Pay-to-play Mining training
- See also: Free-to-play Mining training
This article provides methods and tips on training the Mining skill for members.
Mining for Experience
Mining for experience involves dropping all the ores you mine so you don't have to bank them. This is sometimes called "powermining" or "dropmining".
A Sacred clay pickaxe can be used for double exp for a short while. It's obtained as a Stealing Creation reward. As a sacred clay pick can only be used for 15K mining experience before breaking, it is not a highly used method of boosting mining xp gain, as sacred clay tools last much longer when used for other skills, such as smithing.
Levels 1-15
For these first few levels, simply mine and drop copper or tin. You can also complete What's Mine is Yours for a nice mining boost, but this requires level 5 smithing.
Levels 15-65
Mining iron is the fastest mining experience up until approximately level 65, ranging from between 35k to 38k per hour for most. Using a Rune Pickaxe at Level 56 Mining, you should get around 30k experience mining at the Piscatoris mining site.
There are three locations in RuneScape that have three iron rocks arranged so that they can be mined only by turning. These are the Legends' Guild mining site, North-East Ardougne, and the Piscatoris mining site.
One of the best ways of training with iron or coal is to use the wicked hood in conjunction with any ardougne cloak to teleport to the monastery south of Ardougne, run north to the iron rocks to the sides of the path (there are also coal rocks in the way, so this method also works if training on coal or just to gather it), fill your inventory and then use the hood to teleport to the Wizards' tower, bank in the chest there (it works like a deposit box), teleport back to the monastery using the cloak and repeat.
Another good area is the Dorgeshuun mine after the Lost Tribe quest. You can mine iron ore then sell it to Mistag for 13 coins per ore. This is especially quick because selling the ores is a 3 box dialogue. Remember to bring a Lightsource and tinderbox. Or you can bank if you complete the first part of Recipe for Disaster by just following Mistag, squeeze through the wall, bank, go back, follow Mistag and repeat, although that is considerably slower.
With the Dungeoneering update, you can mine the 3 iron rocks in the Dwarven Mines (Near the Mining Guild) and then with 15 Dungeoneering, you can go in the resource dungeon and use the bank deposit box there (this is highly recommended as the banking takes as little as 10 seconds). However it should be noted that this area is extremely over used, and it is difficult to find an empty world. A good place to powermine is the Grand Tree Mine which is extremely rarely used. However, It requires the completion of the Grand Tree quest.
Any player who has completed at least the easy Ardougne Tasks can use the teleport option on their Ardougne Cape to teleport to the Kandarin Monastery and run a few squares to the north where there are six iron rocks, and then bank using either an Amulet of Glory, a Ring of Kinship , a Ring of Duelling (Castle Wars) or the TokKul-Zo(Recommended for very quick banking).
Alternative, 40-65+
At level 40 you can mine gold. Gold is considered one of the more favourable options for mid level players. To maximise efficiency it is suggested to mine it in Dondakan's mine while wearing the Ring of charos (a).
Optional for level 40-65
Mining coal at the mining spot North West of Seer's Village/Hemenster, using the truck to bank the coal. However, there are aggressive bats in this area if the player is under level 54 combat.
Note: You need 20 agility to walk across the log balance, otherwise you'll have to walk around the Fishing Guild.
Mining the coal rocks in the Dwarven mine resource dungeon is also a very good place to mine coal. There are 13 coal rocks and are very close to a deposit box.
Note: This requires 15 Dungeoneering
Levels 65-80
Power mining Granite at the Granite Quarry results in fast experience per hour ranging up to 60k per hour with mouse keys, and to as low as 40k per hour dropping Granite. It is advised to wear an Enchanted water tiara, but for skillers it is advised to use Waterskins and banking as you will be hurt by the Desert heat. Desert robes or slave robes are recommended to reduce the need for water in the Desert. One may consider using humidify to refill waterskins as it provides a way to stay without banking for extensive amounts of time.
Using the Enhanced Excalibur can also be helpful because it heals more damage than you will take.
Alternative, 70+
Mining in the Lava Flow Mine provides good experience without any need to bank or drop anything you mine (except gems, strange rocks and anagogic orts). The Golden mining suit that you may find while mining will boost your experience gain further, both when mining inside and outside the Lava Flow Mine. Urns do not work in there, however the Varrock Armour, Sacred clay pickaxe, Clan ring and Penance horn do.
It should be noted however, that this method requires the completion of King of the Dwarves to use and thusly has additional requirements of 70 smithing and 77 strength to use.
