• 1.0 - Introduction
• 2.0 - Basics
• 3.0 - Levels and Requirements
  • 3.1 - Pickaxes
  • 3.2 - Ore Information
• 4.0 - Training and Making Money
• 5.0 - Dorgeshuun Powermining
• 6.0 - Random Events
• 7.0 - Miscellaneous
• 8.0 - Quests for Experience

Welcome to the Zybez official Mining guide. In this guide and manual, you will find information on various ores, pickaxes, levels, as well as many other useful details. If you are looking for specific information and know which section it would be under, it is as easy as clicking the section in the Table of Contents. So sit back and relax for a while, and we will do our best to explain mining simply and clearly.

Mining is probably the most expansive skill in the game, with 14 different types of rocks, tens, if not hundreds, of mines throughout the world of RuneScape, and being directly associated with the skill that supplies people with weapons and armour. Mining in itself, just ores and bars, accounts for more than 15% of the RuneScape economy.

Mining is a simple, almost self-explanatory skill. To increase your mining level, you mine ores. The higher you raise your level, the more types of ores and rocks you can mine. Once you know your way around mining, you will be able to tell the content of a rock simply by looking at its colour. However, if you do not, there is a handy feature to help you. If you are unsure about a rock, you first want to right-click on it, then click "Prospect." Your character will then proceed to tell you what is (or perhaps is not) in it.

If you have a pickaxe in your inventory or you are wielding it, you can start mining by finding a level 1 ore, which would be either clay, tin, or copper. Upon completing the Rune Mysteries Quest Rune Essence is also available at level 1 mining. It will come slowly at first, but as your level improves, you will find that you get the ores faster with each try.

After you successfully mine an ore, the rock you mined it from will go "grey" temporarily. This means there are no ores available in the rock. Once its colour returns, you can mine it again. The time it remains empty depends on several things. First, each rock has a separate "base" respawn time or the amount of time it takes for the ore to return. This base changes by the amount of people on a server; the more people in the world, the faster the respawn time, and the faster you get your next ore.

Pickaxes are the only tools required for mining. However, in order to use the best ones, there is a requirement. This table shows the types of pickaxes, the mining level required to use one, the attack needed to wield one, and the cost to buy one off Nurmof, the pickaxe seller. Nurmof's shop is located in a room behind the anvils in the Dwarven Mines. The better the pickaxe you use, the faster you will be able to mine ores, meaning a higher chance that you will beat other people to them.

Remember, even if you do not have a high enough attack level to hold one, but have enough mining, you can still use the pickaxe! For example, if I had 34 mining but only 27 attack, I could not hold an adamant pickaxe, but I could still use it if I had it in my inventory while mining.

The Dragon Pickaxe is dropped by Chaos dwogres and Chaos dwarf hand cannoneers upon completion of Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf. It has a special attack that lowers an opponents attack, range and magic by 5 points and uses 100% of the special bar. It does not lower the stats if you hit zero.

Picture	Pickaxe Type	Level to use (Mining)	Level to wield (Attack)	Cost
	Bronze	1	1	27
	Iron	1	1	234
	Steel	6	5	583
	Mithril	21	20	699
	Adamant	31	30	1,805
	Rune	41	40	19,400
	Dragon	61	60	13,400,000

Special Pickaxes	Equipment Name	Level to use (Mining)	Level to wield (Attack)	Obtained from
	Inferno adze	41	1	All Fired Up mini-game
	Sacred clay pickaxe*	40	1	Stealing Creation

* The sacred clay pickaxe awards double the normal experience gained for every ore it mines.

