining[edit | edit source]
Also known as drop mining, this is where a player fills their inventory with ores, drops them all, and repeats. While this method of mining allows players to raise their Mining level quickly, dropping a whole inventory of ores can take some time (although this can be minimised by making use of shift-click dropping). Also, by using this method, a player would be missing out on Smithing experience. Some locations useful for drop mining:
- Al Kharid mine - The scorpions can be aggressive at low combat levels.
- Dwarven Mine
- Bandit Camp Quarry - Players will be susceptible to damage from desert heat
- Mining Guild - The ores in the members-only section respawn twice as fast, allowing for non-stop iron mining.
Power-mining iron[edit | edit source]
There are currently nine mines in RuneScape where three iron rocks in a triangular formation can be mined without moving, thus ideal for power levelling. They are as followed:
- Al Kharid Mine
- Mining Guild
- Resource Area
- Legends' Guild mine
- Piscatoris mine
- Lovakengj mine
- Verdant Valley on Fossil Island
- Mount Karuulm mine
- Trahaearn mine
Mining gloves[edit | edit source]
Players can purchase two different types of Mining Gloves from the Mining Guild Mineral Exchange store in the Mining Guild. Each pair of gloves provide a chance of the rock not depleting, which is very beneficial for players powermining or mining higher tier ores.
The first pair, Mining gloves, provides a chance for extra ore from silver, coal, and gold. The second pair, Superior mining gloves, provide a chance for extra ore from mithril, adamantite, and runite. After purchasing both pairs of gloves, the player can combine the gloves to create Expert mining gloves by talking to Belona.
Reduce total weight[edit | edit source]
Players are recommended to wear few items or nothing at all other than their pickaxe. Members can wear the weight-reducing clothing. Wearing fewer items allows a player to run longer, as less energy is spent while running at lower weight values.
Switch worlds[edit | edit source]
For higher level rocks such as adamantite or runite, it is often faster to switch between worlds rather than waiting for the rocks to respawn. This is not recommended for lower level rocks as they respawn much faster.
Temporary boosts[edit | edit source]
Boost | Level increase |
Visibility | Other info | |
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Mining cape | 1 | Visible | Activating the cape's effect will increase the corresponding skill by 1. |
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Spicy stew (brown spice) |
±0-5 | Visible | Depending on type of stew, any skill can be boosted or reduced by 0 to 5 levels randomly. |
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Braindeath 'rum' | 1 | Visible | Decreases Defence by -10%, and Attack, Prayer, Ranged, Magic, Agility, and Herblore by -5%. |
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Dwarven stout | 1 | Visible | Reduces Attack and Strength by 3. Is available to free players. |
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Mature dwarven stout | 2 | Visible | Reduces Attack, Strength and Defence by 7. |
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Dragon pickaxe | 3 | Visible | Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 60 Attack to wield. |
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Infernal pickaxe | 3 | Visible | Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 60 Attack to wield. Requires 61 mining and 85 Smithing to create. |
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3rd age pickaxe | 3 | Visible | Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 65 Attack to wield. |
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Crystal pickaxe | 3 | Visible | Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 70 Attack and 50 Agility to wield. Requires 71 Mining to create. |
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Mining Guild | 7 | Invisible | The boost takes effect while player is within the pay to play area of the Mining Guild. |
Quests[edit | edit source]
Quests requiring Mining[edit | edit source]
Quest | Mining requirement |
Other skill requirements |
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The Knight's Sword | ![]() |
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In Aid of the Myreque | ![]() |
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The Lost Tribe | ![]() |
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Tears of Guthix | ![]() |
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Darkness of Hallowvale | ![]() |
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Elemental Workshop I | ![]() |
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Spirits of the Elid | ![]() |
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Between a Rock... | ![]() |
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Family Crest | ![]() |
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Watchtower | ![]() |
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Heroes' Quest | ![]() |
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Legends' Quest | ![]() |
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Lunar Diplomacy | ![]() |
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Dragon Slayer II | ![]() |
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Song of the Elves | ![]() |
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Making Friends with My Arm | ![]() |
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Quests rewarding Mining experience[edit | edit source]
Quest | Experience reward |
Mining requirement |
Other requirements |
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The Forsaken Tower | 500 | - | 20% Lovakengj favour |
Doric's Quest | 1,300 | - | - |
Plague City | 2,425 | - | - |
The Giant Dwarf | 2,500 | - | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Heroes' Quest | 2,575 | ![]() |
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Another Slice of H.A.M. | 3,000 | - | ![]() ![]() |
The Lost Tribe | 3,000 | ![]() |
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Between a Rock... | 5,000 | ![]() |
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Enakhra's Lament | 7,000 | ![]() |
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Making Friends with My Arm | 10,000 | ![]() |
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The Dig Site | 15,300 | - | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Dragon Slayer II | 18,000 | ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Song of the Elves | 20,000 | ![]() |
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Total | 90,600 |
Skill choice[edit | edit source]
Upon completing any of the following quests, players may choose to allocate experience to Mining. These rewards usually come in the form of items, such as lamps or books, and are independent of any experience rewards directly received for completing the quest.
Quest | Experience reward |
Skills available | Skill requirements |
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X Marks the Spot | 300 | Any | - |
Client of Kourend | 500 twice | Any | - |
Fairytale II - Cure a Queen | 2,500 | Any skill above 30 | ![]() ![]() |
A Tail of Two Cats | 2,500 twice | Any skill above 30 | - |
The Great Brain Robbery | 5,000 | Any skill above 30 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
King's Ransom | 5,000 | Any skill above 50 | ![]() |
Darkness of Hallowvale | 2,000 three times | Any skill above 30 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
A Taste of Hope | 2,500 three times | Any skill above 35 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Architectural Alliance (miniquest) |
10,000 | Any skill above 40 | - |
Curse of the Empty Lord (miniquest) |
10,000 | Any skill above 50 | Some players will need ![]() |
One Small Favour | 10,000 twice | Any skill above 30 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Recipe for Disaster (The final battle) |
20,000 | Any skill above 50 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Total | 112,300 |
Update history[edit | edit source]
Date | Changes |
---|---|
5 March 2015 (update | poll) |
You now have a 10% chance to mine 2 ores at once for the completion of Varrock Diaries:
|
6 June 2013 (update) |
The mining animation has been updated to make it play an appropriate sound effect. |
31 May 2013 (update | poll) |
The pickaxe animation, used when players mine normal rocks, has been reverted to an older version. |
22 February 2013 (update) |
This content was included when the Old School RuneScape servers officially launched. |
References[edit | edit source]
Combat | |
Gathering | |
Artisan | |
Support | |
Failed poll | |
Related |