Ultimate Ironman Guide/Mining
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Mining training on an ultimate ironman is mostly relegated to "powermining" (where the ore is dropped rather than being smelted) due to inventory and banking restrictions. While this makes the skill relatively quick to train, it also means there is very little direct incentive to train the skill besides requirements such as those from quests and Achievement Diaries. That said, a high Mining level can be useful for some Mining-related activities, such Zalcano and Chambers of Xeric.
Pickaxes up to rune can be bought from the mining shops. Players who have the fancy jewellery box in their player-owned house can quickly access Yarsul's Prodigious Pickaxes in the Mining Guild (requires level 60 Mining) or Nurmof's Pickaxe Shop in the Dwarven Mine. Alternatively, players can use a minigame teleport to Blast Furnace and run a bit north to Pickaxe-Is-Mine.
A dragon pickaxe can only be obtained from the Wilderness bosses, the Kalphite Queen, and from the Volcanic Mine. The fastest method to obtain one is to safespot Chaos Elemental. The pickaxe and its variants can be stored in a STASH unit next to the Soul Altar or at the statue within the Tombs of Amascut.
Early training: Quests
- The Forsaken Tower requires completion of Client of Kourend, rewards 500 Mining experience
- Doric's Quest rewards 1,300 Mining experience.
- Plague City rewards 2,425 Mining experience.
- The Dig Site requires 10 , 10 , 25 , rewards 15,300 Mining experience
- The Lost Tribe requires 17 , 13 , 13 , rewards 3,000 Mining experience
- Another Slice of H.A.M. requires The Lost Tribe, 15 , 25 , rewards 3,000 Mining experience
Fastest experience
Levels 1–15: Mining copper/tin
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.
To progress from level 1 to level 15, you will need 2,411 Mining experience. You will need to mine a combination of 138 copper or tin ores to reach level 15, since they both give 17.5 experience a piece.
Levels 15–45/70/99: Mining iron
Mining iron offers the fastest experience from level 15 to 45. At level 45, 3-tick mining granite becomes faster assuming good performance, but this method is much easier and offers relatively fast experience even at higher levels. Players who are inexperienced with tick manipulation methods, or do not plan to use tick manipulation at all, are advised to mine iron up to level 70.
Wearing Varrock armour 1 or higher increases the overall experience rate for this method, as it gives the player 10% chance to mine 2 ores at once while worn.
From level 15 to 60, players should mine iron at a location that has three iron rocks in a triangle, as such a formation that allows the player to mine all three rocks without moving. Drop the ores while waiting for the rocks to respawn. There are seven such locations available at this level that are viable:
- Legends' Guild Mine
- Al Kharid Mine
- Piscatoris Mine
- Lovakengj Mine
- Verdant Valley
- Mount Karuulm Mine
- South Mor Ul Rek mine
If using tick manipulation, the best place to mine iron is in the Legends' Guild mine, which has 4 iron rocks close to each other in the eastern part. Start the 3-tick cycle with a herb and tar (or other suitable items) while moving between rocks, and drop the ores between mines. This method is faster than using a triangle spot, but because this method is much more advanced and significantly harder than using a triangle spot, it is only recommended for players who plan on 3-tick mining granite from level 45 onwards.
From level 60 onwards, the pay-to-play area of the Mining Guild becomes the best option, as the respawn time for rocks mined in this area is halved. This makes it so the players do not have to wait for the rocks to respawn or use tick manipulation. With correct timing and accurate clicks, players can drop the ore between mines and keep mining continuously.
Players can expect to gain up to around 45,000–55,000 Mining experience per hour below level 60 when not using tick manipulation. From level 60 and above, the maximum experience rate in the Mining Guild caps at around 70,000–80,000 Mining experience per hour, depending on performance and the pickaxe used.
Because this training method does not require much gearing up or inventory space, it can be trained in conjunction with other skills that require more inventory space, such as Farming. At lower levels, players can choose to pair this Mining training method with Smithing, by using Superheat Item to turn the iron ore into iron bars for use on a nearby anvil.
For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Smithing.