There are 11 types of metal ores as well as additional ores. Each has its use. The respawn time depends on the amount of players currently on the server. Here is the basic data for each type: [Note however that respawn times alter depending on how populated your world is. Higher populated worlds equals less respawn time]

Rock	Ore	Name	Level	Exp.	Spawn Time	Best location(s)
		Clay	1	5	1 second	West Varrock Mine
		Rune Essence	1	5	Instantly	Rune Essence Mine
		Tin	1	17.5	3 seconds	Eastern Varrock Mine
		Copper	1	17.5	2 seconds	Eastern Varrock Mine
		Limestone	10	26.5	10 seconds	North-east Varrock Mine Isafdar Limestone Mine
		Blurite	10	17.5	40 seconds	Ice Caves
		Daeyalt	10	17.5	50 seconds	Northern-most part of Meiyerditch
		Iron	15	35	10 seconds	Dwarven Mines or South-east of Varrock Al-Kharid Chasm
		Elemental	20	40	2 minutes	Elemental Workshop
		Silver	20	40	2 minutes	Crafting Guild Al-Kharid Chasm
		Pure Essence	30	5	Instantly	Member Rune Essence Mine
		Coal	30	50	1 minute	Miners' Guild Hobgoblin Mine Edgeville Skeleton Mine Falador mine
		Sandstone	35	60 (10kg) 50 (5kg) 40 (2kg) 30 (1kg)	8 seconds	South-east of Bandit Camp (desert)
		Gold	40	65	1 minute 50 seconds	Crafting Guild Arzinian Gold Mine Brimhaven Circle of Gold
		Gems	40	65	1 minute 34 seconds	Shilo Village
		Granite	45	75 (medium) 60 (small) 50 (tiny)	8 seconds	South-east of Bandit Camp (desert)
		Rubium	46	18	40-45 seconds	Kennith's Concerns Quest
		Mithril	55	80	2-4 minutes	Mining Guild, Al-Kharid Chasm
		Adamant	70	95	6-8 minutes	Hobgoblin Mine Dwarven Mines Edgeville Dungeon Elven Mine
		Living rock remains	73	25	N/A (available after killing Living Rock creatures	Living Rock Caverns
		Concentrated coal deposits	77	50	N/A (multiple ores received)	Living Rock Caverns
		Concentrated gold deposits	80	65	N/A (multiple ores received)	Living Rock Caverns
		Runite	85	125	~12-24 minutes	Heroes' Guild Rune Rocks, Fremennik Isles

Next is a complete list of all the known locations for these ores. Remember, not all of these locations are very efficient.

So you are working on raising your mining level and want to know how to make the most out of it? Well, that is why I am here, and I suppose that is probably why you are as well. Therefore, I will start off simply.

Before I explain anything, you must first understand what the term "powermining" means. Powermining is the art of mining your ore, dropping the ore when your inventory is full, and mining again. This method is generally used to gain quick Mining experience without hassling all your ore to the bank. The only downside to this method is that you will not be keeping your ore so you will not be gaining any money or Smithing experience. Now, I will continue on.

At this level, somewhere between one and twenty mining, there really is not a whole lot to do in the way of money, so you want to be concentrating on levels. The nice thing about low levels such as these is how incredibly easy it is to raise it rapidly. If you are at level one, I suggest you do one of two things: Either go "powermining," and not worry about how many of what and all that, or mine in a way that you can raise your smithing as well.

If you wish just to get a high mining level for the time being, I suggest you start out in the Eastern Varrock Mine mine with a bronze pickaxe. It is not much, but it will suit. The location of this mine is self-explanatory. To get to it, you want to go out of the east gate of Varrock and turn directly south. The mine is just west of the road. Once there, you want to mine any tin or copper rocks you can get your hands on until your inventory is full. Once that occurs, bring your load of ores up to the eastern Varrock bank and deposit them, and return to the mine to do it again. Because there are no monsters prowling the area, you do not need any specific combat level to mine here. You can also sell these ores to Valiane upstairs in the Champion's guild, if you can access it. This is a shorter trip than to the bank.

However, if you want to raise your Smithing a bit as well as you mining, I would suggest once again going to the south-east Varrock mine; but this time be careful to keep a strict 1:1 ratio between the tin and copper that you mine. Bank it after each load; you can smelt it later.

You are starting to make good progress. You can now mine - in addition to Tin and Copper - Iron and Silver. At this point, I would suggest you try getting a mithril pickaxe. A mithril pickaxe is not necessary to have, but will make mining faster and easier. You can also by now mine iron without too much of a problem. I now suggest that, regardless of the path you wish to take, you start mining iron by the truckload. There are two good locations for this. You can remain at the Eastern Varrock Mine mine, which I recommend, or you could also move to the Al Kharid Chasm. However, because of level 14 scorpions which reside in that mine you probably want to keep your distance.

