Most efficient way to mine stone?

[Lord English]

I'm currently digging the dirt from underneath the 4 block high rock formations and then digging up the rubble when it falls (which also nets me crushed sand). Is there a better method to aquiring stone?

UPDATE:

So charcters Mining Tools and Construction Tools are set to 100 to avoid issues leveling mid test might cause, and i Giveself a level 1 StoneAxe and Shovel. For each source of rock in question i summon a fresh level 1 and while swinging i count the swing. I did not mine entire boulders, i only went until the first stage broke away.

Axe takes 3 energy to use and shovel takes 4 per swing.

H = Health remaining when stage broke, can be used to confirm number of swings.

Axe: Mineral rich boulder: H: 86/100(19) 33 Stone 14 Swings
Axe: Entire Mineral Boulder: H: 58/100 99 Stone 42 Swings
Axe: Big ugly rock/Underground Stone: H: 83/100 25 Stone 17 Swings
Axe: Asphalt: H: 50/100(67) 25 Stone 50 Swings
Axe: Cinder blocks: H: 96/100(5) 10 Stone 4 Swings
Axe: Wasteland Floor: H: 96/100 11 Stone 4 Swings

Shovel: Gravel: H: 58/60(4) 8 Stone 2 Swings
Shovel: Sand: H: 59/60(2) 4 Stone 1 Swings

Given that information, never farm rocks from asphalt holly cow. Let's do some maths

I think the key here is to compare energy spent to resources gained, as early game resting to swing again is usually what's holding you back. Because you regenerate while swinging though, instead of comparing the energy i had when complete i will multiply the number of swings by the tools energy per use.

Axe: Mineral rich boulder: 33 Stone 14 Swings(42)
Axe: Entire Mineral Boulder: 99 Stone 42 Swings(126)
Axe: Big ugly rock/Underground Stone: 25 Stone 17 Swings(51)
Axe: Asphalt: 25 Stone 50 Swings(150)
Axe: Cinder blocks: 10 Stone 4 Swings(12)
Axe: Wasteland Floor: 11 Stone 4 Swings(12)

Shovel: Gravel: 8 Stone 2 Swings(8)
Shovel: Sand: 4 Stone 1 Swings(4)

next let's find the ratio between energy spent and stone mined. I Think i need to divide the amount of stone gained by the energy (figured this out when dividing energy by stone seemed really off)

Axe: Mineral rich boulder: 33/(42) = .785
Axe: Entire Mineral Boulder: 99/(126) = .785
Axe: Big ugly rock/Underground Stone: 25/(51) = .490
Axe: Asphalt: 25/(150) = .166
Axe: Cinder blocks: 10/(12) = .833
Axe: Wasteland Floor: 11/(12) = .916

Shovel: Gravel: 8/(8) = 1
Shovel: Sand: 4/(4) = 1

And the math says it all. if your Construction Skill isn't much higher than your Mining Skill. Then dig till your hearts content...But what about swing timing? When i can record at 60 FPS at home, i'll measure the frames to get the timing, and redo the math.

OH and this is before purchasing any Miner 69NER...but this was about fresh characters who don't have access to those skill points yet. Wonder if these ratio's change a lot when going from the stone axe to iron pickaxe

Full credit for the above goes to Layarion.

[Morendie91]

The dark grey small boulders give lot of stone. Otherwise its mindlessly mining stone with a pickaxe

[I.B Bangin]

I would say find a cave and get cozy, Or as quickly as you can try to get an iron pickaxe. You can find them at Working Stiff Tools places or you can make them pretty easily once you get a forge.

But yeah, for now if you just have a stone pick axe it will take a long time and a lot of effort really getting anywhere with it. Just dig up the boulders you come across (usually I just sit on top of the big ones so I know my surroundings better) but the grey ones are fine too if you're on the go or need quick stone. But I don't think either really matter, It's mainly the tool and your skill!

[Soren]

The most efficient way? Hard to say. If you get really high in the Mining Tools and Tool Smithig Skill, then you can one hit stone with a 600 quality steel pickaxe. The auger isn't too bad if you can find a good auger blade and have a high level in Mining Tools. It's gas powered, and makes a lot of noise, but it's better than a steel pickaxe as far as I'm aware. Presuming there isn't too much of a quality gap between the auger blade and the steel pickaxes you have, I'd go with an auger.