Levels 45–99: Mining granite
3-tick mining granite (commonly referred to as "3t4g", 3-tick 4 granite) at the Quarry offers the fastest Mining experience in the game. This method is extremely click-intensive and can be hard to learn, however. Tick manipulation must be used for this method, as without it the experience rates are significantly reduced and this method would not be worth doing. Players who are inexperienced with tick manipulation methods may find it worthwhile to train with iron to higher levels before attempting to train with granite, as mining iron still offers fairly high rates at lower levels.
The four granite rocks are located the south-west area of the Quarry. The fastest way to get there is to teleport with the Camulet to Enakhra's Temple, navigate outside and run a short distance south-west. After completing the hard tasks in the Desert Diary, players can teleport straight to the entrance instead. Players who do not have the camulet can get there by taking the ferry from Al Kharid to the Ruins of Unkah, exiting the area east, and then running north.
Players must have some sort of desert heat protection in order to survive. Desert amulet 4 provides immunity to the desert heat while worn, alternatively wearing the Hitpoints cape along with a regen bracelet will outheal the damage taken from desert heat. If neither of those are an option, the player can bring waterskins and fill them with the lunar spell Humidify.
Wearing Varrock armour 2 or higher increases the overall experience rate for this method, as it gives the player 10% chance to mine 2 ores at once while worn. Using a crystal pickaxe is not recommended for this method should the player have one, as it does not bring any benefits or increase experience rates because of tick manipulation being used, and it costs crystal shards to use.
Players should drop the mined pieces of granite on the ground between mines. This is done by starting the 3-tick action and clicking on the next rock, quickly dropping the granite, and clicking the rock again. This requires accurate clicking and some practice to perform consistently, but it is much more efficient than dropping a full inventory. It is recommended to use resizable mode, zoom in, and turn the camera south so that there is as little distance from the inventory to the rocks as possible. Turning data orbs off is also helpful to prevent any misclicks when clicking on the southernmost rock.
With good performance, players can gain up to around 60,000–70,000 Mining experience per hour at level 45, increasing to around 85,000–90,000 experience per hour at level 70, and 105,000–115,000 experience per hour at higher levels. At level 99 with the Mining cape perk, it is possible to gain up to 125,000–130,000 Mining experience per hour. Without tick manipulation players can expect to gain only around 63,000 Mining experience per hour at best.
Mining granite does not require much inventory space or gearing up. It can be done in conjunction with other inventory-filling skills, such as Farming, although having some space for the granite rocks is recommended for convenience.
For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Farming.
Other methods
Levels 30–99: Motherlode Mine
Mining in the Motherlode Mine is a slow training method, but it requires relatively low amount of effort. This method is not generally recommended for Ultimate Ironmen, as they cannot bank the ores obtained from pay-dirt. Players who are seeking for a low-effort alternative to mining granite or iron are advised to mine in the Volcanic Mine from level 70 onwards.
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. The full prospector kit can be stored in the armour case in the player-owned house. Entering the mining guild while wearing the Prospector helmet or Golden prospector helmet is a task for the Falador Hard Diary.
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 relatively close to the hopper. Completion of the elite diary will also increase the chance of receiving higher-level ores.
Should the player continue mining in the Motherlode Mine after obtaining the prospector kit, it is recommended to unlock the upper levels of the mine. This requires 100 golden nuggets, and level 57 Mining is required to mine there. The upper levels have more concentrated ore veins compared to the lower level, and they deplete after they have been mined for 36-40 seconds, unlike in the lower area, where it is 23-27 seconds, making the upper level more relaxed while giving slightly better experience rates.
Experience rates scale depending on the level. Players can gain up to 30,000 Mining experience per hour at level 70, increasing to around 42,000 experience per hour at level 85, and 53,000 experience per hour at level 99.
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, this method requires coordinated teamwork and it has fairly high requirements for ultimate ironmen to do it effectively. 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. Players can also pay 3000 numulites for permanent access to the mine. Having a dragon or crystal pickaxe is also recommended for faster experience.
Players will need to have a lot of noted Saradomin brews or cooked food (such as cooked manta rays from Zulrah) for healing. Using uncooked food is not recommended, as players would have to cook it between games, which likely slows the team down. It is also strongly recommended to have an ornate rejuvenation pool in the player-owned house to restore stats and save supplies. If using Saradomin brews, players should bring a super restore to restore lowered stats or make some house tablets, as sometimes the Magic level may be lowered enough so the player cannot cast Teleport to House. Having a high Prayer level is also helpful.
