Free-to-play Mining training

See also: Pay-to-play Mining training

Mining is a fairly tedious skill to train, giving slow experience and having competition over rocks from other players. However, it can be a very rewarding skill in terms of money.

It is highly recommended that players teleport whenever possible - this lowers the amount of running time (especially with heavy loads, which results in more run energy being used).

Equipment

Pickaxes are the main tool required in mining. It is recommended to get the best pickaxe available for your level as it is worth it in the long run. Having the respective attack level saves one inventory space as the pickaxe can then be wielded.

Pickaxe	Mining level	Non-Grand Exchange price	Grand Exchange price
Bronze pickaxe	1	Free at Nurmof and Bob
Iron pickaxe	1	140 coins at Nurmof
Steel pickaxe	6	500 coins at Nurmof
Mithril pickaxe	21	1300 coins at Nurmof
Adamant pickaxe	31	3200 coins at Nurmof
Rune pickaxe	41	32,000 coins at Nurmof

Players have the option to purchase a coal bag from the Rewards Trader for storage of extra coals. It takes 1 inventory space and holds 27 coal. Filling the bag during mining earns 1350 experience per bank trip. It requires 35 mining and 35 Dungeoneering (costs 4000 tokens) to be bought and used.

Mining urns are also recommended to carry along for experience boost they give.

Methods

Quests

Antique lamps can be obtained through numerous other quests and tasks, which can then be used to give experience to your mining skill.

Level 1 to 15

Tin and Copper are the main ores mined at this level. They give decent experience (17.5 experience per ore) and profit and can be smithed. Even though the mining experience is fairly low many players often continue to mine copper or tin due to the speed of mining. Many players continue to mine Tin and Copper into much higher levels due to this and the lack of competition / overcrowding.

Clay gives 5 experience per ore. Clay is a good money-maker for new players but is considerably slower experience. You can also train on rune essence (5 experience each) if you have completed Rune Mysteries.

If you are a low level, it is recommended to stick with tin and copper until level 30, mining it from the south-east Lumbridge Swamp mining site; smithing all the ore in the north Lumbridge building containing both a furnace and anvil.

Tin and Copper Locations

• South-east Lumbridge Swamp mining site where the Mining Tutor was previously located.
• South-east Varrock mining site, which is near a bank.
• Dwarven Mines
• Gunnarsgrunn mining site (only tin rocks)
• South-west Varrock mining site (only tin rocks)

Clay Locations

• South-west Varrock mining site
• Dwarven Mines
• Rimmington mine south of Falador
• South Gunnarsgrunn mining site

Level 15 to 30 (or 99)

Iron is a fast method of mining which yields a very good profit depending on the competition and mining and gives good experience (35 per ore). This is a very good method of power mining from Level 41. With the aid of a rune pickaxe, you are able to mine iron ores very quickly, taking less than 1 second each. Power mining with urns grants about 45000 XP per hour; the fastest mining experience in the free game. At high levels of mining, mining iron is a fast way to make money, resulting in a profit of around 75,000 coins per hour.

Iron gives better XP per hour than both gold and coal. This is due to there being larger amounts of the rocks, and them having shorter respawn time. Unfortunately this is well-known and the rocks are generally very crowded with high-level miners.

Good locations for this are:

• Dwarven Mine near the entrance to the resource dungeon. This is arguably the best spot as you can easily bank your ore via the resource dungeon's deposit box (requires 15 Dungeoneering) which is somewhat quicker than dropping, unless you use Mouse keys.
• South-east Varrock mining site (consider Teleporting back to Varrock to reduce running time). Disadvantage of the Varrock Mining Sites is the possibility of overcrowding.
• Al-Kharid Mine
• Rimmington mine south of Falador. Consider teleporting to the nearest bank - Edgeville (F2P), Lunar Isle (P2P, with Lunar Diplomacy), or Burthorpe (P2P, without Lunar Diplomacy) - then using Explorer's Ring 3/4 to teleport; if you are in a clan, also consider using Ring of Kinship to bank in Daemonheim, then use clan vexillum to teleport to Clan Camp, and then run south.
• South-west Varrock mining site (3 rocks)
• Hill Giant spot in Varrock, Enter the house, down the ladder. Go north till you reach hobgoblins and go west, you will find a mine, with 0-1 person inside. Contains 3 Iron rocks.

Mining Guild

The Mining Guild requires a Level 60 Mining to enter or level of 59 by first drinking a dwarven stout. After ClusterFlutterer the guild is no longer as crowded as it used to be, making it a better place to train.