TNT mining in caves might be the fastest method, I'm not sure if blown up rocks drop small stones, and how much for that matter if they do. But, wasting a lot of important resources on TNT for nothing but small stones and scrap iron isn't really justifiable regardless.

[tinsmith33]

cement blocks , fast and good supply lying around in ruined burned out areas.

[AnsonMyPants]

the absolute best way to get stone is to dig in the dessert sand or the tan dirt in the forresty areas. youll get 2-4 and even more per block and if your stats or equiptment is decent, itll take you one swing to break a block. within a few minutes youll have 1000 or more stone and also have sand. sand is important for making cement mix. sand can also be smeltted down and be turned into glass.

[dobies4ever]

Also if you pay attention to the roads, there's asphalt (wider) and gravel (narrow) road beds, if you dig up the gravel road beds (usually found leading up to the buildings off from the main asphalt roads) you'll get a lot of stone fairly quickly as well as sand.

Again, the better the quality of your shovel, the faster the job will get done. Also once it gets to about half durability, you want to scrap it and get a fresh one.

[Nimbull]

Dig a 45 degree angle down to bedrock. Then dig one back up. You'll be amazed at how much stone you get when you start from the surface. Do a 3x3, 4x4, or 5x5 shaft.

[kkitts]

Once you get an auger (with lots of gas and repair kits), you can mine incredibly fast. You can fill your inventory in about 15 minutes, real-time. Of course, this is best done *after* you've dug down to bedrock first, as the noise and sustained digging can attract screamers fairly quickly (deep underground, it's not a problem). As always, the higher your skill, the faster you can dig. Max out Miner 69er as fast as possible to speed your digging (mining tools will max itself quickly enough).

As for leading up to augers, use the best pickaxe available, and look for the waist-high boulders lying around in the wilderness. They have 400 hp apiece, and when your mining skill is high enough, you can decimate the boulders in 3 hits (for 25 stone apiece). Underground, digging also produces 25 stone per block, but they have 500 hp apiece, I believe.

You can also go after the big boulders on the surface by digging a row underneath the boulder, and it'll collapse like a house. However, I don't think you get all the stone from this method (I think it gives you some crushed sand and considerably less than 25 stone per block).

All told, augering is the way to go if you get one or build one. Otherwise, a steel pickaxe and digging a tunnel to bedrock is the best way to go for large stone yields (for small yields, go for waist-high boulders).

[Lord English]

Thanks for all of the advice guys. I cannot for the life of me find an auger but I do have a decent Steel Pickaxe (455 quality) and I've found a couple of cave systems in which to mine Stone, Iron, Lead & Coal.

[dobies4ever]

You don't have to mine from a cave system, you can dig down pretty much anywhere. I usually tunnel down from within my base, but I head pretty deep so that I don't undermine one of my base walls accidentally. Again.

[Lord English]

Originally posted by dobies4ever:

You don't have to mine from a cave system, you can dig down pretty much anywhere. I usually tunnel down from within my base, but I head pretty deep so that I don't undermine one of my base walls accidentally. Again.

Point taken.

[Nobody]

make it like me, a tunnel from Ice at north to Hotel in Desert, and then from East to West, and again from North to south, looks like a huge H .

So you can travel during the night to every City
Btw at maximum deep

[Akrux]

Originally posted by Nobody:

make it like me, a tunnel from Ice at north to Hotel in Desert, and then from East to West, and again from North to south, looks like a huge H .

So you can travel during the night to every City
Btw at maximum deep

That is a serious amount of mining just to be able to travel at night. I find it works well for me to scavenge/mine/build during the day and craft at night.

You can leave safety about 20 minutes before dawn and sprint until dawn with out getting mobbed by fast zombies. You can also sprint or minibike home after dusk but this is more dangerous if something goes wrong.

[Lord English]

Wow, nice work Layarion. Very much appreciated.

[Splatter58]

Originally posted by Lord English:

I'm currently digging the dirt from underneath the 4 block high rock formations and then digging up the rubble when it falls (which also nets me crushed sand). Is there a better method to aquiring stone?

Max out your miner 69er. and mining tool skill. Mine the rock or boulder directly, dont undermine it and clean up the rubble after or you will lose material.