Mining is one of the most profitable professions and also one of the most useful. This field gives players access to many ores for crafting various equipment, including high-level weapons and armor. However, you must max out this profession to ensure access to all the end-game ore veins and materials. This guide will help players get from WoW Classic Mining Level 1 to 300.
How to Mine Efficiently in WoW Classic
Having A Sense of Exploration
The main focus of Mining requires that you move between maps. The mineral veins spawn in specific locations when you’re traveling around. You can find many unique resources between mines, caves, cliffs, hills, and borders. You can most notably find “rare mineral veins” in random locations while passing through dungeons. As a result, when a conflict ends, you can run toward one and gather some resources as quickly as possible.
Using Mods
If you still find it challenging to obtain any mineral veins between maps, you could use the assistance of mods or add-ons. These tools show the common spawn points’ locations in any place for WoW Classic. You can even opt to look for those rarest minerals and search for the right resource. Still, though, sometimes they can be inaccurate since another player could farm the one you’re searching for and snatch it. Hence, it gives you no other option but to look for another spawn point or change the server.
All WoW Classic Mining Trainers
To start everything up, you’ll need to reach level 5 and unlock the Profession options. Afterward, you can start your mining career with the proper trainer. Remember to use the assistance from the guards in the major cities to find this NPC. You’ll also need to purchase a “Mining Pick” and always have it on your inventory. You can approach any of the “mineral veins” and extract its contents if done correctly. Here are all the relevant NPCs for this profession.
Alliance trainers
- Geofram Bouldertoe in Ironforge, The Great Forge (50.4, 26)
- Gelman Stonehand in Stormwind City, Dwarven District (51, 17.2)
- Kurdram Stonehammer in Darkshore, Auberdine (38.2, 41)
- Matt Johnson in Duskwood, Darkshire (74, 49.6)
- Yarr Hammerstone in Dun Morogh, Steelgrill's Depot (50, 50.2)
- Brock Stoneseeker in Loch Modan, Thelsamar (37.2, 46.8)
- Dank Drizzlecut in Dun Morogh, Gol'Bar Quarry (69.2, 55.4)
Horde trainers
- Makaru in Orgrimmar, Valley of Honor (73, 26.4)
- Brom Killian in Undercity, War Quarter (34.6, 57.6)
- Brek Stonehoof in Thunder Bluff, Central Bluff (56, 37)
- Johan Focht in Silverpine Forest, The Sepulcher (43.4, 40.6)
- Krunn in Durotar, Razor Hill (51.8, 40.8)
Neutral trainers
- Pikkle in Tanaris, Gadgetzan (51, 28)
You’ll return to these trainers every time you hit a milestone in Mining. They'll allow you to progress from Beginner to Journeyman to the maximum level.
Mineral Veins and Locations
| Skill Required/ Name |
Loot | Locations |
| 1 25 50 100 Copper Vein |
Ore: Copper Ore Stone: Rough Stone Gems: Malachite, Tigerseye, Shadowgem |
Alterac Mountains, Ashenvale, Darkshore, Desolace, Dun Morogh, Durotar, Duskwood, Elwynn Forest, Hillsbrad Foothills, Loch Modan, Mulgore, Redridge Mountains, Silverpine Forest, Stonetalon Mountains, The Barrens, Thousand Needles, Tirisfal Glades, Westfall, Wetlands |
| 65 90 115 165 Tin Vein |
Ore: Tin Ore Stone: Coarse Stone Gems: Moss Agate, Shadowgem, Jade, Lesser Moonstone |
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, Darkshore, Desolace, Duskwood, Hillsbrad Foothills, Loch Modan, Redridge Mountains, Silverpine Forest, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, The Barrens, Thousand Needles, Westfall, Wetlands |
| 75 100 125 175 Silver Vein |
Ore: Silver Ore Stone: N/A Gems: Moss Agate, Shadowgem, Lesser Moonstone |
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, Badlands, Darkshore, Desolace, Duskwood, Dustwallow Marsh, Feralas, Hillsbrad Foothills, Loch Modan, Redridge Mountains, Searing Gorge, Silverpine Forest, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, The Barrens, The Hinterlands, Thousand Needles, Westfall, Wetlands |