Soon you are going to have a substantial amount of iron in your bank. It is after you have a couple hundred you need to start making your first big decisions. You can smelt your iron ores into bars, with a 50% chance of success, provided you have 15 Smithing, or you can try finding someone who will buy them from you. If you choose to sell your iron, I recommend doing it through an online forum, not in game. Look around the RuneScape Community Mining section of the market, and I am sure you will be able to find some people who are buying iron ores. If you are satisfied with the amount they are offering to pay, I would not sell for below 90gp per ore myself, sign up if you have not already done so and reply to the topic telling how many iron you have, what you sell for, and what your RuneScape name is, as applicable.

Keep mining iron, and selling it if you wish, and eventually you will have 41 mining and a good deal of money.

By now I presume you have 41 mining. You have the ability to mine coal and gold. If you can scrape together 19k, I highly recommend you buy a rune pickaxe from the Grand Exchange. As far as mining goes, it would now be wise to switch from iron to coal. At this level you will have to make do with the coal rocks in the Barbarian Mine, but it will be worth it soon enough.

If you still have some iron left in your bank, one possibility is to begin smelting steel bars and selling them for money. One steel bar requires an iron and two coal, sells on average at 800gp each. However, if you do not have any iron left and do not feel like getting more, or you do not have 30 Smithing to smelt the steel bars, you could also just mine coal and sell it for about 200gp each. I must admit, this is where mining gets the most boring thus far, so make sure you keep at it.

You could also continue powermining iron if you wish; the best place is in the Grand Tree mine, as there are about 6 iron rocks right beside each other. Simply mine one ore, drop it, then move on to the next one - this is very fast exp. A great way to end up with a small profit and fast experience, is to mine in the Dorgeshuun mines as there are many rocks and Mistag the cave goblin will buy all your iron ore for 13gp each. If you have access to the Culiomancer's chest, then banking the ore wouldn't make much trouble.

Another alternative for members, is that of mining granite at the desert quarry, located south-east of the Bandit Camp. The experience for these ores is greater than coal, and can be mined with great ease.

The mine south to Falador, has many rocks, including iron and gold. It's a good spot to powermine iron ore and bank isn't that far as well.

Finally, members can also try the Coal Trucks. North-west of Seers' Village, there are 17 coal rocks (which are usually fairly empty) just south of a number of crates. Once you've filled up an inventory of coal, put your ores in a truck, and go back to mining! The trucks hold 120 ores, which is just over 4 inventories. Once the trucks are full, or you're done mining, you pick up the coal in Seers' Village - just north of the bar - and deposit all the ores in your bank. It is recommended to have 20 agility when you're using the Coal Trucks, as it cuts the route back to Seers' considerably. Be aware that random events tend to occur more than usual here.

Similarly with the above bracket, you could continue powermining iron if you wish. However, this level bracket is where you can really begin to get the most out of mining. You may not realize it, but as with all guilds, you can access the Miners' Guild accessed before you ever reach 60 mining. Well, specifically, you need 59. My suggestion is to buy a number of Dwarven Stouts from the tavern in Falador. Drinking one of these will temporarily raise your mining and Smithing levels by one, enabling you to get into the guild if you drink one just before going down the ladder or clicking the door to enter the guild.

Once you have gotten into the guild, you want to start mining coal. When mining, if you find one server too crowded, you want to switch to one of the more popular worlds. On free-to-play, those would most likely be servers 1, 3, 4, and 5. It does not seem to make much sense, but everyone has the same mindset: go to the less crowded worlds. Because of that, there are less people in the guild on the more popular servers. Keep mining until you have a complete load full of coal, then head north to the ladders. Climb one, and click to the north of the circle of buildings around you. Eventually a bank will come into sight. Enter it and deposit your coal. Then get out another Dwarven stout, and head back to the mine. After a number of trips, probably about ten, you will have 60 mining and several hundred coal in your bank. Alternatively, you can just powermine the coal here if you're only in it for experience.

