Players aren't just looking to mine for anything in Minecraft. While a good early-game goal is to dig deep and get some valuable minerals and ores near the bottom of the map, this will leave players missing vital resources to complete certain creations and upgrades.
For those fans that are trying to determine where they should now look for the materials that they need, details on the new ore distribution can be found in this guide. Minecraft encourages exploration and gamers will want to dig both high and low to get a full inventory of every ore.
Updated on June 25th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: 1.18 and 1.19 patches did not significantly change ore locations but with 1.20 altering the map, this guide required an update to keep players searching for ore in the most ideal locations. In addition to this update, readers deserve to have an easy-to-access table of where to find each ore on a single page. The first section is now an overall guide that lists the ranges and the best level for harvesting each one. Finally, Nether Quartz, Nether Gold, and Ancient Debris were added to the guide.
Minecraft 1.20 Ore Distribution
|
Ore |
Y Minimum Range |
Y Maximum Range |
Ideal Y-Level |
|
Coal |
0 |
320 |
95 |
|
Copper |
-16 |
112 |
48 |
|
Diamond |
-64 |
16 |
-59 |
|
Emerald |
-16 |
320 |
236 |
|
Gold |
-64 |
32 |
-16 |
|
Iron |
-64 |
320 |
15 |
|
Lapis Lazuli |
-64 |
64 |
-1 |
|
Redstone |
-64 |
16 |
-59 |
|
Nether Quartz |
7 |
117 |
14 |
|
Nether Gold |
7 |
117 |
18 |
|
Ancient Debris |
6 |
119 |
16 |
To speak generally, Minecraft 1.18 saw ores assume a triangular distribution pattern, with their spawn rates increasing and decreasing as players move up and down the Y-levels. This meant that the midpoint of an ore’s distribution range is typically the best place to search for that particular ore, as it is where the spawn rate is the highest. Players could search in approximate range and find and tame Allays along the way.
Since the release of Minecraft 1.19, players have found this isn't always true. Sometimes the best layer for certain gems and ores isn't right between the maximum and minimum. The presence of cave and cavern types skews these numbers a bit. When gearing up for combat quickly, gamers will want exact numbers, not just approximations.
Also, because of the unbreakable bedrock blocks, some of the ores that increase in frequency with depth aren't most frequent on the bottom (-64) but at the lowest level without bedrock blocks (-59).
Minecraft is available now for Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.