Mining Guide 1-450

Contents
 Author: Furious
 Date: December 11, 2019
 Expansion: WotLK Classic
Mining is perhaps the most important and most profitable gathering profession
in all of World of Warcraft. The ore Miners collect is smelted into bars that are
used for Engineering and Blacksmithing, and the raw ore is prospected
by Jewelcrafters to find gems. As a result, the demand for ore and bars is often
high which allows sellers to have more direct control over the market
versus Herbalism or Skinning. After capping miners can also smelt Saronite
Bar and Titansteel Bar, two of the most essential endgame crafting materials.
The most vital skill a miner learns is Find Minerals. It functions similarly to
Herbalism’s Find Herbs, and show ore nodes on your minimap. Once you find a
vein, you’ll need to use your Mining Pick to excavate. Engineers are able to
make alternative mining picks as well, like Gnomish Army Knife and Hammer
Pick. Because these aren’t BoP, they might be worthwhile for you to pick up, but
a standard pick from a Trade Supplies vendor will do the job just as well.
Training Mining
Old World

Like most other professions, trainers in any major capital can teach you all the
way from Apprentice to Artisan, so there is no specific capital you need to go to
for this stage. It is also possible to level Mining alongside your character, and
nodes will appear in level appropriate zones.

As explained in the next section, however, for power leveling it is easier and
faster to train your mining in the Eastern Kingdoms, so Alliance should consider
visiting Geofram Bouldertoe in Ironforge or Gelman Stonehand in Stormwind.
For the same reason, the Horde should consider seeing Brom Killian in
Undercity or Belil in Silvermoon.
Outland

After crossing through the Dark Portal to Outland, the Master Mining Trainers
will be located in your faction’s first questing area. For the Alliance, this will
be Hurnak Grimmord at Honor Hold, and the Horde’s will be Krugosh in
Thrallmar.
If you have access to Shattrath, two neutral trainers are available as
well: Fono of The Aldor and Hanlir of The Scryers.
Northrend

In Northrend, the Grand Master Mining Trainers should be with all other Grand
Master profession trainers right after you land in your faction’s fort from the
zeppelin. The Alliance will need to find Fendrig Redbeard in Valiance Keep,
and Brunna Ironaxe at Warsong Hold will train the Horde.
If you have access to Dalaran, Jedidiah Handers is an additional neutral trainer,
but as you must actually be out gathering ore rather than learning new recipes,
there is no difference between training with him and with the Grand Master in
your first questing area.

Leveling Mining
Like most other gathering professions, the fastest way to find mineral nodes and
increase your Mining skill is to make circles around the outer borders of a zone.
These are called “circuits”, and are the most advisable route. When zones are
mentioned below, unless otherwise indicated, your gathering strategy should be
to just complete circuits. While it may seem tedious, it will help you reach the
cap faster than other methods.
Old World

Surprisingly, Vanilla content is actually the most difficult part of leveling Mining.
This is for two reasons. First, the node placement between Kalimdor
(abbreviated as K below) and the Eastern Kingdoms (EK below) is incredibly
uneven. For example, between 175 and 250 it is possible to stay in 3 or 4 zones
in the EK, but in Kalimdor, you would have to move between 4 and 6 in the
same level span. Second, the lack of flying mounts greatly increases the time it
takes to complete a circuit around a zone.

Because of this, if you are interested in quickly power leveling, we recommend

that you train skill levels 1 – 275 (or as soon as you can get there) in the
Eastern Kingdoms.

To begin, find any mining trainer and learn Apprentice Mining. Make sure
to Find Minerals immediately! Until Expert, veins spawn in faction specific
zones, so they will be separated that way below.
1 – 65: Copper Ore / Copper Vein (Requires Mining level 1)
 Copper is one of the most abundant ores and is found in the first zone for
every race in WoW. After learning Apprentice Mining, simply complete
circuits around your starting area.
After you’ve gathered enough mining, return to your trainer and learn
Journeyman.

65 – 125: Tin Ore and Silver Ore

 Tin Ore / Tin Vein (Requires Mining 65)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Horde: Silverpine Forest and Hillsbrad Foothills
 Alliance: Loch Modan and Westfall
 Kalimdor
 Horde: Stonetalon Mountains, The Barrens, and Thousand
Needles
 Alliance: Darkshore and Ashenvale
 Silver Ore / Silver Vein (Requires Mining 75)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Both: Arathi Highlands
 Horde: Silverpine Forest, Hillsbrad Foothills, and Ghostlands
 In the Ghostlands, while a full circuit will work, you can also
make a smaller circuit in the charred land and path between
Deatholme and the Sanctum of the Moon.
 Alliance Loch Modan and Duskwood
 Kalimdor (Silver is especially difficult to gather in Kalimdor, so it might
be easier to continue gathering tin until you hit 125)
 Both: Ashenvale

