Minecraft is a sandbox video game released in 2011 and a cultural phenomenon that paved the path for indie developers and became a teaching tool in schools. Before creating Minecraft, Mojang Studios was only starting, and its devs couldn’t even imagine their creation would reach worldwide success.
But Minecraft became the best-selling game of all time, inspiring small gaming companies and designers to dream big. The gameplay is unique due to giving players the freedom to explore and decide how they will navigate this virtual world.
Although Minecraft has no required objectives, it has an achievement system that encourages people to collect trophies by picking up and placing 3D objects called blocks. These include different materials that enable players to construct things.
They also use ore, the blocks needed for the crafting process, such as armor and tools. Their distribution depends on the altitude in the Nether and the Overworld.
Some ore are highly common, while others are much harder to find. In this article, we’ll get to the bottom of what is the rarest ore in Minecraft.
11. Nether Quartz Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: 3
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Players can find this quartz in the Nether, a hazardous dimension with fungal vegetation, lava, and fire. These blocks start as blobs, a terrain feature made of the natural deposit.
Moreover, players can use any pickaxe (a tool required for mining) to dig it up. The Nether quartz ore can address various redstonery needs and serve as a mechanism for creating bass drum sounds.
Did you know?
Swedish programmer and designer Markus Persson decided to create a sandbox video game in 2009, hoping to design a digital world where people can freely explore. Persson developed the first version of Minecraft in only six days and made it public the day after.
10. Nether Gold Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: 3
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Nether Gold ore is a more common version of the original gold ore players can find it in the heights of the Nether. It drops 2.6 Gold Nuggets after the mining process, but this ore produces more gold if one breaks it with Silk Touch (a tool enchantment), resulting in gold ingots.
However, players will typically need a wooden pickaxe to shatter the Nether Gold, although this device is less efficient. They should also be wary of nearby piglins (neutral mobs within the Nether) because these critters find the sound of breaking Nether gold infuriating.
Did you know?
The Mojang Studios lead creative designer, Jens “Jeb” Bergensten, expressed his interest in a Reddit suggestion concerning Nether Gold ore. A Redditor suggested zombified piglins should become angry at the player when they mine Nether Gold Ore, which might be the reason Minecraft introduced this change.
9. Coal Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Coal Ore – 3; Deepslate Coal Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Coal is a highly common mineral block that appears in the Overworld and alongside underground fossils, although in smaller amounts. On the other hand, deepslate coal ore is among the rarest in Minecraft 1.18 update.
Players can use any pickaxe with Silk Touch enchantment to obtain these blocks. However, these ore will drop only one coal if they don’t use the Silk Touch.
Did you know?
Even though the Minecraft creator, Markus Persson, came up with this video game in 2009, the studio only released the final version in 2011. Mojang kept updating and tweaking the game for two years until they felt it was ready to become public.
8. Copper Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Copper Ore – 3; Deepslate Copper Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Copper ore is the mineral ore that players can find underground and is a common block. However, the deepslate copper ore is more uncommon and is located deeper below the surface.
This ore generates in the form of blobs in any part of the Overworld and can replace tuff, diorite, granite, stone, andesite, and deepslate. Players must use a stone pickaxe or higher to dig it up, or the mining process returns with nothing.
Did you know?
Markus “Notch” Persson sold out Minecraft to Microsoft in a $2.5 billion cash deal, becoming a billionaire. After that, Persson started jetting around the world and creating video games as a hobby.
7. Iron Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Iron Ore -3; Deepslate Iron Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Iron ore stands for mineral blocks players can find underground and smelt into iron ingots. On the other hand, deepslate iron is found deeper below the ground and generated from tuff blobs (rocks from volcanic ash) and deepslate.
Players can mine these blocks using a diamond, iron, netherite, or stone pickaxe. If they choose other tools, they will be unable to add these ore to their inventory.
Did you know?
The name of Minecraft was initially Cave Game. But Markus Persson changed this straightforward title to Minecraft: Order of the Stone, and, ultimately, just Minecraft.
