Mining

The RuneScape Wiki also has an article on: rsw:MiningThe RuneScape Classic Wiki also has an article on: classicrsw:Mining

This article is about the Mining skill. For information on training Mining, see Mining training (F2P) (P2P).

For a list of all requirements and unlockables within the Mining skill, see Mining/Level up table.

Mining
Release date		4 January 2001 (Update)
Also called		Mine
Members		No
Type		Gathering
Statistics
Players with 99		20,373 as of 1 October 2019 - update
Players with 200M XP		40 as of 1 October 2019 - update

Mining is a skill that allows players to obtain ores and gems from rocks. 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. On the map, mining areas are identified with a regular pickaxe icon and the mining shop with a gold pickaxe icon.

Mining level-up music

The music that plays when levelled up.

How to mine

A player using a rune pickaxe to mine ores.

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.

Mining is a skill loosely reliant on a player's luck, which is random in RuneScape. Every mining cycle, there is a chance to succeed and obtain an ore. Using a higher-tier pickaxe can both increase mining speed and increase the chance of success when mining.

Pickaxes

Main article: Pickaxe

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. The higher a level needed to use a pickaxe, the better it is than the ones below it. For example, a rune pickaxe will mine rocks faster than an adamant pickaxe.

Pickaxe		Mining Level	Attack Level	GE Price	Members
	Bronze pickaxe	1	1	81
	Iron pickaxe	1	1	37
	Steel pickaxe	6	5	863
	Black pickaxe	11	10	3,130
	Mithril pickaxe	21	20	386
	Adamant pickaxe	31	30	1,961
	Rune pickaxe	41	40	18,728
	Dragon pickaxe	61	60	6,590,659
	Infernal pickaxe	61	60	9,037,352
	3rd age pickaxe	61	65	1,150,730,856
	Crystal pickaxe	71	70	N/A

Other equipment

Besides the pickaxes discussed above, the following items have some effect on mining:

• Parts of prospector outfit increase mining experience rates.
• Varrock armour allows to sometimes mine two ores of certain types simultaneously.
• 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 gem of each Sapphire to Dragonstone, possibly improving efficiency when mining Gem rocks or perhaps even in Motherlode mine.

Mineable items

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 3 seconds.

Mining Level	Item		Experience	GE Price	Notes	Members
1		Clay	5	84	Clay is used in Crafting to make small items such as pots.
1		Rune essence	5	10	To mine rune essence, players will need to complete the Rune Mysteries quest. It is used in the Runecraft skill. Rune essence does not have a respawn time, allowing players to click once on the rock and wait until their inventory is full.
1		Copper	17.5	74	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt a copper ore with a tin ore to make a bronze bar.
1		Tin	17.5	59	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt a copper ore with a tin ore to make a bronze bar.
10		Limestone	26.5	106	Limestone is needed in the members' quest Regicide. It can be crafted into limestone bricks, which are used in the Construction skill. It is also used to smelt quicklime.
10		Blurite	17.5	N/A	Blurite ore is needed in the The Knight's Sword quest. It is also a crucial component for smelting blurite bars, used to create blurite crossbows and blurite bolts.
15		Iron	35	68	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt an iron ore to make an iron bar or smelt it with 2 coal to make a steel bar.
20		Elemental	0	N/A	Elemental ore can only be mined during and after the Elemental Workshop quests, and is smelted with 4 coal into an elemental metal which is used in making Elemental shields and Elemental helmets.
20		Daeyalt	17	N/A	Daeyalt ore can only be mined from the Meiyerditch Mine during and after the Darkness of Hallowvale quest. Mining 15 ores is required before being released from the mine. It is untradeable.
20		Silver	40	54	Silver ore is used in the Crafting skill to make items such as tiaras.
22		Volcanic ash	10	99	To mine volcanic ash, players will need to complete Bone Voyage. Ash is used to create compost potions and ultracompost.
30		Pure essence	5	2	To mine pure essence, players will need to complete the Rune Mysteries quest. It is used in the Runecraft skill. Pure essence does not have a respawn time, allowing players to click once on the rock and wait until their inventory is full.
30		Coal	50	138	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt coal with other ores as follows: 2 coal and an iron ore to make a steel bar, 4 coal and a mithril ore to make a mithril bar, 6 coal and an adamantite ore to make an adamantite bar, or 8 coal and a runite ore to make a runite bar.
30		Pay-dirt	60	N/A	Pay-dirt can only be mined in the Motherlode Mine in the southern area of the Dwarven Mine. Can be cleaned using the machine in the centre of the mine. Ores received from this machine can range from coal to runite, depending on the player's mining level.
35		Sandstone	30-60	N/A	Available at the quarry south of the Bandit camp in the Kharidian Desert. Used in the Enakhra's Lament quest.
38		Dense essence block	12	N/A	38 Crafting is also required to mine these blocks. Dense essence blocks are used in the process to craft blood runes/soul runes on
40		Gem rocks	65	Variable	Gem rocks are only available to members who have completed the Shilo Village quest. Gem rocks can also be found randomly during the Tai Bwo Wannai Cleanup minigame. Mining a gem rock gives the player a gem ranging from opal to diamond, which can be used in the Crafting skill.
40		Gold	65	239	Gold ore is used in the Crafting skill to make items such as jewellery.
42		Volcanic sulphur	25	N/A	Used to make dynamite for the Blast mine. Players should wear face protection while mining volcanic sulphur to reduce the amount of damage intake from the gases.
45		Granite	50-75	N/A	Available at the quarry south of the Bandit camp in the Kharidian Desert. Used in Enakhra's Lament and King's Ransom.
55		Mithril	80	119	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt a mithril ore with four coal to make a mithril bar.
60		Lunar	0	N/A	Used during the Lunar Diplomacy quest to make a lunar helm.
65		Lovakite	10	N/A	Only found in Lovakengj. Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt a lovakite ore with two coal via Lovakite furnace to make a lovakite bar.
70		Adamantite	95	1,008	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt an adamantite ore with six coal to make an adamantite bar.
70		Soft clay	5	113	Players can mine soft clay directly from Soft clay rocks located in the mines of Prifddinas.
72		Salts	5	N/A	These salts are found in the Salt Mine after completing Making Friends with My Arm. Salts are used to teleport to the Troll Stronghold/Weiss, light fire pits, or set up a POH teleport to the Troll Stronghold.
85		Runite	125	11,053	Players can use the Smithing skill to smelt a runite ore with eight coal to make a runite bar.
92		Amethyst	240	3,557	Players can use the Crafting and Fletching skills to create ranging ammunition from amethyst.