From level 60 mining, you can do whatever you want. In the Miners' Guild are 37 coal rocks and 5 Mithril rocks. You can continue to mine coal, or you can move to Mithril ores, which sell for about 350-450gp each. Just be aware, if you move to Mithril, you are going to spend more time mining the same amount of ores due to the much higher level required. One good strategy at this level, if you want to raise your Smithing level as well, is to mine both coal and iron and periodically smith them into steel bars, provided you have 30 smithing. Once you have a large amount of steel bars, you can do one of two things: you can smith them into steel items and further raise your Smithing level, or you can sell them on the G.E. for about 800gp per bar. If you are a member, a great way to make money is to smith cannonballs from the steel bars you make.

You have done it. You got as far as being able to mine Adamantite, which is no easy feat. By this level, you can mine both coal and Mithril confidently, getting coal on the first swing quite frequently. The only way I can help you at this point is to suggest, if you have a combat level above 70, to begin mining with caution at the Hobgoblin Mine, which is directly north of Edgeville in about level 32 wilderness. Even though it is a long walk to the Edgeville bank, the 32 coal, 19 Mithril, and 8 Adamantite rocks of this mine are far better than the mining guild at your level. An alternative banking method would be to use the wilderness teleporters to get to Stealing Creation and use the bank deposit box. If you decide to mine here, bring a melee weapon, rune pickaxe, and a couple food items, as there are aggressive level 28 hobgoblins (regardless of your combat level).

You did it. You can now call yourself an official rune-miner! If you want to start making some big cash, you can start mining the Rune Rocks up in level 46 wilderness. Just be very careful, though, as Revenants may often attack you. If you want to go for 99 mining, now, you probably want to start "power-mining", which is dropping the ores as you mine. It allows for faster XP as you never have to make trips back and forth to a bank. However, as a downside, you cannot make any kind of profit mining this way.

As players have stated, you can get the fastest powermining experience in Enakhra's Quarry. You can get up to 45,000 - 60,000 experience per hour, if you concentrate enough. The best way to get there is to use a camulet. An alternative way to get there, is to use the flying carpets. Wear desert robes, a pickaxe and in your inventory have 25 ( About 10-15 if you're planning to use Humidify spell ) full waterskins and coins for a carpet ride. With the new quest, Dream Mentor you can use the spell Humidify to fill all of your waterskins. An alternative to waterskins and the humidify spell is to wear an enchanted water tiara after completing the Dealing with Scabaras quest. If you have completed the Seers Achievement Diary, the Enhanced Excalibur's special attack eliminates the need for waterskins.

While some people enjoy mining enough to do it constantly, how are you going to get to that fabled 85th level? Most people choose to power mine iron ores and drop them on the ground. This makes zero profit and it takes time out of your leveling to drop the ores; not very time efficient. Reading this guide, you will know the secret of the best way to power mine iron with very low requirements to do so.

There is only one quest required to access the Dorgeshuun mines - The Lost Tribe quest. There are, however, many items which will be very helpful. These are listed below:

1. Chisel (optional) - To cut any gems you may mine.
2. Lit Lantern - A light source is a necessity in the Lumbridge caves. A lit lantern is preferable, as there is no naked flame, or oil to run out of. Should you be left without a light source, you will be dealt one damage every half-second; very dangerous.
3. Mining Helm - This is an alternative to the lantern. It will help you light the way and be unaffected by the bats and bugs. It has to be lit to work, obviously. You need level 65 Firemaking to light one of these, so a lantern is recommended unless you would rather use the helm. This also opens up another inventory space for you since the lantern will not take it up. Also note that another alternative light source is the Seer's headband (1,2, or 3).
4. Tinderbox - Use this to reignite your light source if it goes out.
5. Pickaxe (any kind) - Obviously needed to mine the ores.
6. Ring of Duelling (optional) - You may or may not want this to get out of the mining spot quickly should you need to leave for whatever reason.

If you are using a lantern, Candle through Bullseye, you should bring a tinderbox. If you are just using a Mining Helm then you don't need to bring one, as they don't go out while you wear them. Consequently, creatures within the Dorgeshuun Mines drop a tinderbox, should you need one for whatever reason. If you have these items, you should have no trouble getting into the area, mining there, and leaving when you are ready to do so.

