Mining (2024)

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

Mining
Released		4 January 2001 (Update)
Also called		Mine
Members		No
Type		Gathering
Statistics
Players with 99		102,378 as of 1 March 2024 - update
Players with 200M XP		148 as of 9 January 2024 - update

Mining is a skill that allows players to obtain ores and gems from rocks. The higher a player's Mining level is the more likely they are to successfully extract ore. 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. Mining areas are identified with a regular pickaxe icon, and mining shops are identified with a gold pickaxe icon on the minimap and world map.

How to mine[edit | edit source]

The player can click on rocks in a mine to mine them, as long as they are wielding a pickaxe or have one in their inventory. After mining for a short amount of time, the player will obtain an ore or a gemstone, depending on the rock mined. Ores can be used for Smithing, and gemstones for Crafting. Rocks cannot be mined with a full inventory.

Every mining cycle, there is a chance to succeed and obtain an ore. Using a higher-tier pickaxe can increase mining speed by reducing the time to the next mining cycle. The chance of success each cycle varies by ore and increases with the player's mining level.

Pickaxes[edit | edit source]

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. Higher level pickaxes grant more frequent opportunities to obtain an ore from a rock, but have no effect upon the chance of successfully doing so.^[1]

Pickaxe		Level	Level[p 1]	GE Price	Members	Weight	Ticks between rolls
	Bronze pickaxe	1	1	80		2.267kg	8
	Iron pickaxe	1	1	159		2.267kg	7
	Steel pickaxe	6	5	661		2.267kg	6
	Black pickaxe	11	10	2,022		0.01kg	5
	Mithril pickaxe	21	20	248		1.814kg	5
	Adamant pickaxe	31	30	1,480		2.721kg	4
	Rune pickaxe	41	40	18,554		2.267kg	3
	Dragon pickaxe	61	60	943,466		2.4kg	2.83[p 2]
	Infernal pickaxe[p 3]	61	60	5,275,108[p 4]		1.36kg	2.83[p 2]
	3rd age pickaxe	61	65	2,147,483,647		2.4kg	2.83[p 5]
	Crystal pickaxe[p 6]	71	70[p 7]	17,172,436[p 8]		1.36kg	2.75[p 9]

Other equipment[edit | edit source]

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

• Parts of prospector outfit increase Mining experience rates.
• Varrock armour provides a 10% chance to mine two ores of certain types (depending on tier) simultaneously, giving experience for both ores.
• Mining cape provides a 5% chance of receiving an extra ore while mining ore up to adamantite, giving experience for both ores.
• Mining gloves, Superior mining gloves and Expert mining gloves provide a chance that when mining certain ores, the rock will not be depleted.
• The bracelet of clay causes soft clay to be obtained from clay rocks rather than raw clay, and doubles the yield from soft clay rocks.
• The celestial ring provides an invisible +4 boost to the player's mining level. This boost does not allow the player to mine ore above their mining level. When charged with stardust, it gives the player a 10% chance to obtain an extra ore from rocks up to adamantite.
• The elven signet offers a 10% chance to prevent the crystal pickaxe from consuming a charge when an ore is mined.
• The celestial signet combines the effects of the celestial ring and the elven signet.
• Coal bag can store up to 27 Coal, possibly improving mining efficiency.
• Gem bag can store up to 60 uncut gems of each Sapphire to Dragonstone, possibly improving efficiency when mining gem rocks or perhaps even in Motherlode Mine.
• A charged amulet of glory increases the chances of randomly finding gems while mining from 1/256 to 1/86, if it has a minimum of 1 charge remaining. It also significantly boosts mining gem rocks.
• Ring of wealth (i) doubles the chance to receive easy-elite clue geodes when in the Wilderness.

Mineable items[edit | edit source]

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. Higher level rocks such as mithril and adamantite take longer to mine and may require some 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 three seconds.

Item		Mining		GE Price	Members
		Level	Exp
	Clay	1	5	98
	Rune essence	1	5	10
	Copper	1	17.5	62
	Tin	1	17.5	74
	Limestone	10	26.5	202
	Stardust	10-90	32	N/A
	Blurite	10	17.5	N/A
	Barronite	14	16	N/A
	Iron	15	35	103
	Daeyalt	20	17.5	N/A
	Silver	20	40	72
	Volcanic ash	22	10	87
	Pure essence	30	5	2
	Coal	30	50	165
	Pay-dirt	30	60	N/A
	Sandstone	35	30-60	N/A
	Dense essence block	38	12	N/A
	Gem rocks	40	65	Varies
	Gold	40	65	174
	Volcanic sulphur	42	25	N/A
	Blasted ore	43	20	N/A
	Granite	45	50-75	N/A
	Mithril	55	80	167
	Lunar	60	0	N/A
	Daeyalt shard	60	5	N/A
	Lovakite	65	60	N/A
	Adamantite	70	95	1,075
	Soft clay	70	5	123
	Salts	72	5	N/A
	Ancient essence	75	13.5	10
	Runite	85	125	11,106
	Amethyst	92	240	5,141