Levels 80-99
Mining Concentrated gold rocks is commonly believed to be the fastest Mining experience at high Mining levels. In addition, there is no competition over rocks from other players.The 4 Concentrated gold rocks are located in the Living Rock Caverns. Here one does not have to switch from rock to rock often, as one almost always gains multiple ores from the rock, making it a lot less click intensive than previously, and removing the need for moving between rocks for xp. It is highly advantageous to wear Varrock armour2 or 3, as this will vastly increase the rate at which you gain multiple ores. Speeds vary from about 35-38k xp an hour at level 80 mining without the use of a familiar (using a rune pick or inferno adze), 40k xp an hour at level 80 mining without the use of a familiar (using the dragon pickaxe), up to approximately 60k-65k xp an hour using a lava titan to boost xp, and a dragon pickaxe at high levels. With the use of mining urns and juju mining potions, experience rates can be increased to over 70k-75k xp an hour.
Method 1: Banking each ore
This method, while somewhat slower xp than the ones that follow, is the most profitable way to mine concentrated gold. Because of the deposit box located at the entrance to the cavern, it's not much longer to bank ores than to drop them. Using the best beast of burden available means running to the deposit box less often, and increases xp rates. It also requires much less attention than the other gold mining methods.
Method 2: Low Alchemy
The low alchemy spell can be cast without interrupting mining concentrated ore. Therefore, one can cast low alchemy on the ores as they arrive in your inventory, so you never need to drop ore or bank. When using this method, mining urns are strongly recommended: it's best to bring a large number of them, since you don't need to use your inventory spaces to keep ore. One possible inventory would be fire or lava staff equipped, pickaxe, nature runes, and 18 mining urns in inventory, with lava titan summoned. This method results in a slight loss of gp, however, because of the use of urns and the saved time, it's the fastest mining xp in the game. When using Master penance horn, Juju mining potions, lava titan, and low alching, you can easily get over 120k exp/hour.
Method 3: Superheating
For those who want both mining and smithing xp, this is the best method (and it's even better if mage xp is also desired). Similar to low alch, superheating does not interrupt mining. Wear goldsmithing gauntlets, as they do give bonus experience. Superheat the gold ore as it arrives in your inventory. The set-up is the same as for low-alching, but when your 8 or so inventory spots fill up with gold bars, you drop them all, and continue mining. It's possible to bank the gold bars, but then one cannot use urns, and so gets significantly less mining xp.
Experience Rates and Tips for Maximizing Speed
| The easiest and most commonly used methods for powermining are to let your inventory fill up completely, then drop all the rocks, or to drop rocks after each round.----
The fastest method actually involves dropping rocks while walking or turning. This can be done by clicking the next rock immediately after mining the previous one, then dropping 1-3 rocks very quickly, then re-clicking the next rock. In places such as below the Piscatoris Fishing Colony where there are 3 Iron rocks placed in a triangular fashion with a space in the middle for a character to stand in, it is possible to mine a rock, then mine another rock, then drop the first ore immediately after mining that rock, then mine the next rock and drop another ore and so on. This method is actually faster than dropping 3 ores after three rocks because your inventory can always be empty while also waiting for iron to spawn. This method requires some bit of focus however. It has been shown that people can get 60k+ exp an hour fully focused on utilising this method. However, many people who take short breaks get around 53-55k hour taking a minute break every now and then, without extreme focus. In cases where you turn to mine the next rock, there are 3 game ticks (about 1.8 seconds) between the two ores appearing in your inventory, unless you fail to mine the second rock. In cases where you walk one square or run two squares to mine the next rock, there are 5 game ticks (about 3.0 seconds) between the two ores appearing in your inventory, unless you fail to mine the second rock. The fastest possible round time for mining three iron rocks in the crescent or triangle formation is 11 game ticks (about 6.7 seconds). It is not 9 ticks, or 3 per rock, because the rocks do not spawn fast enough to permit continuous mining, even on a full world. Note that this fastest round time can be achieved while dropping all 3 (or more) ores every round, using the drop method described above. The maximum experience per hour for powermining iron, one-hitting it every time (over about level 60 mining), getting 6.7 seconds per round, and getting 10% more ores because of Varrock Armour, is thus (3600 / 6.7)(35 * 1.1 * 3) 62k experience per hour. In practice, people obtain 55k to 60k experience per hour, or even less if they are not able to do the fast drop method correctly. Commonly, people who do not know how to use the fast drop method, or are not able to, gain 40k to 50k experience per hour with iron. The fast drop method can also be used for granite and sandstone too. The fastest possible round time for mining a row of 3 granite is 15 game ticks, or about 9.1 seconds. The fastest possible round time for mining 2 granite and 2 sandstone is 16 game ticks, or about 9.7 seconds. However, it is possible to fail to mine either type of rock even at 99 mining, so it is impossible to perform every single round at this minimum time. Mining three granite in a row maxes at about 70k experience per hour at 99 mining plus lava titan, mining urns and using the fastest drop method and Varrock armour. Commonly people only get about 60k experience per hour because of errors or not using the fast drop method. People with lower mining levels may only get 45k. Mining two granite and two sandstone maxes at about 85k-90k experience per hour at 99 mining plus lava titan, mining urns and using the fastest drop method and Varrock armour. Commonly people only get about 70k experience per hour because of errors or not using the fast drop method. People with lower mining levels may only get 50k. |
Mining for Money
Mining is not commonly used as a money-making skill on P2P. This is because there are not many money-making methods involving Mining in Members that are not also available in Free-to-play, while Members opens up many money-making methods in other skills.