Firstly, I choose to wear a lit mining helm, and rune pickaxe. Make your way to Lumbridge Castle, and head into the kitchen. Climb down the trap door into the dungeon, and you will see a small hole in the wall. Ensure your light source is lit, then climb through.

Now, you won't have to make your way through the dungeon to get to the Dorgeshuun goblins. Down the road a bit you you'll bump into Kazgar. He'll take you straight to where you need to go. Talk to him to begin the conversation (Picture). Choose the second option "Can you show me the way to the mine?" and he will instantly drop you off at the entrance of the mining area; free of charge.

Within the Dorgeshuun dwellings, you will find an array of things that you can do; all mining related. Here is a handy map to see what ores are available (Picture).

Although only two kinds of ore are available, you came here for iron anyway. You're going to focus on two spots, and it is your choice to choose which one.

	Spot One Has two rocks close to each other and one rock behind them. This would be the closer of the two. It does, however, require more walking to get the iron than to get rid of it. This is the recommended spot to mine, as it has a lot of silver ore.
	Spot Two Has three iron rocks close to each other. The only disadvantage to this one is that it is far away from the spot you need to get rid of the ores. This one is useful for getting the ores quickly.

If you have at least started the Recipe for Disaster quest, you can use the Culinaromancers' Chest to bank your ores. You can do this quite quickly by getting the goblins to guide you through the caves.

If you haven't completed the quest, you can easily get rid of them by talking to Mistag found at the entrance of the mine (Picture). This one armed fellow will buy one of your ores for only 13 coins, but if you sell him 2 it will be rounded up to 27. Select the "Okay" option to finish the transaction.

No place is perfect, and there is no exception. While the area is good, there are a few things that you will need to watch out for.

1. Always keep your light source lit. Should you fail to do so, you will get hurt very quickly.
2. Watch the Goblin Miners, as they try to mine the ores as well. While they never truly get the ore from the rock, you can accidentally attack them and possibly get hurt from the fight. They, however, are not the only danger. A good solution to this problem is to wield a bow, but no arrows.
3. There are also three kinds of monsters: Goblin Miner (Level 11), Goblin Guard (Level 24), Goblin Guard (Level 26).

As an added bonus, the Goblins tend to take care of their own kind and will not hesitate to help their troubled pal if you attack them.

The Miners and Guards drop four items that can only be dropped in the Dorgeshuun mines.

Picture	Item	Attack	Defence	Other	Dropped By
	Bone Club	Stab: -4; Slash: -4; Crush: +16; Magic: -4; Range: +0	-	Strength: +15	Goblin Guards with Bone Clubs
	Bone Spear	Stab: +11; Slash: +11; Crush: +11; Magic: +0; Range +0	-	Strength: +13	Goblin Guards with spears
	Bone Dagger	Stab: +5; Slash: +3; Crush: -4; Magic: +1; Range +0	+1 Magic	Strength: +4	-
	Mining Helm	-	Slash: +4; Crush: +5; Magic: -1; Range: +4	-	Goblin Miners

While mining, as any other time, there are a number of random events you can encounter, among which are these unique random events. When mining at the Coal Trucks, you may find that more random events occur than normal.

Rock Golem - Rock Golems are monsters that appear at times when you try to mine a rock. Their level depends on your combat level, as with other aggressive random events. If a very low combat level (under 3-10), you will receive a level 14 Rock Golem, level 11-20 will recieve a lvl 29. Level 21-40 get a level 49, level 41-60 get level 79. Level 61-90 will get a level 120 Rock Golem. 90+ combat players will recieve a level 159 Rock Golem. Rock Golems throw rocks at you, so merely putting yourself on the other side of an ore-containing rock will no longer protect you from it.Rock Golems can only be found in the Enchanted Forest now, which requires the use of the fairy rings to access.

Gaseous Rock - It will appear in the form of a rock with green-gray bubbles coming out of it. When you see this, DO NOT attempt to mine this rock, because it will then explode and you will have damaged your pickaxe, which you can have Nurmof fix (use the damaged pickaxe with Nurmof to have him fix it). If nobody attempts to mine a "bubbling" rock, it will return to normal after 20 seconds or so. The price to fix a Rune pickaxe is 1100gp, for other types it would be less.