Gems[edit | edit source]

When mining, players have a 1/256 chance of rolling an uncut gem table instead of receiving an ore; this neither depletes the ore nor grants mining experience.^[2] Gems that can be found in rocks are uncut sapphires, uncut emeralds, uncut rubies and uncut diamonds.

A player's chances of finding gems are increased to 1/86 when wearing a charged amulet of glory.^[3]

Geodes[edit | edit source]

Clue geodes are rare hollow rocks that can be found when mining instead of receiving an ore. Searching the geode will give players a clue scroll of the same difficulty as the geode received.

Other[edit | edit source]

• Barronite deposits have a chance to be obtained when mining for barronite shards.
• Crystal shards have a chance to be obtained alongside the main product of rocks in the Trahaearn Mine.
• Iron, silver, coal, gold, mithril, adamantite and runite ore fragment are mined from the boulder in the Volcanic Mine.
• Soda ash is occasionally obtained while mining ash piles.
• 'perfect' gold ore can be obtained from the rocks in Witchaven Dungeon. They are used during the Family Crest quest but can still be mined and smelted after the quest is completed.
• A magic stone is mined during the Tears of Guthix quest. The area cannot be accessed again after the quest is completed.
• Various items can be obtained from Digsite digs.
• Various items can be otained by panning, notably gold nuggets.
• Tephra is mined while fighting Zalcano.
• Rocks can be mined from boulders in the Viyeldi Caves and piles of rock, giving the player 1 experience.
• Daeyalt ore (not to be confused with daeyalt shards) can be mined from daeyalt rocks in the Meiyerditch mine for 17.5 experience, requiring level 20 mining. 15 pieces must be placed in the minecart to escape the mine.
• Saltpetre can be obtained by digging deposits in Hosidius with a spade. Although it grants no experience, the amount obtained scales with mining level.
• Book page 3 can be obtained randomly by mining most types of rock in the Dwarven Mines during Between a Rock...
• A grey crystal is obtained by mining the Rock of Dalgroth during the Watchtower quest, requiring level 40 mining.
• Lunar ore is mined from stalagmites in the Lunar Isle mine, requiring level 60 mining and granting no experience. It can still be mined after the quest is completed.
• Crystal ore is mined from Crystal deposits in the Gauntlet, with a chance of granting crystal shards. In the Corrupted Gauntlet, corrupted ore and corrupted shards are obtained instead.
• Guardian fragments are mined from Large guardian remains, Guardian remains, or Guardian parts, and Guardian essence is mined from Huge guardian remains, during the Guardians of the Rift minigame.
• Stones could be mined during the Big Cats & WWF event.

Mines[edit | edit source]

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.

Special mining areas and activities[edit | edit source]

Mining Guild[edit | edit source]

The Mining Guild is a special mining area within the dwarven mines, requiring level 60 Mining to enter (can be boosted). While accessible by Free-to-play players, an area of the mine is accessible solely by Members. There are numerous rocks in both sections, with especially large numbers of coal rocks.

Within the members' area of the mining guild, players will receive an invisible +7 level boost to their Mining, and have a chance to receive unidentified minerals while mining, which can be traded in for various mining gloves. It also contains two runite rocks and is the only place players can mine Amethyst. Players also have access to a Bank chest to deposit their ores quickly.

Motherlode Mine[edit | edit source]

The Motherlode Mine, requiring level 30 Mining and found within the dwarven mines, allows players to instead mine Pay-dirt and deposit it into a dwarven machine. When withdrawn, the player receives various random ores attainable at their current mining level. This process also has a chance of rewarding Gold nuggets, used to purchase helpful mining-related items such as the Coal bag, Gem bag, and Prospector outfit, as well as Soft clay packs and Bags full of gems.

Blast mine[edit | edit source]

The Blast mine, requiring level 43 Mining and found within Lovakengj, allows players to collect Blasted ores through the use of Dynamite; the usage of which also rewards a small amount of Firemaking experience. Blasted ores are then deposited to obtain various random ores; the blast mine is unique as players can receive ores that have level requirements up to ten above their current level.

