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OSRS Mining Guide: 1-99 Training - Old School Runescape

OSRS Mining Guide: 1-99 Training - Old School Runescape

Complete guide on Mining and how to efficiently train it from level 1 to 99

OSRS Mining Guide

From Scratch to Level 99

Check out our article on the Best Money making skills in OSRS to find guides on the other most profitable skills in Runescape Old School

Introduction

Mining is a Skill that allows you to use a Pickaxe on various mineral veins to extract Ores and Gems from them. Ores can be then sold on the Grand Exchange for profit or processed into metal Bars that are used for Smithing (and can also be sold, of course). The general ease of use (almost none initial investment needed for mining, all you really "need" is a pickaxe), availability of Ore Veins, and the high demand for mined materials on the Grand Exchange make Mining one of the most profitable Skills in the game.

Leveling up Mining quickly can be very exhausting, as it is highly click-intensive. This means that many Players might opt for slower, but a lot more user-friendly, and/or much more profitable leveling methods. This Guide will go over the fastest, the most efficient, the easiest, and the most profitable, alternative methods of leveling up Mining from 1 to 99. It will also cover the prerequisites, Mining-related Quests, and some optional Gear and Items that can make skilling process smoother.


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Before You Start

There are some preparations to be made before you begin to level up Mining Skill. Some of these preparation steps are mandatory, while others are optional but recommended. These steps take a form of Quests and Items that improve your Skilling efficiency and generally make your Leveling process much more bearable. There are also a few things you should remember when Leveling Mining, we will cover these as well.
Quests

Low-requirement Quests are a great way of getting the first few Mining Levels under your belt. Completing them is generally much faster than Grinding through early Mining Levels traditionally. Quests with higher requirements can be used for getting some additional Mining Experience or as a small leap away from the boring grind. They may be slower, but they are also certainly more engaging than constant ore vein clicking.

  • Doric's Quest (Recommended, Skill Requirements: 15 Mining if you want to get Ores by yourself. Rewards: 1300 Mining Experience). Very easy, and very short Quest that lets you breeze through first few Mining Levels. You can buy all the required materials (6 Clay, 4 Copper Ore, 2 Iron Ore) from the Grand Exchange and complete it instantly.
  • Plague City (Recommended, Skill Requirements: None. Reward: 2425 Mining Experience, Ardougne Teleport Spell that requires 51 Magic to use). Quick and easy Quest that awards a good chunk of Mining Experience and a handy Teleport.
  • The Dig Site (Recommended, Skill Requirements: 25 Thieving, 10 Agility, 10 Herblore. Reward: 15300 Mining Experience, 2000 Herblore Experience, 2 Gold Bars). Quite long, but very rewarding Quest (15300 Mining Experience is huge at low Mining levels). If you meet all the requirements, you should definitely do it. Completing this quest is required for the "Another Slice of H.A.M" Quest.
  • The Giant Dwarf (Recommended, Skill Requirements: 14 Thieving, 16 Firemaking, 33 Magic, 12 Crafting, and optionally 20 Smithing, 20 Mining. 2500 Mining, Crafting, and Smithing Experience, 1500 Firemaking, Thieving, and Magic Experience). While this does not offer a great Mining Experience reward, it is still recommended for doing, as completing it is required for the "Another Slice of H.A.M" Quest.
  • Another Slice of H.A.M (Recommended, Skill Requirements: 25 Prayer, 15 Attack. Reward: 3000 Mining Experience, 3000 Prayer Experience, the ability to buy Goblin Village Teleport Orbs, access to the Dorgesh-Kaan-Keldagrim Train System). A rather short Quest with some worthwhile rewards and low requirements.
  • The Lost Tribe (Recommended, Skill Requirements: 17 Mining, 13 Agility, 13 Thieving. Reward: 3000 Mining Experience, access to the Dorgesh-Kaan Mine). Quite easy and not too long Quest with low requirements, good for gaining some additional early Mining Experience.
  • Between a Rock... (Optional, Skill Requirements: 40 Mining, 50 Smithing, 30 Defense. Reward: 5000 Mining, Smithing, and Defense Experience, a Rune Pickaxe). This is definitely worth doing if you meet requirements, as it gives you the second best Pickaxe in the game (Rune Pickaxe requires 41 Mining to use).
  • Enakhra's Lament (Optional, Skill Requirements: 45 Mining, 39 Magic, 45 Firemaking, 50 Crafting, 43 Prayer. Reward: 7000 Mining, Crafting, Firemaking, and Magic Experience). A medium-length Quest with quite high requirements, but also good Experience rewards.
  • Making Friends with My Arm (Optional, Skill Requirements: 72 Mining, 35 Construction, 68 Agility, 66 Firemaking. Reward: 10000 Mining and Agility Experience, 5000 Firemaking Experience, 2000 Construction Experience, access to the Salt Mines). Another high-requirement, high-reward Quest that is worth doing if you meet requirements and want to gain some additional Mining Experience in an alternative and interesting way.
  • Dragon Slayer II (Optional, Skill Requirements: 68 Mining, 75 Magic, 62 Crafting, 70 Smithing, 60 Agility, 50 Construction, 50 Hitpoints, 60 Thieving. Reward: 18000 Mining Experience, 25000 Smithing Experience, 15000 Agility Experience, 15000 Thieving Experience, access to the Myths' Guild, various other rewards). Very long and very difficult Quest suited for only the most experienced Players, but it awards Mining experience, so we are mentioning it here just in case.
Items and Equipment

If there are any OSRS Skilling rules, this is certainly one of them: If there is an item or a piece of equipment that can make your grind easier, you should use it. Below, we present you a list of items that will make your Mining grind a little easier.

