Mining

Overview

Mining lets you track mineral veins on the minimap and break them open with a Mining Pick. Veins yield ore, stone and sometimes gems; the ore is then smelted into bars at any forge. Copper, Tin, Iron, Mithril and Thorium bars are the backbone of Blacksmithing and Engineering, and stone is used for weightstones, sharpening stones and blasting powder.

Mining also unlocks a few special smelts later on: Truesilver from rare veins, Dark Iron from the Blackrock Depths area, and Elementium in raids. Even players who never craft enjoy Mining because ore and bars always sell.

Leveling tips

• Buy a Mining Pick from a trade supplier before you train; you cannot mine without it in your bags.
• Smelting gives skill too. When you are short of veins, smelt the ore you have (and buy cheap ore from the auction house) to push through a stuck bracket.
• Copper veins in starting zones, Tin and Silver in the Barrens, Redridge and Wetlands, then Iron in Arathi, Desolace and Stranglethorn are an easy path to 175.
• Mithril and Truesilver cluster in the Hinterlands, Badlands and Tanaris; Thorium in Un’Goro, Burning Steppes, Felwood, Winterspring and Silithus.
• The Badlands and Searing Gorge often have many uncontested veins close together, which is worth a visit for the 150–250 range.

Making gold

Thorium Ore and bars sell well all game long, as do Arcane Crystals from Rich Thorium Veins and the gems that drop from veins. Iron Ore is in heavy demand from leveling blacksmiths and engineers. Compare ore versus bar prices: sometimes smelted bars sell for more, sometimes raw ore is preferred because it also levels other miners.