Coal Trucks[edit | edit source]

Coal from the nearby coal rocks can be loaded onto the trucks, and unloaded in Seers' Village, which makes banking more convenient.

Trahaearn mine[edit | edit source]

The rocks in this mine have a chance of yielding crystal shards alongside the ore.

Volcanic mine[edit | edit source]

Players may mine ore fragments from a boulder in a volcanic chamber. This may be performed individually or in groups. In order to successfully mine here, players must maintain the stability of the mine, avoid lava beasts and navigate across pools of lava.

Shooting stars[edit | edit source]

Shooting Stars are a Distraction and Diversion in which a meteoroid falls from the sky approximately every hour and a half (90 minutes) across every in-game server. These appear as Crashed Stars that can be mined for stardust, which can be exchanged at a shop run by Dusuri at the Mining Guild entrance in Falador.

Zalcano[edit | edit source]

Zalcano is a skilling boss. In order to defeat her, players must mine tephra, refine it using the Smithing skill, imbue it using the Runecrafting skill, throw it at her and mine her once her armour is damaged enough.

Digsite[edit | edit source]

Various digs at the Digsite yield a variety of cheap or useless items and low amounts of experience. The panning activity yields a variety of inexpensive items (including nuggets, three sets of which can be exchanged for gold ore), and minuscule amounts of mining and fishing experience.

Other uses[edit | edit source]

• In Castle Wars, players can mine certain parts of the wall underground in order to fill the passageway with rocks. If other players are located under the rocks, they will be instantly killed.
• In the Chambers of Xeric, the player's mining level and the average mining level of the team affect the damage on Guardians.
• Several passages are blocked by objects that have to be mined before they can be crossed, such as rocks in the Abyss and the entrance to the Ice Queen's Lair.
• Mining is used to animate the earth elementals that drop elemental ore. Although no actual mining is involved, a pickaxe that the player has the mining level to use is required.

Tips[edit | edit source]

Power-mining[edit | edit source]

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.

Power-mining iron[edit | edit source]

There are currently ten mines in RuneScape where three iron rocks in a triangular formation can be mined without moving, thus ideal for power-levelling. They are as follows:

• Al Kharid Mine
• Mining Guild
• Resource Area
• Legends' Guild mine
• Piscatoris mine
• Lovakengj mine
• Verdant Valley on Fossil Island
• Mount Karuulm mine
• Trahaearn mine
• South Mor Ul Rek mine

Mining gloves[edit | edit source]

Members can purchase two different types of mining gloves from the Mining Guild Mineral Exchange, a store run by Belona in the Mining Guild. Each pair of gloves provides a chance for the rock being mined to not deplete, which is very beneficial for players power-mining or mining higher tier ores. After purchasing both pairs of gloves, the player can combine the gloves to create Expert mining gloves by talking to Belona.

Item	Name	Effect
	Mining gloves	Provides a chance for extra ore from silver, coal, and gold
	Superior mining gloves	Provides a chance for extra ore from mithril, adamantite, and runite
	Expert mining gloves	Provides a chance for extra ore from silver, coal, gold, mithril, adamantite, runite, and amethyst

Reduce total weight[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.

Mining pet[edit | edit source]

The rock golem is a members-only skilling pet that can be obtained while training Mining. The chances of getting it are dependent on the player's Mining level, and the time it takes to gather a resource.

Temporary boosts[edit | edit source]

Boost		Level increase	Visibility	Other info
	Mining cape	1	Visible	When the mining cape is equipped, there is a 5% chance of receiving an extra ore while mining ore up to adamantite (with some exceptions).
	Braindeath 'rum'	1	Visible	Attack - floor(Currentlevel * 0.06) - 1 Defence - floor(Currentlevel * 0.8) - 2 Ranged - floor(Currentlevel * 0.06) - 1 Magic - floor(Currentlevel * 0.05) - 1 Prayer - floor(StaticLevel * 0.06) - 1 Agility - floor(Currentlevel * 0.09) - 3 Herblore - floor(Currentlevel * 0.06) - 1
	Dwarven stout	1	Visible	Hitpoints 1 Smithing 1 Attack - floor(CurrentLevel * 0.04) - 2 Defence - floor(CurrentLevel * 0.04) - 2 Strength - floor(CurrentLevel * 0.04) - 2 Is available to free players.
	Mature dwarven stout	2	Visible	Hitpoints 2 Smithing 2 Attack - floor(CurrentLevel * 0.04) - 3 Defence - floor(CurrentLevel * 0.04) - 3 Strength - floor(CurrentLevel * 0.04) - 3
	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.
	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.
	Celestial ring	4	Invisible	Boost applies for both the charged and uncharged ring. Does not allow you to mine higher level rocks (e.g. 81 mining does not allow you to mine runite ore).
	Celestial signet	4	Invisible	Boost applies for both the charged and uncharged signet. Does not allow you to mine higher level rocks (e.g. 81 mining does not allow you to mine runite ore).
	Spicy stew (brown spice)	±0-5	Visible	Hitpoints 11 Depending on type of stew, any skill except Hitpoints can be boosted or reduced by 0 to 5 levels randomly.
	Mining Guild	7	Invisible	The boost takes effect while player is within the members-only area of the Mining Guild. Does not allow you to mine higher level rocks (e.g. 78 mining does not allow you to mine runite ore).

