Guide:Mining techniques

This is a collection of mining techniques to enhance Terrarian mining.

Grapple Shaft Mining
Required Items:


 * Any Hook
 * Any Pickaxe or Drill
 * A high amount of Wood or Platforms
 * A light source (preferably a high amount of Torches, alternately bring a Mining Helmet, Shine Potion, Shadow Orb or similar items)

Just dig a two- or three-block-wide hole going down, bridging the area between with wood platforms every time the last one placed has moved off the screen and also a torch if you have them. This is very useful for discovering caves and the Underground Jungle, as well as providing quick access to The Underworld.

The best part is the quick ascent, as you can use momentum if you are quick enough with your clicks, the biggest con is that you need a lot more wood compared to other techniques. This can be avoided by not building wooden platforms. Instead, avoid fall damage by using a Lucky Horseshoe or double-jump just before the bottom of your mineshaft with a Cloud in a Bottle, and use a Magic Mirror (to return to base quickly).

For a safe and quick way down to the Underworld, assuming you don't have a Lucky Horseshoe, bring a few buckets and make a two-block-deep pool of water to fall into. This must be placed just above the Underworld however, as water cannot exist in the Underworld.

Minimap Mining
When the minimap is expanded (using "M" by default), hovering over an ore pocket will display its name next to the cursor. If the player drinks a Spelunker Potion, the light from ores and other valuables will be saved to the minimap, allowing you to know the ore's locations even after the potion's effects wear off. This also makes it far easier to distinguish ores when using the potion.

To begin, drink a spelunker potion at the beginning of your expedition, and then try to expose as much area as possible until the potion wears out, ideally by going down a Hellevator first, or simply exploring caves if you are early into the game.

Once the potion has worn off, you can mine whichever ores you wish at a leisurely pace, and use more potions whenever necessary to find more. This method is especially useful in Hardmode, where the higher tier ores are harder to come by and this greatly speeds up the collection of ores.

Digging through Water
If you dig through water and don't have a water accessory/potion you might drown and lose your coins/items. To prevent this and making mining easier consider bringing along some Gills Potion or a Diving Helmet. Furthermore, as torches wont work under water consider bringing along some Glowsticks or a Flare Gun.

When you come across water while digging downward, place blocks in the water where you want the walls of your tunnel. Once your tunnel is completely sealed off from the rest of the body of water, you'll need to drain the water inside its walls. If there is a natural cave handy, you can dig an outlet to let the water drain into that. Otherwise, dig a cavity off to the side starting from the bottom of your tunnel, allowing the water to drain into the new reservoir. Seal off the drain and continue on your way. If you are digging sideways you first need to place blocks behind you before digging through the water, to prevent from flooding your tunnel, while the rest is the same as digging downwards.

If you have access to the required Pumps, Wires and Timers, the process of draining the tunnels can be made much easier. Instead of digging a drain from your new section of tunnel, you can pump the water from it to any nearby cave or reservoir. Simply place an Inlet Pump at the lowest point of your tunnel and wire it to an Outlet Pump where you want the water to end up. Attach a timer to the circuit and watch as your tunnel is automatically drained of water. Reclaim your equipment and continue on your way. The disadvantage of this is that it likely requires more time than the previously mentioned method.

When digging underwater or exploring flooded caves, you may run out of breath far from the surface. To avoid drowning, tunnel into one of the walls a little way then mine the two blocks above your head so that it forms an air pocket. Either jump or grapple up into the bubble to get a breath of fresh air.

Digging through Lava
No solid blocks can be placed in lava, so digging through lava can be a problem. Also digging in horizontal direction through lava is not recommended, because it is difficult and expensive. Compared to digging through water consider bringing along a higher tier pickaxe, capable of digging through Obsidian, as well as Obsidian Skin Potions and Sand or Silt. Additionally consider bringing along some Gills Potions.

