Mining training
Mining is a great skill to make money with at high level, you can start off at home then move to the west side of the Skilling Island and mine in the pit. (2x XP in wilderness).
Equipment
The only item required to mine is a pickaxe. A certain Attack level is required to wield one, but players are still able to use the pickaxe to mine without the Attack level requirement. Players should use the best pickaxe available for the fastest mining speed.
Using an infernal pickaxe is recommended if using the fastest training methods. Mining rocks with it will give a 1/3 chance for the ore to automatically combust, which will consume the ore. This reduces the number of ores that need to be dropped, and also grants some passive Smithing experience. Making an infernal pickaxe requires level 85 Smithing, and it can be charged with dragon pickaxes or smouldering stones. The former are usually cheaper, but using the infernal pickaxe can still be somewhat expensive for some players.
For other methods, the crystal pickaxe performs better, and it should be used if the player has enough crystal shards for it.
Pickaxes
Higher tiers of pickaxes take less time between rolls while mining. Each tick is a period of 0.6 seconds. When the allotted time passes, the game will roll whether or not you mine something successfully. The chance itself is affected by your Mining level and the tier of pickaxe you use.
Item | Shop price | Weight | Ticks between rolls | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bronze pickaxe | 1 | 1 | Free | 2.267 kg | 8 | |
Iron pickaxe | 1 | 1 | 100 Skilling points | 2.267 kg | 7 | |
Steel pickaxe | 6 | 5 | 250 Skilling points | 2.267 kg | 6 | |
Black pickaxe | 11 | 10 | 500 Skilling points | 0.01 kg | 5 | |
Mithril pickaxe | 21 | 20 | 1000 Skilling points | 1.814 kg | 5 | |
Adamant pickaxe | 31 | 30 | 10,000 Skilling points | 2.721 kg | 4 | |
Rune pickaxe[1] | 41 | 40 | 25,000 Skilling points | 2.267 kg | 3 | |
Dragon pickaxe[2] | 61 | 60 | 50,000 Skilling points | 2.4 kg | 2.83[3] | |
Infernal pickaxe | 61[4] | 60 | 250,000 Skilling points | 2.4 kg | 2.83[5] | |
Crystal pickaxe | 71[6] | 70 | 300,000 Skilling points | 1.36 kg | 2.75[7] |
Prospector kit
The Prospector kit obtained from the Mining Tutor at ::Mining. provides a total of 10% bonus Mining experience when worn.
The full set costs 100k Skilling points
Gold prospector has the same xp bonuses as the normal prospector outfit
Item | XP Bonus | |
---|---|---|
Prospector helmet | 0% | |
Prospector jacket | 0% | |
Prospector legs | 0% | |
Prospector boots | 0% | |
Sub-total | 0% | |
Set bonus | 0% | |
Full set | 10% |
Other
The Celestial Ring has been added to the mining shop for 200,000 Skilling Points. It is untradeable and therefore an item that will last you forever (always kept on death).
It has a 10% chance of doubling the ores & xp you receive while mining an ore, in the wilderness the second ore will go into your inventory noted. It also works with Runite ores.
Fastest experience
To gain Mining experience most efficiently, players should always drop the ores they mine (also known as "powermining" or "dropmining"). This can be done by holding the shift key and clicking on the ore once shift drop has been enabled in the options. Mobile users can toggle the tap-drop option.
Levels 1–15: Copper/Tin ore
From level 1 to 15, players should mine copper or tin. This can be done anywhere, though the Lumbridge Swamp mining site is debatably the easiest due to its relative lack of players and aggressive monsters, and its collection of copper and tin rocks.
Levels 15–30: Iron ore
Mining iron offers the fastest experience from level 15 to 30.
Levels 30–55: Coal ore
3-tick mining granite (commonly referred to as "3t4g", 3-tick 4 granite) at the Quarry offers the fastest Mining experience from level 45 onwards. 3-tick mining is done by using swamp tar on a clean herb (or other suitable items) to set up the 3-tick cycle and then moving to a granite rock to mine it. When timed correctly, the player will skip the delay from moving to the granite rock and has a chance to receive a rock every three ticks. The player will need to move between four granite rocks to continuously keep up the 3-tick cycle.