After gathering enough ore to reach 125, you should return to your trainer and
learn Expert Mining. After this stage, all nodes will appear in contested zones.
125 – 175: Iron Ore and Gold Ore
 Iron Ore / Iron Deposit (Requires Mining 125)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Duskwood, Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Badlands
 In Duskwood, the best circuit starts at the border closest to
Stranglethorn Vale, continues along the border with the
Swamp of Sorrows, and then finishes by following the ridge
near Darkshire and looping around the outside of The Twilight
Grove.
 In Badlands, a standard circuit is fine, but you can also
complete a smaller one in the cliffs between Kargath and
Dustbelch Grotto for extra speed.
 Kalimdor
 Thousand Needles, Desolace, Ashenvale, Tanaris
 In Desolace, the most effective circuit starts at Shadowprey
Village, follows the path through Mannoroc Coven and
alongside the outer edge of the Kodo Graveyard, goes through
the Valley of Spears, and ends back at Shadowprey.
 In Ashenvale, you only need to make a circuit around the east
side of the zone, stopping parallel to Raynewood Retreat.
 To gather in Tanaris, the quickest circuit begins at Gadgetzan,
goes around the outside of The Caverns of Time, and returns
to Gadgetzan.
 Gold Ore / Gold Vein (Requires Mining 155)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Burning Steppes, Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Badlands
 In Badlands, you can make the same mini-circuit as for Iron
Ore in addition to the standard, larger one.
 Kalimdor
 Tanaris, Thousand Needles, Un’Goro Crater
 In Thousand Needles, you can stop your circuit at the edge of
the Shimmering Flats and turn around.
 In Un’Goro Crater, the highest concentration of Gold is along
the Northwest edge, so you can follow the mountains from
Marshal’s refuge until you’re parallel with Fire Plume Ridge
and then double back along the same path.
After completing these circuits, you can train up to Artisan! As you reach the
end of Artisan and begin to gather Dark Iron Ore, it is necessary for you to go to
the Eastern Kingdoms, as Dark Iron Ore does not spawn in Kalimdor.

175 – 275: Mithril Ore, Truesilver Ore, and Dark Iron Ore.
 Mithril Ore / Mithril Deposit (Requires Mining 175)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Burning Steppes, Badlands, Arathi Highlands, Alterac Mountains
 In Badlands, you can follow the same mini-circuit that you used
for Tin and Gold.
 In the Alterac Mountains, Mithril is concentrated around the
Ruins of Alterac, so you can reduce your circuit to just that
area.
 Kalimdor
  Tanaris, Desolace, Azshara
 In Desolace, the most effective route is to make circuits around
the Valley of Spears.
 In Azshara, your route should follow the path until you reach
the Ruins of Eldarath. After, you’ll need to follow the mountains
north of the Ruins and then follow the northern edge of the
zone, loop around the mountains on the northeastern coast,
and then return to the Ruins.
 Truesilver Ore / Truesilver Deposit (Requires Mining 205)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Arathi Highlands, Alterac
Mountains
 The highest concentration of Truesilver in the Burning Steppes
is in Dreadmaul Rock, but a normal circuit works as well.
 In the Blasted Lands, Truesilver does not spawn at all in the
Tainted Scar.
 In the Alterac Mountains, you can follow the same circuit you
were using for Mithril
 Kalimdor
 Tanaris, Azshara, Un’Goro Crater
 In Tanaris, the most Truesilver spawns along the mountains on
the western edge of the zone, so you should be able to make a
circuit alongside them.
 The same circuit that you use in Azshara for Mithril will work
for Truesilver, but the spawns are rarer.
 In Un’Goro Crater, the Truesilver spawns are in the southeast
quadrant of the zone, so you should be able to make a circuit
directly down from Fire Plume Ridge to where you stopped
gathering Gold earlier.
 Dark Iron Ore / Dark Iron Deposit (Requires Mining 230)
 Eastern Kingdoms
 Burning Steppes, Searing Gorge

Once you’ve mined enough to reach 275, you can cross through the Dark Portal
and learn Master Mining.