Mines

Main article: Mines

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.

Random events while mining

Gems

When mining players have a 1/256 chance of finding an uncut gem in the rock. A player's chances of finding gems are increased to 1/86 when wearing a charged amulet of glory. There also seems to be a positive correlation between a player's Mining level and the frequency of gems they receive while mining. In other words, the higher levelled the ore, the more likely it is to receive gems while mining it.

Gems that can be found in rocks are uncut sapphires, uncut emeralds, uncut rubies and uncut diamonds.

Rock golem (discontinued)

Main article: Rock golem (monster)

While mining, a rock golem may appear and will begin attacking a player. The combat level of the golem depends on the player's combat level, but it will always be stronger. The rock golem's combat level varies from level 14 to 170. The player can either kill it or run away from it. If a player kills a rock golem, it can drop ores, stouts, pickaxes, uncut gems or nothing.

Exploding rock (discontinued)

Main article: Exploding Rock

When a player mines a rock, smoke or gas bubbles may emerge from it. If a player continues mining this rock as this is happening, the rock will explode, dealing minor damage to the player and destroying the head of their pickaxe. To repair it, for a price, players have to bring it to Nurmof, the dwarf who sells pickaxes in the Dwarven Mine.

Lost pickaxe head (discontinued)

Main article: Pickaxe head

While mining, the head of the player's pickaxe might fly off. The head will land somewhere nearby, usually 3 to 10 squares away. When this happens, the player has to find the pickaxe head quickly before someone else sees it and grabs it - who might attempt to extort it from them. When the player has found the pickaxe head, they can use it with their handle to put the pickaxe back together.

Tips

Here are some tips to help a player mine.

Power mining

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.

Mining Gloves

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 by talking to Belona.

Busy world vs. empty world

As of 2014, Old School RuneScape has implemented a static respawn rate. This means that regardless of the population of a server most things will respawn as if there are 2,000 players in the world (ores, trees, etc).

Reduce total weight

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

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.

Special mining areas explained

Mining Guild

Main article: Mining Guild

There are 37 coal and 5 mithril rocks in the Mining Guild. It is a short walking distance away from a bank. Level 60 Mining is required to enter. There is one especially efficient place to mine, in the southeast corner, where there are 6 coal rocks in very close proximity. Mining mithril is not recommended in the guild unless there is no-one else at the rocks. An anvil is available outside of the guild in the north end of the mines. The anvil, in combination with the Superheat Item spell, allows the player to smith the ores they mine. The smithed items can be turned into coins with the High Level Alchemy spell or sold at the nearby shop avoiding trips to the bank.

Motherlode Mine

Main article: Motherlode Mine

Blast mine

Main article: Blast mine

Coal Trucks

Main article: Coal Trucks

Temporary boosts

Main article: Temporary skill boost

Boost		Level increase	Visibility	Other info
	Mining cape	1	Visible	Activating the cape's effect will increase the corresponding skill by 1.
	Braindeath 'rum'	1	Visible	Decreases Defence by -10%, and Attack, Prayer, Ranged, Magic, Agility and Herblore by 5%.
	Spicy stew (brown spice)	±0-5	Visible	Depending on type of stew, any skill can be boosted or reduced by 0 to 5 points randomly.
	Dragon pickaxe	3	Visible	Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 60 attack to wield.
	Infernal pickaxe	3	Visible	Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 60 attack to wield. Requires 61 mining and 85 smithing to create.
	3rd age pickaxe	3	Visible	Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 65 attack to wield.
	Crystal pickaxe	3	Visible	Uses 100% of Special attack bar. Requires 70 attack and 50 agility to wield. Requires 71 mining to create.
	Dwarven stout	1	Visible	Reduces Attack and Strength by 3. Is available to free players.
	Mature dwarven stout	2	Visible	Reduces Attack, Strength and Defence by 7.
	Mining Guild	7	Invisible	The boost takes effect while player is within the pay to play area of the Mining Guild.

