Detailed Ore Guide | Mining and Smithing Skills

An in-depth guide to collecting rocks in Runescape. "Dig here!"

Tools Required for Mining and Smithing

Before you go bashing your head against rocks you will need to acquire a few basic tools.
To get started mining you will need a pickaxe. (obviously)


Pickaxes of the appropriate level and material maximizes your mining efficiency. Pickaxes of the current ore type become less efficient roughly every 10 levels increased in mining. Be sure to purchase or smith your own pickaxe that matches the appropriate ore type for your current mining level.

For example, reaching level 10 in the mining skill unlocks the "iron pickaxe" and the ability to mine iron. At level 20 however, iron pickaxes will no longer be useful when mining higher level ores like "coal". You'll want to advance to a "steel pickaxe" until reaching level 30, and so on.

The "Lumbridge General Store" is a shop that sells tools used for crafting, cooking, firemaking, farming, and smithing. You will need to purchase a hammer here before you can work a forged item at an anvil.



The general store is located north of "Lumbridge Castle" at the "Lumbridge Market".
Tools here are often sold for just 1 gold each and restock quickly. A pack of items can also be purchased at greater quantities for just a few hundred gold.

Similarly "Bob's Brilliant Axes" is a shop that sells tools and weapons for adventurers getting started on training their combat, mining, and woodcutting skills.



The shop is located outside right outside of "Lumbridge Castle" or south of the "Lumbridge Lodestone".
Tools and weapons purchased here are highly discounted while some are available for free. It's advisable to acquire your pickaxes here or smith them yourself to avoid getting ripped off.

You can reliably turn a profit by selling discounted items at the "Grand Exchange" located north of "Varrock". Lazy players with coin to spare often focus purely on increasing skill levels hastily without inconveniencing themselves by leaving the GE to visit shops that provide cheap items. That's really ass-backwards isn't it?

Ore Boxes

Mining ore can quickly burden your inventory. Make use of an "ore box" to store additional ores outside of the 28 player inventory slots. This is especially useful when mining and transporting different ores used as components for a single ingot such as copper and tin, both used to produce bronze.

Just like pickaxes, ore boxes become less effective every 10 mining levels and will only hold the matching ore type of the current mining level and anything below. For example, mithril ore boxes can hold iron, copper, and tin, but not adamantite.


















Right click the ore box and select "fill" to deposit all the ores currently held in your inventory.

You can select "empty" at any bank chest or any furnace to deposit ores stored within the ore box into your bank or metal bank.

When emptying an ore box or player inventory of ores into a furnace they will automatically be deposited into the ore bank. The ore bank can store an infinite amount of ores and smelted bars. The ore bank and its entire contents can be accessed from any furnace.



Selecting "deposit all materials" will deposit any ores within ore boxes and the player inventory at once into the ore bank.
Selecting "withdraw all materials (noted)" will withdraw the entire contents of your ore bank into your inventory in noted form. Otherwise, manually withdrawing ores will preserve them as physical materials.

Smithing Basics | How to Swing Your Hammer!

Having purchased your first hammer and pickaxe, you're ready to pursue the art of blacksmithing! You pompous upstart you!

Finding a suitable location for smithing that has everything you'll need to keep the iron hot and the anvil ringing should be simple. Nearly every town and named location contains an "anvil", a "forge", and "furnace".



A great place for beginners is the "Lumbridge Blacksmith" located just over the covered bridge across from the market. Every workstation you'll need can be found here along with having quick access to materials used in the early stages of smithing just outside town.


Visit a furnace to begin smelting "bars" with the materials you've gathered. Smelting is typically done with a combination of different ores resulting in a refined product. Most bars will require a fuel source such as coal or luminite.





The work station you'll be visiting the most is the anvil, a surface to swing your hammer against and shape your metal. At the anvil, you will turn metal ingots into weapons, armor, tools, and more.




Whichever item you decide to make will at first begin as a select number of bars in your inventory or metal bank. Once you've gathered the necessary materials you can begin to heat them at the forge, then begin shaping the resulting "unfinished smithing item" at an anvil.


Keep an eye on the current "heat" level of your item, and don't let it cool. The lower an items heat level, the lower experience will be gained from finishing the product. You'll want to always be bringing a cooled item to the forge to raise it's heat level, then back to the anvil to continue your progress.

Mining Basics | How to Swing Your Pickaxe!

Mining ores isn't so simple as striking rocks with steel. There are certain methods you'll want to learn for maximizing your mining efficiency.

Your current mining level will determine the type of ores you're able to collect and the tools you can wield to mine them. Pickaxes, ore boxes, and certain cosmetics become available as you increase your mining level. Each type of ore will only be available to mine depending on the type of pickaxe used, and tier of mining level.

The amount of ores earned when swinging your pickaxe depends on both your total "stamina", and the level of your pickaxe.