6. Lapis Lazuli Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Lapis Lazuli Ore – 3; Deepslate Lapis Lazuli Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Players can obtain lapis lazuli, a mineral needed for décor and enchanting, from lapis lazuli ore. They can find it in the Overworld and dig it up with a stone pickaxe or a higher-level tool.
The Silk Touch is necessary for acquiring the block itself, but players can also mine this ore using a pickaxe enchanted with Fortune to multiply the drops. Initially, lapis lazuli was among the rare blocks, but developers listed it as uncommon after launching Cave & Cliffs Part II.
Did you know?
Enderman is the haunting species in Minecraft and has its own language, although incomprehensible to humans. Gamers believe that this is actually English but lowered in pitch or played in reverse.
5. Redstone Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Lapis Lazuli Ore – 3; Deepslate Lapis Lazuli Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Redstone ore is necessary for acquiring the redstone dust, a mineral that transmits redstone power when players place it as a block. They can mine it with an iron pickaxe or an advanced level of tools.
This ore drops between four and five redstone dust during mining, but it will drop itself if the players use the Silk Touch. Even though the redstone ore isn’t rare, it’s much harder to find it than lapis lazuli due to being located at the Y level range.
Did you know?
The Minecraft music producer, Daniel “C418” Rosenfeld, accidentally recorded his cat when it was suddenly awakened from its nap. Mojang used this high-pitched sound for the ramblings of ghasts, the Minecraft monsters.
4. Gold Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Gold Ore – 3; Deepslate Gold Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Gold ore is an underground mineral block that drops raw gold when players dig it up with an iron pickaxe or a higher-level tool. However, they get nothing when using any other device.
On the other hand, the gold ore drops itself when players mine it with a Silk Touch. Piglins become infuriated when they hear gold ore mining sounds and will pick the gold blocks they find and add them to their inventory.
Did you know?
Swedish secondary school teacher, Viktor Rydberg, introduced Minecraft as a required part of the syllabus for his 13-year-old students. Rydberg explained that the video game helps children learn about environmental issues, city planning, and strategizing for the future.
3. Diamond Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Diamond Ore – 3; Deepslate Diamond Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Players can find the diamond ore deep below the surface and use it to produce diamonds, as this is the only source. They can dig up the block with a diamond or iron pickaxe.
However, players can also use a netherite tool with The Silk Touch enchantment. Thus, they can use Fortune to boost the number of dropped diamonds.
Did you know?
Each Minecraft player can reach 107 achievements. Taking Inventory, Time to Mine, and Getting Wood are the most common accomplishments.
2. Ancient Debris
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: 30
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Some layers might dispute the inclusion of ancient debris on this list, but these rare blocks are indeed ore. They are also necessary for producing netherite scrap, a material used for crafting netherite ingots.
These blocks are highly resilient, and regular explosions can’t harm them. Players can mine it with a netherite or diamond pickaxe, as using any other tools will fail to produce results.
Did you know?
The remarkable cultural impact of Minecraft inspired many video game developers to publish their creations, but some went too far with similarities. As a result, many critics describe Ace of Spades, CraftWorld, Terraria, and CastleMiner as Minecraft clones.
1. Emerald Ore
Renewable: No
Stackable: Yes (64)
Hardness: Emerald Ore – 3; Deepslate Emerald Ore – 4.5
photo source: minecraft.fandom.com
Emerald ore is the rarest ore in Minecraft, and players can only find it on mountains and Windswept Hills, the uncommon cold biomes located in hilly terrain. Locating and mining this ore takes patience and time, even though they can only use it for trading with locals.
This ore requires deep digging due to only being available under level 33. Moreover, players need a diamond, netherite, or iron pickaxe to mine it.
Did you know?
Creepers are among the main Minecraft hostile mobs that sneak up on players and explode, taking all the development progress. But most fans don’t know that these critters were a coding mistake and that the developer wanted to create a pig.