| 125 150 175 225 Iron Deposit |
Ore: Iron Ore Stone: Heavy Stone Gems: Jade, Lesser Moonstone, Citrine, Aquamarine |
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, Badlands, Blasted Lands, Desolace, Duskwood, Dustwallow Marsh, Feralas, Hillsbrad Foothills, Searing Gorge, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, The Hinterlands, Thousand Needles, Wetlands |
| 155 180 205 255 Gold Vein |
Ore: Gold Ore Stone: N/A Gems: Jade, Lesser Moonstone, Citrine |
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Ashenvale, Azshara, Badlands, Blasted Lands, Burning Steppes, Desolace, Duskwood, Dustwallow Marsh, Eastern Plaguelands, Felwood, Feralas, Hillsbrad Foothills, Searing Gorge, Silithus, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, The Hinterlands, Thousand Needles, Western Plaguelands, Wetlands, Winterspring |
| 175 200 225 275 Mithril Deposit Ooze Covered Mithril Deposit |
Ore: Mithril Ore Stone: Solid Stone Gems: Citrine, Aquamarine, Star Ruby, Black Vitriol |
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Azshara, Badlands, Blasted Lands, Burning Steppes, Desolace, Dustwallow Marsh, Eastern Plaguelands, Felwood, Feralas, Hillsbrad Foothills, Searing Gorge, Silithus, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, The Hinterlands, Thousand Needles, Western Plaguelands, Winterspring |
| 230 255 280 330 Truesilver Deposit Ooze Covered Truesilver Deposit |
Ore: Truesilver Ore Stone: N/A Gems: Citrine, Aquamarine, Star Ruby |
Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Azshara, Badlands, Blasted Lands, Burning Steppes, Desolace, Dustwallow Marsh, Eastern Plaguelands, Felwood, Feralas, Searing Gorge, Silithus, Stonetalon Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, The Hinterlands, Un’Goro Crater, Western Plaguelands, Winterspring |
| 230 255 280 330 Dark Iron Deposit |
Ore: Dark Iron Ore Stone: N/A Gems: Black Vitriol, Blood of the Mountain, Black Diamond |
Searing Gorge, Burning Steppes, Molten Core, Blackrock Depths |
| 245 270 295 345 Small Thorium Vein Ooze Covered Thorium Vein |
Ore: Thorium Ore Stone: Dense Stone Gems: Star Ruby, Black Vitriol, Blue Sapphire, Large Opal, Azerothian Diamond |
Winterspring, Silithus, Un'Goro Crater, Swamp of Sorrows, Blasted Lands, Tanaris, Felwood, Western Plaguelands, The Hinterlands, Burning Steppes, Eastern Plaguelands, Searing Gorge |
| 275 300 325 375 Rich Thorium Vein Ooze Covered Rich Thorium Vein Hakkari Thorium Vein |
Ore: Thorium Ore Stone: Dense Stone Gems: Star Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Large Opal, Arcane Crystal, Huge Emerald, Azerothian Diamond, Souldarite (Zul'Gurub only) |
Azshara, Burning Steppes, Eastern Plaguelands, Silithus, Un’Goro Crater, Western Plaguelands, Winterspring, Zul'Gurub |
| 305 330 355 405 Small Obsidian Chunk Large Obsidian Chunk |
Ore: Small Obsidian Shard, Large Obsidian Shard Other: Essence of Earth Gems: Huge Emerald, Arcane Crystal, Azerothian Diamond |
Ahn'Qiraj, Ruins of Ahn'Qiraj |
Mining Leveling
The key to leveling up this profession is to focus on one ore type until you reach the next threshold. You’ll focus on specific zones until you can move on to higher-level ones.
Level 1 to 65
- What Ore to Mine: Copper Ore
- Where to Mine: Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades, Elwynn Forest, Darkshore, and Dun Morogh
After hitting 65, visit one of the Mining Trainers to go from Beginner to Journeyman.
Level 65 to 125
- What Ore to Mine: Silver Ore
- Where to Mine: Hillsbrad Foothills, Redridge Mountains, Ashenvale, and The Barrens
Note: It’s okay to mine copper and tin ores that you encounter on your route, but do not go out of your way just to mine them.
After hitting 125, visit one of the Mining Trainers to go from Journeyman to Expert Mining.
Level 125 to 175
- What Ore to Mine: Gold Ore
- Where to Mine: Arathi Highlands, Desolace, and Thousand Needles
Note: It’s okay to mine iron and tin ores that you encounter on your route, but don't go out of your way just to mine them.