Types of Ores and Where to Find Them

Throughout your mining journey you'll gather unique materials within various rocks which you'll turn into refined metals, gear, or amass into a fortune like a greedy dragon coveting a shiny treasure pile.

The following hierarchy details every type of ore that can be acquired across Gielinor. Some are rather obvious, while some are unconventional, others are incredibly rare or may prove difficult to acquire by traditional means. In any case if you're eager to get mining and I know you are, let's get digging!

-Copper Ore (Level 1)
A basic ore used to make bronze bars when combined with tin ore in a furnace. The first and most likely location you'll find copper ore is just outside the town of Lumbridge.



-Tin Ore (Level 1)
A basic ore used to make bronze bars when combined with copper ore in a furnace. The first and most likely location you'll find tin ore is just outside the town of Lumbridge.



-Iron Ore (Level 10)
Iron is the next obtainable ore once you reach level 10 mining. Combine two iron ores to craft one iron bar. Iron is very abundant and can be found near almost every major city.



-Coal (Level 20)
Coal is used when smelting certain ores into ingots. Combining one iron ore with one chunk of coal produces steel. Coal can be found North of Lumbridge.



-Silver Ore (Level 20)
Silver is a profitable ore that is used to craft several kinds of amulets, rings, jewelry, and other treasures. Silver can be found within the "Crafting Guild" and just outside the walls of Falador. Smelting silver bars only requires a single silver ore, making it an efficient method of acquiring wealth.



-Mithril Ore (Level 30)
Much like iron ore, mithril ore produces mithril bars when combined with coal in a furnace. Mithril bars can be crafted at level 30. Mithril can be found around the outskirts of Varrock.



-Adamantite Ore (Level 40)
Adamantite is abundant in many parts of Geilinor and can be obtained at a mining level of 40. However, smithing adamant bars is dependant on luminite which is less common. Adamantite is most commonly found around the outskirts of Varrock.



-Luminite (Level 40)
Luminite is used as both a fuel source and material to refine smelted bars when combined with certain ores. Luminite can be found within the "Dwarven Mines" beneath Falador.



-Gold Ore (Level 40)
Gold is an uncommonly found and highly valuable ore used to craft jewelry and other treasures. Smelting two gold ores together results in a single gold bar. Gold ore can be found at the "Rimmington Mine" or the "Crafting Guild" unlocked at crafting level 40.



-Runite Ore (Level 50)
Runite ore is the last obtainable level cap ore for non-members. It's a rare ore that can be smelted together with luminite to produce rune bars. Runite rocks can be found within the "Dwarven Mines" or on the island of "Crandor" for the daring adventurer.



-Orichalcite Ore (Level 60)
Orichalcite is the first obtainable ore that surpasses the non-member level cap. When combined with drakolith it produces orikalkum bars. Orichalcite is most commonly found in the "Dwarven Mines" beneath Falador.



-Drakolith (Level 60)
Drakolith is the first obtainable fuel that surpasses the non-member level cap. When combined with orichalcite ore it produces orikalkum bars. Drakolith can be found at the "Level 14 Volcano Mine" within the wilderness.



-Necrite Ore (Level 70)
Necrite ore is very difficult to obtain and requires completing lengthy quests, or braving the wilderness to acquire. Necrite can only be found in the "kharidian Desert" in overwhelming heat, within caves beneath the hostile "Bandit Mining Camp", underground at the "Warforge Dig Site" within the ogre lands of "Feldip" or at the monster infested "Level 30 Hobgoblin Mines" within the wilderness. Necrite can be combined with phasmatite to produce necronium bars.



-Phasmatite (Level 70)
Phasmatite is a fuel used to produce necronium bars when combined necrite ore. Phasmatite rocks can be obtained in "Canifis" at the "Port Phasmatys South Mine" on the eastern coast.



-Banite Ore (Level 80)
Banite ore is mystical ore that can be configured with magic. Banite ore can be combined with monster parts and tuned using the "Tune Banite Ore" spell with a magic level of 87 to inflict greater damage against certain varieties of monsters. Two banite ore can be combined together to produce a single bane bar.



-Light Animica | Elder Rune (Level 90)
Light animica crystals are a very rare and difficult to acquire component of the legendary elder rune gear. Smelting an elder rune bar requires both light and dark animica, and a fully refined rune bar. Light animica is most commonly found at the mines around the outskirts of the "Anachronia Lodestone" following the path that leads South West.



-Dark Animica | Elder Rune (Level 90)
Dark animica crystals are another rare and incredibly hard to find component required to create elder rune gear. Dark animica can only be found within two locations, most commonly found within the "Empty Throne Room" outside of the "Varrock Dig Site", or the "Anachronia Swamp Mine" which is located quite a ways down the path that leads South East on the surrounding island.