Quests

Quests requiring Mining

Quest	Mining requirement	Other skill requirements
The Knight's Sword	10 Mining	-
In Aid of the Myreque	15 Mining	25 Crafting, 7 Magic
The Lost Tribe	17 Mining	13 Agility, 13 Thieving
Tears of Guthix	20 Mining	49 Firemaking, 20 Crafting
Darkness of Hallowvale	20 Mining	40 Strength, 22 Thieving, 5 Construction, 26 Agility, 32 Crafting, 33 Magic
Elemental Workshop I	20 Mining	20 Smithing, 20 Crafting
Spirits of the Elid	37 Mining	37 Thieving, 33 Magic, 37 Ranged
Between a Rock...	40 Mining	30 Defence, 50 Smithing
Family Crest	40 Mining	59 Magic, 40 Smithing, 40 Crafting
Watchtower	40 Mining	15 Magic, 15 Thieving, 25 Agility, 14 Herblore
Heroes' Quest	50 Mining	55 Quest, 53 Cooking, 53 Fishing, 25 Herblore
Legends' Quest	52 Mining	50 Agility, 50 Crafting, 45 Herblore, 56 Magic, 42 Prayer, 50 Smithing, 50 Strength, 50 Thieving, 50 Woodcutting
Lunar Diplomacy	60 Mining	65 Magic, 61 Crafting, 40 Defence, 49 Firemaking, 5 Herblore, 55 Woodcutting
Dragon Slayer II	68 Mining	75 Magic, 70 Smithing, 62 Crafting, 60 Agility, 60 Thieving, 50 Construction, 50 Hitpoints
Song of the Elves	70 Mining	70 Agility, 70 Construction, 70 Farming, 70 Herblore, 70 Hunter, 70 Smithing, 70 Woodcutting
Making Friends with My Arm	72 Mining	35 Construction, 66 Firemaking, 68 Agility

Quests rewarding Mining experience

Main article: Quest experience rewards

Quest	Experience reward	Mining requirement	Other requirements
The Forsaken Tower	500	-	20% Lovakengj favour
Doric's Quest	1,300	-	-
Plague City	2,425	-	-
The Giant Dwarf	2,500	-	14 Thieving, 12 Crafting, 16 Firemaking, 33 Magic
Heroes' Quest	2,575	50 Mining	55 Quest, 53 Cooking, 53 Fishing, 25 Herblore
Another Slice of H.A.M.	3,000	-	15 Attack, 25 Prayer
The Lost Tribe	3,000	17 Mining	13 Agility, 13 Thieving
Between a Rock...	5,000	40 Mining	30 Defence, 50 Smithing
Enakhra's Lament	7,000	45 Mining-optional	50 Crafting, 45 Firemaking, 43 Prayer, 39 Magic
Making Friends with My Arm	10,000	72 Mining	35 Construction, 66 Firemaking, 68 Agility
The Dig Site	15,300	-	10 Agility, 10 Herblore, 25 Thieving
Dragon Slayer II	18,000	68 Mining	200 Quest, 75 Magic, 70 Smithing, 62 Crafting, 60 Agility, 60 Thieving, 50 Construction, 50 Hitpoints
Song of the Elves	20,000	70 Mining	70 Agility, 70 Construction, 70 Farming, 70 Herblore, 70 Hunter, 70 Smithing, 70 Woodcutting
Total	90,600

Skill choice

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
X Marks the Spot	300	Any	-
Client of Kourend	500 twice	Any	-
Fairytale II - Cure a Queen	2,500	Any skill above 30	49 Farming, 57 Herblore
A Tail of Two Cats	2,500 twice	Any skill above 30	-
The Great Brain Robbery	5,000	Any skill above 30	16 Crafting, 30 Construction, 50 Prayer
King's Ransom	5,000	Any skill above 50	65 Defence
Darkness of Hallowvale	2,000 three times	Any skill above 30	5 Construction, 20 Mining, 22 Thieving, 32 Crafting, 33 Magic, 40 Strength
A Taste of Hope	2,500 three times	Any skill above 35	48 Crafting, 45 Agility, 40 Attack, 40 Herblore, 38 Slayer
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 31 Prayer
One Small Favour	10,000 twice	Any skill above 30	36 Agility, 25 Crafting, 18 Herblore, 30 Smithing
Recipe for Disaster (The final battle)	20,000	Any skill above 50	175 Quest, 48 Agility, 50 Mining, 53 Fishing, 53 Thieving, 25 Herblore, 59 Magic, 40 Smithing, 50 Firemaking, 40 Ranged, 40 Crafting, 10 Fletching, 10 Slayer, 36 Woodcutting
Total	112,300

References

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