Level 175 to 245
- What Ore to Mine: Mithril Ore and Truesilver Ore
- Where to Mine: The Hinterlands and Tanaris
Note: Make sure to visit any Mining Trainers at level 225 to go from Expert Mining to Artisan Mining.
Level 245 to 275
- What Ore to Mine: Mithril Ore, Truesilver Ore, Thorium Ore
- Where to Mine: Un’Goro Crater, Blasted Lands, and Felwood
Note: Try to focus more on Thorium Ore.
Level 275 to 300
- What Ore to Mine: Thorium Ore and Mithril Ore
- Where to Mine: U’Goro Crater, Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring. And Burning Steppes
What Ore Colors Mean
Whenever you encounter Ores, their name will be highlighted in a specific color. These colors are important because they tell you how much EXP they will give you and whether you can mine them. Here is what they all mean:
- Red: You can't mine it yet.
- Orange: You can mine but will have a high chance of failing, which will increase your mining skills.
- Yellow: You can mine it, which generally increases your mining skills.
- Gree: You can easily mine it, moderately increasing your Mining skills.
- Gray: Very Easy to Mine but will not increase Mining skills.
Tips
- You can have your gloves enchanted to get more skill points. Enchant Gloves – Mining gives +2 Skill Points, while Enchant Gloves – Advanced Mining gives +5 Skill Points.
- You can get a Goblin Mining Helmet from Engineering players to get +5 Skill Points. However, you need to have Goblin Engineering Level 205 and be able to wear Mail to use it.
Mining and Smelting
With raw ore from mineral veins, you can start smelting them into bars with Smelting. Note: You'll need a forge to do so.
| Spell | Skill Required | Creates | Reagents |
| Smelt Copper | 1 25 47 70 | Copper Bar x1 | Copper Ore x1 |
| Smelt Tin | - - 65 75 | Tin Bar x1 | Tin Ore x1 |
| Smelt Bronze | - 65 90 115 | Bronze Bar x2 | Copper Bar x1 Tin Bar x1 |
| Smelt Silver | 75 100 112 125 | Silver Bar x1 | Silver Ore x1 |
| Smelt Iron | 125 130 135 140 | Iron Bar x1 | Iron Ore x1 |
| Smelt Gold | 155 170 177 185 | Gold Bar x1 | Gold Ore x1 |
| Smelt Steel | - - - 165 | Steel Bar x1 | Iron Bar x1 Coal x1 |
| Smelt Mithril | - - - 175 | Mithril Bar x1 | Mithril Ore x1 |
| Smelt Truesilver | - - - 230 | Truesilver Bar x1 | Truesilver Ore x1 |
| Smelt Dark Iron* | - - - 230 | Dark Iron Bar x1 | Dark Iron Ore x8 |
| Smelt Thorium | - - - 250 | Thorium Bar x1 | Thorium Ore x1 |
| Smelt Elementium | - - - - | Elementium Bar x1 | Elementium Ore x1 Arcanite Bar x10 Fiery Core x1 Elemental Flux x3 |
How to Improve Your Mining Even Further
For this part of the Classic WoW Mining Guide, you’ll learn another way to spend the resources you gather from this profession. By doing so, you’ll know what to do when you have enough items in your inventory/bank and have more motivation to dig up more.
Pairing Mining With Other Professions
Other options besides Mining include Blacksmithing, Engineering, or other gathering professions (Herbalism and Skinning). With either Blacksmithing or Engineering, you’ll use the ore and metal bars to complete recipes. You could level both Professions at the same time, which increases your capabilities. If you pick Blacksmithing, you’ll have armor bonuses and have the possibility to make better weapons/armor. Similarly, Engineering allows you to create unique tools that add more gameplay mechanics.
Utilizing the Auction House
Instead of using the minerals on yourself, you could use the Mining/Herbalism (or Skinning) combo to gather items and sell them afterward. It is recommendable to pick a “full” server if you want to obtain gold quickly. You could buy different items or mounts for your character with all the gold you earn.
Picking A Class That Works Best With Mining
Depending on your pair of Professions, some Classes get better advantages than the rest. For instance, you could pick the Mining/Blacksmithing combo with any Warrior and Paladin. When you complete recipes, you can opt to keep the best equipment and use it on your hero. At the same time, you could use the Engineering/Mining combo with a Warrior, Paladin, or even a Hunter. Some tools give you advantages to your “firing” weapons, which enhance the capabilities for long-range classes.
