RuneScape/Skills/Mining

Mining is a a skill where you use a pick axe to hit rocks and obtain ores from the rocks. Selling the ores or bars that you can make from smithing can make a very good profit, thus making mining a good money-making skill.

=Intro=

If you want to mine, you'll need a pick axe, also known as "picks". Picks cannot be smithed. Instead, they can only be bought from the dwarf in the Dwarven Mines (his shop is labelled on your mini-map with a gold pick axe icon) or bought from players. Picks can be equipped as a weapon, giving you one more space in your inventory.

To mine, all you have to do is click on a rock. Rocks are located across RuneScape and are shown on your mini-map with a pick axe icon. When you've found a rock, you can then prospect it to see what ore that rock contains or just mine it right away. However, you need different mining levels to mine different rocks. Also, rocks are colour coded, meaning each rock has a different rock colour, depending on what the ore is inside the rock.

Mining is a random skill, just like all things in RuneScape. When you click on a rock, your player will hit the pick axe on the rock. You'll soon get an ore. It's random, meaning you could be hitting a rock 5 times before you get an ore, or even just once.

=Pick Axes=

Pick axes are what you need to mine. To buy them, you either have to go to the dwarf's store in the Dwarven Mines, located underneath Ice Mountain, or buy pick axes from other players.

Pick axes can also be broken. A random event, which is used to stop autoers (people cheating with programs), will make some rocks smoke. If you mine that rock while it is smoking, your pick axe will break, and you will have to get it repiared by talking to the dwarf who sells the picks located in the Dwarven Mines.

Below is a table with info about pick axes. "Lvl Needed" means what level you need to use that pick axe. For example, you need a mining level of 41 to use a rune pick. "Cost" is how much the pick axe costs in the store that sells them, located in the Dwarven Mines. The price was based on how many picks were in stock, so they may be different if you try to buy one, as the cost to buy goes up if there's few, but the cost goes down if there are many. And "Repair Cost" means how much you have to pay if your pick breaks.

It is important to note that there is no black pick axe or dragon pick axe.

=Ores=

Ores are located in mines throughout RuneScape. On your mini-map, mines are identified with a pick axe icon.

You need certain levels to mine different rocks. Below is a table with info about ores. When you have an ore, you can then sell it or smelt it and then smith.

"Lvl Needed" means what level you need to mine that rock and "Exp" means how much exp you get from getting an ore from that rock.

=Making Money=

Mining can be a very good skill to get money in if you have patience. It might take a long time to get ores, but you can sell them for good prices. Sell your ores to other players, not to General Stores or the dwarf who owns the ore store in the Dwarven Mines. Iron and coal are the best ores to sell as many people want them to make steel bars. Listed below are street prices for ores.

Please note that these are rough prices and are not exact. Prices may change over time.


 * Clay Ore: 1 to 5 gp


 * Copper/Tin Ore: 5 to 10 gp


 * Iron Ore: 50 to 100 gp


 * Silver Ore: 200 to 400 gp


 * Coal Ore: 120 to 200 gp


 * Gold Ore: 120 to 200 gp


 * Mithril Ore: 300 to 500 gp


 * Adamant Ore: 700 to 1,000 gp


 * Rune Ore: 10,000 to 12,000 gp

So if you have 1,000 coal and sell them all at 200 each, you've just made 200k. However, it takes time to mine coal, so it will be slow.

=Mines=

There are many mines in RuneScape. However, they have their pros and cons. For example, some mines have many rocks but many enemies as well, while other mines have few rocks but no enemies.

Free to Play Mines
Here are some mines available for free players.


 * Rimmington Mine: Located northeast of Rimmington, this is a mine mostly used to by low level miners. The mine contains 5 copper rocks, 6 iron rocks, 2 gold rocks, 2 tin rocks, and 2 clay rocks. There are no monsters around and the mine is a good spot if players want to level up mining. However, a bank is very far away, so if a player wants to deposit their rocks, it's best they use anther mine closest to a bank.


 * Dwarven Mine: Located north of Falador and underneath Ice Mountain, the Dwarven Mine is an underground mine. The mine contains 3 clay rocks, 10 tin rocks, 11 copper rocks, 9 iron rocks, 11 coal rocks, 2 gold rocks, 2 mithril rocks, and 3 adamant rocks. It is a very good mine to deposit rocks at a bank, as there's some stairs near the southeastern part of the mine that lead outside near Falador's west bank. However, this mine is always crowded, so players mining at this mine will probably be here for awhile. All over the mine are level 10 dwarves and level 14 scorpions and level 32 king scorpions walking around the southeastern part of the mine, which is where all the iron, coal, mith, and addy rocks are, so players with low combat levels are best to stay away from that part of the mine. There is also a General Store in the western part of the mine, as well as a store where you can buy pickaxes. Also, if you go down the ladder near Ice Mountain to enter the mine rather than the stairs east of Falador's west bank, to the east is a store that sells hammers, bronze pickaxes, copper ore, tin ore, iron ore, coal ore, copper bars, iron bars, and gold bars. However, the shop is only restocked when players sell their ores to the store.


 * Lumbridge Swamp Mine: Located south of Lumbridge in the swamp behind the castle, this mine contains 2 adamant rocks, 5 mithril rocks, and 7 coal rocks. There are no monsters roaming about, however, there is a con. A bank is very far away, so if a player wants to deposit their rocks, it's best they use anther mine closest to a bank.


 * Crafting Guild Mine: Located southwest of Falador, it contains 6 clay rocks, 6 silver rocks, and 7 gold rocks. This is the best place to mine silver and gold for free players. However, to enter the guild, a brown apron and a crafting level of 40 are required to get in. Also, because of all the gold an silver rocks, the guild can become crowded at peak times when more than 150,000 players are playing.


 * Karmaja Volcano Mine: Located inside the volcano on Karmaja, this mine contains 4 gold rocks. However, a bank is very far away, plus there are level 25 skeletons walking around as well as level 31 deadly red scorpions. If players have a low combat level, it's best if they stay away from this mine.

Pay to Play Mines
Here are some mines available for members.


 * Arzinian mines: the dream of every gold hunter. The "between a rock" quest is needed to access them, players find out during the quest how to enter the mines. All you have to do after finishing is talk to the dwarf again while wearing the gold helmet to get to the mines. They are filled with both gold veins and rocks. The highest number I've personally seen are 10 mining spots to one room, without counting the hallway leading out of it. Mine 27 gold and then remove the helmet to leave. As you walk back to the ferry, you may notice that the dwarven boatman has shifted places. He will now take your gold (not you) to the bank in return for a small part of the gold that you ask him to move for you. While wearing the ring of charos (U) from the "garden of tranquility" quest, this amount is halved and you also won't have to pay for the ferry either while waering it. These mines are usually empty but if there are other people it shouldn't be a problem, there's too much gold to cause any arguments.