Outland

275 – 350: Fel Iron Ore and Adamantite Ore

 Fel Iron Ore / Fel Iron Deposit (Requires Mining 275)
 Hellfire Peninsula, Zangarmarsh
After you mine enough Fel Iron, you’ll begin to gather Adamantite, but there are
two different deposits available at different levels: Adamantite Deposit at 325
and Rich Adamantite Deposit at 350.
In general, “Rich” or “Pure” nodes will yield more ore and have a higher chance
of dropping rare minerals (Eternium Ore in this case). Rich Adamantite
Deposit also has an additional, unique benefit in this case. After players reach
350, most usually head immediately to Northrend and beginning mining Cobalt,
but this creates a lot of competition in the starting areas. To circumvent that,
you can continue to gather Rich Adamantite Deposit until you reach 375, and
speed up the leveling process in WotLK content.
 Adamantite Ore / Adamantite Deposit (325) + Rich Adamantite
Deposit (350)
 Adamantite Deposit (325)
 Nagrand, Terokkar Forest, Blade’s Edge Mountains
 In Nagrand, you can exclude the area around Oshu’Gun from your
circuits.
 In Terokkar Forest, your circuit should focus circling the area
around Tuurem, Stonebreaker Hold, Allerian Stronghold,
Bonechewer Ruins, and Fire Wing Point.
 Rich Adamantite Deposit (350)
 Shadowmoon Valley, Netherstorm
 In Shadowmoon, start your circuit near Legion Hold, follow the
path southeast to Sanctum of the Stars, go north to the Hand of
Gul’Dan, and then head straight back to Legion Hold.
 In Netherstorm, begin just south of ManaForge B’Naar, head east
to Kirin’Var Village, go north to ManaForge Ultris, and then west to
Force Base Gehenna. From there, go south to the EcoDome
Midrealm, and then pass through the Ruins of Enkaat before
returning to B’Naar.

Whether you choose to stay in Outland or not, once you reach 350, you can
head to Northrend and become a Grand Master.

Northrend

350 – 450: Cobalt Ore and Saronite Ore

Both Cobalt and Saronite also spawn in Rich deposits. For these, they occur in
relatively similar locations to the standard nodes, so you can continue making a
standard circuit while looking out for them specifically. In addition, there is one
location to find a Pure Saronite Deposit, which is discussed below.
 Cobalt Ore / Cobalt Deposit (350) + Rich Cobalt Deposit (375)
 Cobalt Deposit (350)
 Borean Tundra, Grizzly Hills, Howling Fjord
 Rich Cobalt Deposit (375)
 Borean Tundra, Grizzly Hills, Howling Fjord
 Saronite Ore / Saronite Deposit (400), Rich Saronite Deposit (425),
+ Pure Saronite Deposit (450)
 Saronite Deposit (400)
 Icecrown, Sholazar Basin, The Storm Peaks
 Rich Saronite Deposit (425)
 Icecrown, Sholazar Basin, The Storm Peaks
 Pure Saronite Deposit (450)
 The only Pure Saronite vein spawns in Ulduar. After completing the
majority of the raid and reaching Prison of Yogg-Saron, players will
have to defeat General Vezax. In his chamber, right before the final
encounter, there is the chance for a Pure Deposit to spawn. Unlike
other pure deposits, this one does not offer a chance at the
 rare Titanium Ore, but it instead has the chance of yielding Eternal
Shadow and Eternal Earth while the Rich Deposit only drops the
Crystallized versions.
And with that you’ve capped! Congratulations! Keep reading to find out
about Titanium Ore, Titansteel Bar, and their potential to make you massive
profits.
Endgame (Titanium and Titansteel)
Regardless of whether you use your ore for crafting or not, all Miners benefit
from gathering Titanium Ore. It’s the key reagent in a number of high level
pieces of gear like the Nessingwary 4000, Epic Engineering helms
like Electroflux Sight Enhancers, and Jewelcrafting Epics like Titanium
Spellshock Necklace. The ore is gathered from Titanium Vein, which are most
abundantly found it Icecrown, Sholazar Basin, and The Storm Peaks, but watch
out! Competition for these nodes is usually quite fierce.
Titanium Bar are also the primary material used in creating Titansteel Bar. Even
more than Titanium, Titansteel is highly coveted by all professions that need
bars to craft. In addition to Saronite Bar, it is the only mineral used to craft
patterns and enchants from ToC and ICC. It is also the main metal used when
making the highly coveted endgame Engineering items Jeeves, Mekgineer’s
Chopper, and Mechano-Hog. To make Titansteel, you’ll need to Smelt
Titansteel, which requires:

 3x Titanium Bar
 1x Eternal Fire
 1x Eternal Earth
 1x Eternal Shadow
But keep in mind: Smelting has a 20 hour cooldown, so choose what to do with
your bars wisely.

About the Author

Furious
If I'm not working or spending time with the family I'm probably gaming. Some of
my favorite recent games I've played are Far Cry 5, World of Warcraft Classic,
and 7 Days to Die.

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 5 COMMENTS
Most Voted

NeverFound
5 months ago
is the ore node type random every respawn or do i need a specific mining level
im lvl 73 and cant seem to find any tin ore in loch modan
1
Reply

aaa
Reply to NeverFound
5 months ago
try duskwood, have higher nods on tin and some silvers, just go around the mines in the
map
1
Reply

DenisGoesBrrrrr
4 months ago
where can i train mining after reaching 450/450?
playing for firt time
0
Reply

Negrosential
Reply to DenisGoesBrrrrr
4 months ago
You’ve already maxed out, mate.
No need to upgrade it further.
 0
Reply

Daraxs
Reply to DenisGoesBrrrrr
2 months ago
Dalaran Grand Master Mining
0
Reply