The Mining Guild contains the following rocks:

• 37 Coal rocks
• 5 Mithril rocks

The Resource Dungeon contains:

• 3 Runite rocks
• 4 Adamantite rocks
• 7 Mithril rocks

Varying your routine

A good way to stray from routine is to multi-task while Mining: high alchemy while mining in the Dwarven Mine (three rocks). The idea is to mine the first iron rock, click on the second iron rock and while your character is turning (or running for the third rock which is far than the two adjacent rocks), click high alchemy on the item you wish to convert, and keep on repeating those three steps. A full load of iron ore plus high alchemy in between takes about two minutes. Once your inventory is full, deposit your iron ore in a deposit box or bank, and repeat. This way you can get Magic and Mining experience at the same time.

It's roughly:

35*26 = 910 xp / 2 min (Mining)

65*18 = 1170 xp / 2 min (Magic)

Level 20 to 30

Silver ore can be mined at level 20, however, it is not recommended past level 30 mining where coal can be mined. Silver ore brings in 92 coins per ore. This is a good way to gain money for lower level players.The Mining experience earned is 40 per ore.

Locations:

• South-West Varrock Mine (three rocks). The trip back to Varrock Bank can be shortened by using Varrock Teleport.
• Al Kharid Mines, although there are Level 14 Scorpions that attack you until they become tolerant. Also a considerable round trip to Al Kharid bank and back again. Teleport was not an option for F2P until the change to the Home Teleport Spell.
• Dwarven Mine Resource Dungeon, has three rocks and a bank deposit box.

Level 40 to 70

Gold ore can be mined at level 40 mining. Gold ore gives 65 experience each, and takes a maximum of two minutes to respawn. This used to be a valuable ore which many players mined for profit. Gold ore is currently worth less than coal, being 228 coins each.

Mining gold is an inefficient method of gaining XP. The largest amount of gold rocks in one place is at the Crafting Guild, which has seven. If one were lucky enough to get ore from all seven rocks in a row, they would only receive approximately 228 XP every minute. Mining iron at the Dwarven Mine would grant a similar amount of XP for repeatedly mining only one of the nine rocks there. For level 41; it is highly recommended that you get a Rune pickaxe and start to mine iron ore again.

For those wanting to create jewellery, a good location for this ore is in the Crafting Guild (40 Crafting and a brown apron required) which includes 7 gold ores. Another good location for this is the Karamja-Crandor volcano, as many players here are training on the lesser demons. Beware though, if you are under level 45 combat, the skeletons here are aggressive to you.

If you are a part of a clan, you can get a clan vexillum and a ring of kinship; wield the vexillum and ring of kinship (you will need a pickaxe, brown apron and level 40 crafting). Teleport to the clan camp and run west until you reach the Crafting Guild. Mine the gold rocks until your inventory is full, and teleport to Daemonheim to bank your goods at the Fremmenik banker. The downside to this method is that you only carry 27 gold each run, but on the other hand, it is much faster than banking at Falador.

Level 55 to 70

Mithril ore can be mined at level 55. This ore gives 80 experience and is a middle-level money maker, but is not recommended past level 70.

A good location for this ore is the Mining Guild (60 mining required). For players who are more daring, the Bandit Camp mining site in the Wilderness can be a good location. With 22 mithril rocks in place, players can easily get a full inventory without having to wait for the rocks to respawn, although there are no banks near here and other players can attack you here.

For a fast speed in levelling mining, Crandor is a good place to mine Mithril rocks and has 7 rocks. Be careful of monsters that can attack without warning if you are too close. Unfortunately, there are no close banks or deposit boxes to deposit all of your ores, which makes this a poor location for making money. If you are willing to make money this way, use an Explorer's ring 3/4 once you have a full inventory and then deposit the ores into your bank. Then running back is needed to return to Crandor. The only other alternative is to run to and from Crandor and the East Falador Bank.

With level 15 Dungeoneering you can enter the resource dungeon in the dwarven mine, contains 6 mithril rocks, 3 silver and 11 coal with a bank deposit.Outside the dungeon entrance are 3 iron rocks. While you wait for the Mithril inside and outside the dungeon to respawn, you can mine the iron, and bank it inside the dungeon, which can be very profitable and be incredibly fast xp.

Once you reach level 45 Dungeoneering you can enter the Mining Guild resource dungeon, which contains 8 mithril rocks, 4 adamantite rocks, and 3 runite rocks.

Level 60 to 99

Coal can be mined at level 30. However, it is faster to mine it at a Mining level of 60, because this level allows access to the Mining Guild. This ore is crucial to smithing and therefore it is a very good method if you bank ores as you can make good money from this. Coal gives 50 experience per ore. Teleport spells that are near banks make the process of banking faster. You can also get a coal bag, which is a reward from dungeoneering, to carry more coal per inventory and to bank less often. The coal bag can be acquired with 4000 Dungeoneering tokens if you have 35 mining.