This works much the same as digging through water. The biggest difference is, of course, the extremely hazardous nature of lava. Sand or silt blocks must be dropped into the lava in order to form the walls of your tunnel. If you want the walls to be made of some other material, drop them an additional block to either side, so you have room to place the permanent walls before reclaiming the temporary ones. It is extremely useful to have Obsidian Skin Potions at this point. You can then jump into the lava-flooded tunnel and drain the lava exactly as you would water (with or without pumps).

If you do not have protection from lava, you will have to tunnel all the way around the lava and dig a reservoir (or locate a natural cave) to drain the lava from your tunnel into. You must be certain that the reservoir is large enough to hold all of the lava, otherwise expanding it may be very time consuming. Finally, connect the reservoir the lowest part of the flooded section so that it drains completely. Be careful doing this so that no lava touches you, of course.

A faster way is to dig using water. In this method you flood your tunnel with water, so that it turns lava into Obsidian while mining downward through it. Newly formed Obsidian will become the walls of your tunnel (but can be replaced). Using water you can also dig diagonally downward. Also you may want to use some method for breathing underwater, because the tunnel will be flooded. The Gills Potion is particularly useful because air pockets tend to clutter the tunnel. Note that this method is not applicable in the Underworld as water will be quickly evaporated there.

Mining Hellstone
Digging through the underworld presents unique challenges, particularly in managing the lava spawned when hellstone is mined. When mining hellstone you need the same equipment as mining through lava. You may also want to bring a Bucket with you.

When you reach the hellstone vein, surround it completely with a layer of blocks. That way, when the hellstone is mined, the lava it generates will be safely contained. While standing outside the barrier of ash, mine the hellstone vein. Remember that only the items within 3 blocks will be picked up automatically. If some hellstone is out of reach, either drain the lava into a reservoir or use buckets to move it. After ALL of the lava has been relocated, remove the ash barrier. Create a new barrier against the remaining hellstone like before, then continue mining the vein.

A faster method would be using Obsidian Skin Potions. That way you don't have to surround the hellstone with blocks or move the lava. Furthermore (if combined with Gills Potions) you can simply jump in one of the many lava lakes for easy access to the hellstone. This will also prevent most monsters from spawning or reaching you. Do, however, keep an eye on the remaining buff time, as you will die within seconds after it runs out.

A last option that is reasonably fast is by exploring the tower-like Ruined Houses in the underworld. There are often Hellstone ore veins next to the towers, and the thin wall of Obsidian Brick between the Hellstone, and this makes a perfect natural barrier. The player can mine most Hellstone ore veins, and if some Hellstone is just out of reach, just mine a single brick and stand back, as the tower makes a perfect natural reservoir.

Ways to improve your mining efficiency

 * Upgrade your equipment regularly. Better pickaxes mean faster mining. If you carry a Nightmare Pickaxe/Deathbringer Pickaxe as well as a Molten Pickaxe then you have the ability to dig through dirt, mud, and sand extremely quickly. The Nightmare/Deathbringer Pickaxe should be used on these types of blocks due to its faster swing speed, while still requiring the same amount of hits per block as the Molten Pickaxe. The Molten Pickaxe should be used on all other materials as they take more hits with the Nightmare/Deathbringer Pickaxe. Once you gain even higher tier pickaxes (or drills) this is no longer needed.
 * Mining with a friend makes it go by extremely quickly. One player can aim at blocks on one side and the other can focus on blocks on the other side. Since there's no mouse movement, you move downwards at an extremely fast pace. This is even more efficient with a drill and it can allow you to make a straight shaft to the underworld in a very short amount of time. Or more time depending on your type of pick/drill.
 * If you come to a choice between stone or dirt and do not have a Molten Pickaxe, dig through the dirt, as it is faster to dig through with any other pickaxe, while the Molten is the same speed for either.
 * Potions can greatly enhance your mining trips. By bringing potions such as Spelunker Potions, Shine Potions, Night Owl Potions and Hunter Potions. All of those potions provide additional light to find more ores quickly.