  • Stamina Potions - Energy drinks. These are not really required, but if you plan to take your time and Bank mined Ore instead of just dropping it to clear bag space, you should definitely consider using these for faster traveling.
  • Varrock Armour 4 - Increase your efficiency. This Armor provides you with a 10% chance of mining 2 mineral Ores at once (up to Amethyst), and a 10% chance of smelting 2 metal Bars at once. You get experience for both Ores if this effect procs, so wearing this speeds up the Mining Leveling process by ~10%. Varrock Armour 4 can be obtained from the elite Varrock Diary. For efficiency's sake, this is a must-have, as it increases both Experience and Gold (if you are Banking mined Ore) gains per Hour. It also counts as a Prospector Jacket which means that you can wear it in a combination with Prospector Outfit Parts for a full Prospector Outfit bonus (earlier versions of the Varrock Armour do not count as a Prospector Jacket, sadly).
  • Prospector Kit - Suit up properly. This is a Mining set that boosts Mining Experience gained. It can be purchased from the Prospector Percy's Nugget Shop situated in the Motherlode Mine for Gold Nuggets (180 in total). Full set grants you 2,5% bonus Mining Experience and reduces the need for Waterskins in the desert. If you plan to power level Mining, grinding this will not be time efficient, but you might want to get this if you opt for slower, less exhausting methods.
  • Pickaxe - the right tool for the job. You should always use the best pickaxe currently available to you because higher level pickaxes have a greater chance of obtaining ore from a rock. Remember that you don't have to have Pickaxe equipped to use it for mining. The list of Standard OSRS Pickaxes and their requirements looks as follows:
    • Bronze Pickaxe (Requirements: 1 Mining).
    • Iron Pickaxe (Requirements: 1 Mining).
    • Steel Pickaxe (Requirements: 6 Mining).
    • Black Pickaxe (Requirements: 11 Mining).
    • Mithril Pickaxe (Requirements: 21 Mining).
    • Adamant Pickaxe (Requirements: 31 Mining).
    • Rune Pickaxe (Requirements: 41 Mining).
    • Dragon Pickaxe (Requirements: 61 Mining, if you have 60 Attack, you can use Dragon Pickaxe's special Attack at Level 58 Mining). This is the strongest Pickaxe in the game (tied with the 3rd Age Pickaxe), and getting it should be your ultimate goal.

Note: The Infernal Pickaxe is the best option for Power-Leveling Mining, as it has a 1/3 chance of instantly smelting mined Ore which reduces the number of ores that have to be dropped (auto-smelting also gives Smelting Experience). 85 Smithing and 61 Mining are required for using it.

Things to Remember
  • You can use a Pickaxe from your Inventory, there is no need for equipping it.
  • Memorize Skill requirements of Pickaxes, and always use the best one currently available to you.
  • If you want to maximize your Mining Experience per Hour, you should drop all mined Ores to clear out bag space. This will save you a lot of time otherwise needed for Bank runs at the expense of profits.
  • Quests can be a great alternative for grinding Mining Experience traditionally.
  • Check your Inventory before embarking on a Mining trip as there is nothing more frustrating and time-consuming as having to run back to the Bank because you have forgotten something essential (like a Pickaxe, for example...).

 

The Training

For the most part, leveling up Mining is straightforward and can be done in just three major steps. There are also some alternative, more profitable, but also slower methods - we will cover those as well.

Mining Quests
Skill Levels 1-37 ⇒ The Mining Quest Run
  • This is done by completing all above-mentioned Recommended Quests (Another Slice of H.A.M., The Lost Tribe, The Giant Dwarf, Plague City, The Dig Site, and the Doric's Quest).
  • You will gain a total of 27525 Mining Experience which is enough to advance from Level 1 Mining to Level 37 Mining.
  • This is the recommended way of getting the first 36 Mining levels, as it is a lot less time-consuming than the standard Experience Grind and it allows you to use the Adamant Pickaxe from the start of your grind.

Note:  You can also complete just two of the Quests - The Digsite and the Doric's Quest which is enough to achieve Level 32 Mining and will also allow you to use an Adamant Pickaxe.

Tin Ore + Copper Ore
An alternative approach for Levels 1-15 ⇒ Mining Tin and Copper Ores
  • The best spot for Mining Tin and Copper is located at the Lumbridge Swamp Mining Site, situated south of the Fishing Tutor (it contains 5 Copper Rocks and 5 Tin Rocks).
  • Both Copper and Tin Ores give 17.5 Mining Experience and a total of 138 of them has to be mined to reach level 15 Mining.