Quests[edit | edit source]

Quests requiring Mining[edit | edit source]

Quest	Mining requirement	Other skill requirements
The Knight's Sword	10	-
Tale of the Righteous	10	16
In Aid of the Myreque	15	25 , 7
The Lost Tribe	17	13 , 13
Tears of Guthix	20	49 , 20
Darkness of Hallowvale	20	40 , 22 , 5 , 26 , 32 , 33
Elemental Workshop I	20	20 , 20
Spirits of the Elid	37	37 , 33 , 37
Between a Rock...	40	30 , 50
Family Crest	40	59 , 40 , 40
Watchtower	40	15 , 15 , 25 , 14
A Kingdom Divided	42	54 , 52 , 52 , 50 , 38 , 35
Heroes' Quest	50	55 , 53 , 53 , 25
Legends' Quest	52	50 , 50 , 45 , 56 , 42 , 50 , 50 , 50 , 50
Lunar Diplomacy	60	65 , 61 , 40 , 49 , 5 , 55
Dragon Slayer II	68	75 , 70 , 62 , 60 , 60 , 50 , 50
Song of the Elves	70	70 , 70 , 70 , 70 , 70 , 70 , 70
Making Friends with My Arm	72	35 , 66 , 68

Quests rewarding Mining experience[edit | edit source]

Quest	Experience reward	Mining requirement	Other requirements
The Forsaken Tower	500	-	-
Doric's Quest	1,300	-	-
Plague City	2,425	-	-
The Giant Dwarf	2,500	-	14 , 12 , 16 , 33
Heroes' Quest	2,575	50	55 , 53 , 53 , 25
Another Slice of H.A.M.	3,000	-	15 , 25
The Lost Tribe	3,000	17	13 , 13
Between a Rock...	5,000	40	30 , 50
Enakhra's Lament	7,000	45 -optional	50 , 45 , 43 , 39
The Dig Site	15,300	-	10 , 10 , 25
Song of the Elves	40,000	70	70 , 70 , 70 , 70 , 70 , 70 , 70
Making Friends with My Arm	50,000	72	35 , 66 , 68
Dragon Slayer II	60,000	68	200 , 75 , 70 , 62 , 60 , 60 , 50 ,
Total	192,600

Skill choice[edit | edit source]

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	None
Client of Kourend	500 twice	Any	None
Fairytale II - Cure a Queen	2,500	Any skill above 30	49 , 57
A Tail of Two Cats	2,500 twice	Any skill above 30	None
The Great Brain Robbery	5,000	Any skill above 30	16 , 30 , 50
King's Ransom	5,000	Any skill above 50	65
Darkness of Hallowvale	2,000 three times	Any skill above 30	5 , 20 , 22 , 32 , 33 , 40
A Taste of Hope	2,500 three times	Any skill above 35	48 , 40 , 40 , 45 , 38
A Kingdom Divided	10,000 twice	Any skill above 40	54 , 52 , 52 , 50 , 42 , 38 , 35
In Search of Knowledge (miniquest)	10,000	Any skill above 40	None
Curse of the Empty Lord (miniquest)	10,000	Any skill above 50	Some players will need 31
One Small Favour	10,000 twice	Any skill above 30	36 , 25 , 18 , 30
Recipe for Disaster (The final battle)	20,000	Any skill above 50	175 , 70 , 48 , 50 , 53 , 53 , 25 , 59 , 40 , 50 , 40 , 40 , 10 , 10 , 36
Sins of the Father	15,000 six times	Any skill above 60	62 , 60 , 56 , 52 , 50 , 50 , 49
Total	202,300

Changes[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

• Mining/Experience table, a list of all Mining experience sources
• Mining/Level up table, a list of all requirements and unlockables within the Mining skill

References[edit | edit source]