Experience rates scale depending on the Mining level. In a good team, players can gain around 65,000–70,000 Mining experience per hour at level 70, increasing to around 75,000–80,000 experience per hour at level 85, and 85,000–90,000 experience per hour at level 99 when using a dragon pickaxe. With a crystal pickaxe, players can gain up to around 70,000–75,000 Mining experience per hour at level 71, 85,000 experience per hour at level 85, and 95,000 experience per hour at level 99.
Reward points from the activity can be used to buy the ash covered tome, which unlocks the enhanced version of the Fertile Soil spell. Extra points can be spent on runite ore, either for its value or to use in smithing rune dart tips for use in combat. Fossils earned can be stored or turned into numulites, especially if the player wants to use the Volcanic Mine as a Gravestone. Pyrophosphite and calcite can be used at the Mycelium pool for training Prayer.
For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Prayer.
Levels 41–99: Calcified Rocks
Mining Calcified rocks in the Cam Torum mine is an option offering very good experience, as well as passive Prayer experience in the form of stackable Blessed bone shards. Players can freely switch between high-intensity tick manipulation or low-intensity AFK mining, with around a 50-60 second AFK time per vein. Accessing the calcified rocks requires level 41 Mining and having started the Perilous Moons quest.
This activity is safe, and does not require a completely empty inventory, so players can deathbank their items at little risk and keep items to perform other activities such as farm runs or fletching broad arrows.
The optimal method involves tick manipulation via a Knife and Teak or Mahogany logs. Within a 3-tick cycle, players use the knife on the log, then move, then click on a vein, with the cycle repeating. Correct execution results in a successful mine every 3 ticks with a chance to yield 2 resources per mine (also known as 1.5-tick Mining). When a break is desired, or if not interested in tick manipulation, a player can simply click the vein to mine it normally until it depletes, at around 45% the efficiency of the tick-manipulation method.
In either case, players should prioritize mining veins that are oozing water. Depending on how frequently mistakes are made, players who are using the tick-manipulation method may wish to bring one or two Stamina potions to eliminate the risk of depleting run energy. For Ultimate Ironmen, the Calcified deposits obtained from the veins are currently not worth the time to process, and should be dropped when the inventory becomes full. The bone shards obtained via this method can be processed at any time with Jugs of wine obtained in Draynor Village or Civitas illa Fortis.
At level 99 Mining, players can expect to obtain around 90,000 Mining experience per hour while storing around 27,000 Prayer experience per hour when 1.5-tick mining. If mining normally, these rates drop to around 45,000 Mining experience and around 12,000 Prayer experience per hour stored. Note that this does not equate to 27,000 Prayer experience gained per hour, as the blessed bone shards do take some time to be processed.
Levels 92–99: Mining amethyst
Mining amethyst offers slow experience, but it requires very little effort. The amethyst can be cut into dart tips or arrowtips, which can be useful for players using the toxic blowpipe or the twisted bow.
Experience rates are shown in the table below. The numbers assume the player is wearing Varrock armour 4, using a dragon pickaxe, and cutting the amethysts into dart tips or arrowtips on the spot.
| level
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XP/h
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XP/h
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 per hour
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 per hour
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| 92 | 19,900 | 4,900 | 664 | 1,245 |
| 99 | 23,500 | 5,900 | 784 | 1,470 |
Levels 10-99: Star Mining
Mining crashed stars can result in up to 27,000 Mining experience if mining continuously (at 90+ mining). Approximately 8 Crafting experience is given per stardust if traded for bags full of gems.
Passive training: Runecraft
Crafting blood or soul runes in Arceuus grants the player some passive Mining experience from mining the dense essence blocks at the dense essence mine. The player can expect to gain around 12,000 Mining experience for every 100,000 Runecraft experience when crafting blood runes, and 10,000 Mining experience for every 100,000 Runecraft experience when crafting soul runes.
For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Runecraft.
Passive training: Crafting
Mining sandstone for Crafting training grants the player some passive Mining experience. If crafting lantern lenses, for every 100,000 Crafting experience gained, the player should expect around 14,000 Mining experience. If crafting empty light orbs, for every 100,000 Crafting experience gained, the player should expect around 11,000 Mining experience.
For more information, see Ultimate Ironman Guide/Crafting.
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