Broken pickaxe - In this case, the pickaxe head flies off while you try mining and lands on the ground within sight of the screen. You must simply pick it up and use it with the handle to fix the pickaxe. You may then continue mining.

Here are some other interesting things you should know about while mining.

Gems - At times while you are mining, you will find a gem. You can sell them for a bit of cash or cut them. When cut, they can be used to make amulets, bracelets, necklaces, and rings. The higher the level needed to mine a rock, the more of a chance of finding a gem. You will also find more gems if you are wearing a charged Dragonstone amulet (members only). If you have a membership, there are also Gem Rocks in Shilo Village, which you can mine after completing the appropriate quest. These provide you with a gem with each successful hit.

Dwarven Stout - These are purchased from the Falador Tavern for 3gp, and the result is a temporary +1 to both your mining and Smithing levels, which lasts for about 20 seconds, a minute at most. It is quite useful for getting ores before you have the required level, or getting into the mining guild at only 59 mining. Members may brew their own beer, as well as buy or brew mature ales which have double the potency.

Braindeath Rum - After you have drank the Braindeath Rum, you will get +1 Mining temporarily, as well as more Strength and life points. If you want the rum, then it can be purchased from Harpoon Joe's House of 'Rum', located in Mos Le'harmless.

Shooting Stars - These are part of the Distractions and Diversions activities in RuneScape. Shooting stars will fall randomly to the ground (they can be foreseen using a Player Owned House telescope) and can be mined for Mining experience and other rewards. Mining a shooting star can also give temporary boosts to Mining experience, for more information see our Distractions and Diversions guide.

Clay Pickaxe - This is created from a morphic or volatile tool which can be bought with 20 points at the Stealing Creation mini game. The morphic tool gives double the experience gained from any ore it mines, though the volatile tool gives a little more than double.

Varrock Armour - By completing the Varrock Achievement Diary you will receive the Varrock armour, which allows you to mine two ores at once depending on which armour you are wearing. Visit our Varrock Diary guide for more information.

• Another Slice of H.A.M.: 3,000 XP
• Between a Rock...: 5,000 XP
• Dig Site, The: 15,000 XP
• Doric's Quest: 1,300 XP
• Enakhra's Lament: 7,000 XP
• Giant Dwarf, The: 2,500 XP
• Heroes' Quest : 2,575 XP
• Kennith's Concerns: 12,000 XP
• Lost Tribe, The: 3,000 XP
• Legacy of Seergaze: 2,000 XP
• Plague City: 2,425 XP
• Summer's End: 5,000 XP
• TokTz-Ket-Dill: 15,000 XP
• Defender Of Varrock: 10,000 XP

• Meeting History: 2,500 XP in any skill of your choice over level 25.
• A Fairy Tale Part II: 2,500 XP in any skill of your choice over level 30.
• Great Brain Robbery, The: 5,000 XP for any skill of your choice over level 30.
• Legends' Quest: 7,650-30,600 XP (4 x 7,650 is given to 4 skills from a list of skills).
• One Small Favour: 10,000-20,000 XP (2 x 10,000 lamps for any skill of your choice over level 30).
• Recipe for Disaster: 20,000 XP for any skill of your choice over level 50.
• Darkness Of Hallowvale: 6,000 XP (3 x 2,000 lamps for any skill of your choice).
• Legacy of Seergaze: 7,500 XP (3 x 2,500 tomes for any skill of your choice).
• Troll Stronghold: 10,000-20,000 XP (2 x 10,000 lamps for any skill of your choice over level 30).
• A Tail Of Two Cats: 2,500-5,000 XP (2 x 2,500 lamps for any skill of your choice over level 30).
• While Guthix Sleeps: 100,000-400,000 XP (4 x 100,000 lamps for any skill of your choice over level 65).
• The Temple At Senntisten: 23,000 XP for any skill of your choice over level 50.
• Love Story: 10,000 XP in any skill of your choice over level 60.