Good locations for this ore are:

• Dwarven Mine, with 15 Dungeoneering, you can access the bank deposit in the resource dungeon for quicker banking.
• Gunnarsgrunn, close to the banks in Varrock and Edgeville.
• West Lumbridge Swamp Mining Site - Faster if combined with Lumbridge Teleports.
• Edgeville Dungeon, generally only for power levelers. It has many coal ores, and generally empty of players. However, beware of skeletons and the occasional hobgoblin.
• Southern wilderness mining site, for those with higher combat level, getting ore is almost guaranteed because the mine is not usually crowded. There is a danger from being attacked by other players, but it's relatively low. It is recommended that players do not take valuables, due to the risk of death from another player.

Level 70 to 99

Adamantite ore can be mined at level 70. This is a good money making method of mining, because each ore can sell for coins.

Good locations for this ore are in the Dwarven Mine, the Lumbridge south west mine, the Bandit camp mining site, or on Crandor and in the Dwarven Mine resource dungeon located in the Mining Guild.

Level 85 to 99

Runite ore can be mined at level 85. These are valuable, since ores sell for coins, but is very slow to respawn, and takes considerable time to mine, making it poor experience, but potentially great profit. With the return of player-versus-player combat in the wilderness, caution is advised when mining in this location.

An alternative that requires level 45 Dungeoneering is located in the Mining Guild. This resource dungeon gives you 4,400 Dungeoneering experience when you first enter and contains 3 runite ore as well as 8 mithril and 4 adamantite ore. The very low degree of risk in this area can make it very tedious to find runite ores.

Superheating

Superheating is a magic spell that allows you to smelt a bar without the need for a furnace, and can be used to prolong the duration of your mining trip.

The following stats are required:

• Level 55+ Mining (70 for adamant, 85 for rune)
• Level 43 Magic
• Level 50+ Smithing (70 for adamant, 85 for rune)

The following items are required:

• Staff of fire (equipped)
• Pickaxe
• Nature runes (amount varies)
• If your Smithing is level 55 to 69, you will need 22 Mithril ore (4 free inventory spaces)
• If your Smithing is level 70 to 84, you will need 20 Adamantite ore (6 free inventory spaces)
• If your Smithing is level 85+, you will need 18 Runite ore (8 free inventory spaces)

• Note: If you are willing to take gems as random award; additional free spaces can be allocated.

Steps:

1. Bring the ores you wish to smelt and the other required materials to any location with coal ore, such as the Mining Guild.
2. Mine coal until you fill your inventory.
3. Cast "Superheat Item" on whichever primary ore you brought.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you run out of primary ore.

If you have Mithril ore, you can mine up to 92 coal without banking. If you have Adamantite ore, you can mine up to 126 coal without banking. If you have Runite ore, you can mine up to 152 coal without banking.

You can repeat this process as many times as desired.

Dwarven Mine Resource Dungeon

File:Entrance to Dwarven Mine RD.jpg

Entrance to Hidden Resource Dungeon in the Dwarven Mine

File:BDB in DM RD.jpg

Bank Deposit Box in the Hidden Resource Dungeon

Mining at the Dwarven Mine Resource Dungeon requires at least 15 Dungeoneering.

At the Dwarven Mine there is a very efficient way to obtain ores and experience with the update on 10 July 2010 adding hidden resource dungeons. However the speed and overall effectiveness of this method is severely decreased by the fact that the resource dungeons are generally very crowded. The quickest way to this location is via teleport to Falador then into the Dwarven Mines. Directly in front of the stairs is a resource dungeon (though 15 dungeoneering is required to enter it) with a Bank Deposit inside. Here, players just mine away at ores and bank ores directly inside the mine.

If players intend to mine ores in a crowded world, coal can be obtained easier by moving to coal spawns a few seconds before they respawn in a circle. Mine a coal ore in one area and when it runs out, run to another zone that's about to have multiple coal rocks respawn. That way players get a few extra seconds to get the ore while other miners will be running. However, after the nuking of bots in November 2011, this area is generally deemed empty.

Dwarven Mine Resource Dungeon, Superheat and Urns

You can combine these methods to remain in the Mining Guild for extended periods and gaining additional experience through the use of Mining and Smelting urns. Typical inventory load is Fire staff, nature runes, 1 smelting urn, 4-5 mining urns, gem bag, coal bag and 10 mithril ores (optional). Drop into the Resource dungeon to see if runite or adamantite (also check main mining area) ores are available otherwise mine coal and fill up your coal bag. Drop any uncut gems into your gem bag. As you mine coal the mining jars get full and releases additional inventory slots when you teleport them. As you superheat mithril ores the smelting jar get full and releases an additional slot when teleported this may take two rounds so you may occasionally need to bring two smelting jars. Members will need to adjust the number of jars as they will gain additional experience for the higher level urns they can obtain which give experience for mining and smelting the higher ores.