Note: The Mining Tutor found at the site will give you a Bronze Pickaxe if you need one.

Iron Ore
Skill Levels 15(37)-75 ⇒  Iron Ore Triangle Mining
  • This is the fastest method below Level 75 Mining if you drop all mined Ores.
  • It is done by Mining in places with three Iron Rocks close to each other (forming a triangle), which allows you to mine them without moving.
  • Varrock Armour boosts this method's effectiveness by a lot.
  • You should be able to reach about 60000 Mining Experience per Hour with this method at higher Skill levels.
  • There are 9 Iron Ore Triangles in the game:
    • Resource Area (Level 51 Wilderness, not advised for obvious reasons)
    • Al Kharid Mine
    • Fossil Island Valley
    • Legends' Guild Mine
    • Mining Guild (Two Triangles here)
    • Lovaakengj Mine
    • Piscatoris Mine
    • Mount Karuulm Mine
Motherlode Mine
An alternative approach for Levels 30-99 ⇒ Mining in the Motherlode Mine
  • Motherlode Mine is available only to Members and is situated in the Dwarven Mine, entrances are located at north-east Falador, the Mining Guild and north-west of the Barbarian Village.
  • Low-effort/decent-profit alternative method. This place is worth considering especially if you want to get the Prospector Kit.
  • You can get Golden Nuggets needed for the Prospector Kit from cleaning Pay-Dirsvia the hopper attached to the water circuit in the Mine.
  • You should be able to get about 27k Mining Experience per Hour at Level 70 Mining in the Motherlode Mine.
Granite
Skill Levels 75-99 ⇒  Mining Granite
  • The best spot for Mining Granite is located in the south-west part of the Quarry (4 Granite Rocks close to each other are situated there).
  • The Quarry itself is situated south of the Kharidian Desert's Bandit Camp, which is in the Desert, so heat protection is necessary (Waterskins+Humidify Spell and the Prospector Kit or, preferably, the Desert Amulet 4).
  • Using the 3-Tick method provides highers Experience per Hour, but is very click-intensive (with some practice it is possible to achieve about 120k Mining Experience per Hour, assuming that you drop all the mined Ore).
  • Without the 3-Tick method usage, you should still be able to gain 55-60k Experience per Hour with this method, assuming that you drop all the mined ore.
  • Varrock Armour (at least 2) and the Infernal Pickaxe are highly recommended for power leveling in the Quarry, as they will noticeably boost your Experience gains per hour.
Blast Mine
An alternative approach for Levels 75-99 ⇒ the Blast Mine
  • Very explosive, alternative, fun approach to leveling up the Mining Skill.
  • This method requires 100% Lovakengj Favour and is a good way of obtaining Runite Ore below Level 85 Mining which makes it very profitable.
  • The Blast Mine Minigame allows you to obtain ore 10 levels below their normal requirements (chance of getting high-level ores depends on your current Mining Skill level).
  • Specific inventory setup is required for this method, noted and unnoted Dynamites are necessary, a tinderbox and a chisel are also essential. Graceful Set and Stamina Potions help to improve overall blasting efficiency.
  • Dynamite is made from the Juniper Charcoal, Volcanic Sulphur, Saltpetre, and a Pot with a Ball of Wool added as a fuse.
  • At level 75 Mining you should be able to gain around 50k mining Experience per Hour in the Blast Mine.
Runite Ore
An alternative approach for Levels 85-99 ⇒ Mining Runite Ore
  • The slowest, but also the most profitable way of reaching Level 99 Mining.
  • This method is suited for Players who can't wait to make a lot of Gold out of their Mining Skill and want to start Gold making early.
  • Skilling Mining from 85 to 99 with just Runite Mining will net you around 850kk Gold.
  • Multiple spawns (at least 2) of Runite Rocks are located at:
    • The Frozen Waste Plateau, west of the Mage Arena Bank (3 Rocks), Level 53 Wilderness, not recommended.
    • The Lava Maze Runite Mine, north-west of the Lava Maze (2 Rocks), level 46 Wilderness, not recommended.
    • Heroes' Guild Mine (2 Rocks), this is a recommended spot for farming Runite, but it might be taken due to its popularity.
    • The Fossil Island Mine, east of the Campsite Bank Chest (2 Rocks)
    • Myths' Guild Mine, myths' guild basement, western side of Corsair Cove Dungeon (2 Rocks)


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END NOTE

This Guide has covered the basics of Leveling up Mining Skill and should allow you to Grind Mining experience efficiently. Please remember that all steps featured above are just raw guidelines, and you are free to develop your Skills however you want, but nevertheless, we hope that you will find this Guide at least somewhat helpful.

Please do note that this is an early version of our guide, and we will be happy to receive constructive criticism, that will help us improve it, so leave your suggestions in the comment section below. We also plan to add further, less known Skilling methods to the list in the foreseeable future.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Jagex