While 3-tick mining granite offers the fastest experience, it is very click-intensive and can be hard to learn. This method is not worth doing without tick manipulation, as the experience rates would be much lower. Players who are new to tick manipulation methods may find it worthwhile to train with iron before attempting to train with granite, as mining iron offers relatively high rates at lower levels.
Experience rates are shown in the table below. The rates assume wearing the Varrock armour and an uncharged celestial ring, and the Mining cape at level 99. At maximum efficiency, it is possible to gain up to 134,000 experience per hour at level 99, though players are more likely to see rates closer to around 120,000–125,000 experience per hour when including some mistakes. When using the infernal pickaxe, players will also gain around 7,000–10,000 passive Smithing experience per hour depending on the Mining level. Without tick manipulation players can only gain around 63,000 experience per hour at best.
level | XP/h |
---|---|
45 | 86,000 |
55 | 94,000 |
65 | 100,000 |
75 | 106,000 |
85 | 113,000 |
95 | 118,000 |
99 | 125,000 |
Other methods
Levels 30–99: Motherlode Mine
Mining in the Motherlode Mine is a slow training method, but it requires a relatively low amount of effort and offers somewhat decent profit at higher levels. Level 30 is required to mine there, but players are advised to use faster methods until level 55 or level 61, as the experience is very slow (around 15-20% of the higher leveled xp) at lower levels due to receiving less experience from collecting the pay-dirt. At higher levels, this method is only recommended for players who are looking for an easy training method, as the Volcanic Mine minigame offers much faster experience.
The fastest way to get there is to use the skills necklace teleport to the Mining Guild, and run a short distance to the entrance. Players will need to have a pickaxe on them to clear the obstructing rockfalls to be able to enter deeper into the mine.
Completing the medium tasks of the Falador Diary is recommended, as this grants the player access to a shortcut (requires level 54 Agility) to an area which is near the bank chest and relatively close to the hopper. Completion of the elite diary will also increase the chance of receiving higher-level ores.[1]
Players can obtain golden nuggets through cleaning pay-dirt, which can be used to purchase perks and rewards from Prospector Percy. The most notable reward is the Prospector kit, which adds a bonus 2.5% experience while mining. Having all the parts from the prospector kit is a requirement for completing the hard task set of the Falador Diary. Once the player reaches level 72 and has 100 golden nuggets, it is recommended to unlock the upper levels of the mine. The upper levels have more concentrated ore veins compared to the lower level, and they deplete after they have been mined for a set amount of time, unlike in the lower area, where it's a random chance per pay-dirt mined, making one vein last longer on average.
Experience rates scale depending on the Mining level. When using the dragon pickaxe, players can gain up to around 30,000 experience per hour at level 70, increasing to 42,000 experience per hour at level 85 and 53,000 experience per hour at level 99.
For more up to date calculations on profit per hour, see Motherlode Mine.
Levels 41–99: Calcified rocks
Mining calcified rocks in the Cam Torum Mine is a low-effort alternative to the faster methods. This method requires having started Perilous Moons. The rocks deplete after around 70 seconds. Occasionally, water starts oozing temporarily from some of the veins, and mining those veins will increase the success rate of mining rocks. Additionally, players can receive a calcified deposit from mining the rocks which when opened with a hammer on an anvil provide the player with 6-20 additional bone shards or a chance to receive a tradable and stackable calcified moth. Crushing the moth will teleport the player directly to Cam Torum.
Players can gain up to 45,000–50,000 experience and roughly 3,000 blessed bone shards per hour at level 99.
Levels 52–99: Gem rocks
Mining gem rocks is a profitable alternative that offers comparable experience rates to granite when using tick manipulation. Gem rocks are also the fastest method on average to obtain the rock golem pet. Without tick manipulation, this method is considerably slower and only recommended for ironmen who need opals, jades, or red topazes.
For this method, players will need to have completed the hard Karamja Diary for access to the underground portion of the Shilo Village mine. The area has many gem rocks and a bank deposit box nearby. The diary requires partial completion of Legends' Quest, which requires level 52 Mining (boostable). Without the diary completion this method is not worth doing, as the surface area has much fewer rocks. Wearing a charged amulet of glory is also required for the fastest rates. Having the gem bag is recommended to reduce dropping and banking.
Experience rates are shown in the table below. They scale depending on the Mining level and assume wearing the prospector kit. At maximum rates players can expect 7,648.08 profit per hour.
level | XP/h (3-tick) | XP/h (w/o 3-tick) |
---|---|---|
50 | 93,000 | 52,000 |
60 | 97,000 | 56,000 |
70 | 101,000 | 61,000 |
80 | 105,000 | 66,000 |
90 | 107,000 | 70,000 |
99 | 110,000 | 75,000 |
Levels 60–99: Crashed stars
Mining crashed stars offers low experience rates but requires very little attention. As part of the Shooting Stars Distraction and Diversion, a shooting star will fall at a random spot selected from a predetermined list. Once the player has found a crashed star, they can mine it for 42–63 minutes depending on its tier before the star depletes. Each tier can be mined for seven minutes without interaction, only requiring the player to click again whenever the star degrades a tier.
This method is fully available at level 60 Mining since the lowest star now falls at tier 6, but it can begin at level 10 Mining if the star is mined down to a suitable tier. The stardust can be exchanged for a celestial ring, which gives an invisible +4 boost to Mining. Considering the Grand Exchange price of soft clay, each stardust is worth Lua error: . when using the stardust to buy soft clay packs.
Experience and stardust rates are shown in the table below. The rates include the time spent finding a new star as well as some idle time whenever the star degrades a tier.
Levels 70–99: Volcanic Mine
The Volcanic Mine minigame on Fossil Island offers relatively fast experience and it requires low amount of effort to participate in. However, it requires coordinated teamwork and it does not provide any significant profit. Level 50 is required to enter the mine, but it is recommended to use faster methods until level 70 as the experience is notably slower below that level.
To enter the mine, players must have completed the Bone Voyage quest, have earned at least 150 Kudos and have claimed the five unidentified small fossils from Peter after fully building the Museum Camp. Players must also pay Petrified Pete 30 numulites every time they wish to enter the mine. Over time, players will slightly profit numulites in the mine, however.
The official world for this minigame is World 323, although it is recommended to search for a team — the Grouping interface includes a clan chat for Volcanic Mine, where players may be found making groups. Having 3 to 5 players in a team is optimal, although duo is also viable. It is also possible to participate in the minigame entirely solo, but it requires much more effort and practice, and the experience rates are slightly slower than in a team.
Experience rates are shown in the table below. The rates scale depending on the level, and vary depending on the role performed and the team's performance.
Level | XP/h | XP/h |
---|---|---|
70 | 68,000 | N/A |
75 | 69,000 | 75,000 |
80 | 72,000 | 81,000 |
85 | 76,000 | 86,000 |
90 | 79,000 | 90,000 |
95 | 81,000 | 91,000 |
99 | 84,000 | 94,000 |
Ore table
Name | Level | Experience | |
---|---|---|---|
Rune essence | 1 | 5 | |
Clay | 1 | 5 | |
Copper | 1 | 17.5 | |
Tin | 1 | 17.5 | |
Blurite ore | 10 | 17.5 | |
Limestone | 10 | 26.5 | |
Iron | 15 | 35 | |
Silver ore | 20 | 40 | |
Volcanic ash | 22 | 10 | |
Coal | 30 | 50 | |
Pure essence | 30 | 5 | |
Pay-dirt | 30 | 60 | |
Sandstone | 35 | 30,40,50,60 | |
Gold ore | 40 | 65 | |
Gem rocks | 40 | 65 | |
Granite | 45 | 50,60,75 | |
Mithril ore | 55 | 80 | |
Lovakite ore | 65 | 60 | |
Adamantite | 70 | 95 | |
Runite | 85 | 125 | |
Amethyst | 92 | 240 |
- ↑ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 8 November 2017. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Mod Ash: "[Was the diary reward for ore-choosing fixed?] 18th June 2015, yes."