Levels 1-15
For these first few levels, simply mine copper or tin, available in many mines, such as the one south-east of Varrock. It does not really matter if the ores are dropped or kept.
Levels 15-40
Mining iron ore is actually not much worse money than mining coal or mithril, and is much faster xp, so is recommended to at least level 60, or even 85. The absolute fastest place to mine and bank iron is to mine it at the Piscatoris mine and bank it using Spirit kyatts and Rings of duelling or Amulets of glory. Once you start to 1-hit almost all the iron, you can mine and bank well over 1k iron per hour using this method, making about 200k coins profit per hour.
For those who do not have the 57 summoning required for the Spirit Kyatt, alternative places to mine iron are the Al Kharid Mine, the Yanille mine, the Ardougne eastern mine, or the East Varrock Mine.
You could also use the mine carts to go from the Grand Exchange to Keldagrim and then back to Ice Mountain (Dwarf Mines) and mine a inventory of iron, then go back to Keldagrim and to the Grand Exchange or on the right world the Blast Furnace.
For people who have 15 Dungeoneering, You can mine the three rocks right next to the Dwarven Mine resource dungeon, and deposit them every time you fill your inventory.
Levels 40-77/80/85
Switching from mining iron to mining gold may be a good alternative. The fastest way to mine gold is to locate your Player-owned house in Brimhaven or with the completion of the quest Love Story and 77 Magic to chip a Brimhaven tablet and mine gold at the Brimhaven north-western mine, banking using Teleport to House or Rings of duelling or Amulets of glory or Ring of kinship. Even better is a TokKul-Zo. Alternatively, you can complete the Between a Rock... quest and mine in the Arzinian Mine. There are 146 gold rocks and a nearby ferryman who will take your gold ores to the bank, but this is a slightly slower place to mine gold than the Brimhaven north-western mine, although the Arzinian Mine does not require any Construction level. After the quest Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf was added, a new route between the bank and the gold mine has been added. If you use the building where you kill the dwarf cannoner early on in the quest you can bypass using the boatman and get to the bank fairly quickly. Also, if a player has 40 Crafting and has completed Enlightened Journey, they may use the Crafting Guild mine, using rings of duelling to bank at Castlewars, while using a skills necklace teleport or the balloon to travel to the crafting guild and back. Also after Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf, there is a new mine unlocked which has 8 gold rocks. You can bank your ores in the Keldagrim bank to the south. If you play in a busy world such as world 2 then this is almost as fast as the Brimhaven north-western mine... Also, running to the crafting guild, using the shortcut near the bank, and once you have a full inventory, you use a falador teleport back to the bank.
If you are a part of a clan, get a Clan vexillum and a Ring of kinship. Wield the vexillum and Ring of kinship (you will need a pickaxe, brown apron and 40 crafting). Teleport to the Clan Camp and run west until you reach the Crafting Guild and mine the gold rocks. When your inventory is full, teleport to Daemonheim and bank your inventory at the Fremennik banker, then use your Clan vexillum and repeat. The downside to this method is that you only get 27 gold each run, but this is not a big problem, as it is faster than banking at Falador.
Levels 77/80-99
The Living Rock Caverns, located under the Dwarven Mines of Asgarnia, offer a new rock type: mineral deposits. These deposits do not run out of ore in the usual sense, but rather collapse at random times. One can continually mine from the deposits until a full inventory or collapse. The deposits may also produce an extra ore while mining. Be aware that the caverns are guarded by Living rock protector (level 120, melee) and Living rock striker (level 140, range). Both will only attack you if you stand directly in front of them or at their sides. Living rock patriarch (level 200, melee) spawn randomly and should not be a problem. The caverns contain coal and gold deposits, requiring level 77 and level 80 to mine them, respectively. A notable feature is that there is a pulley lift in the centre of the cave acting as a bank deposit box, and a summoning obelisk up the rope. This allows players to spend hours at a time training without a need to leave the cavern. Miners can deposit all of one ore by using it on the pulley lift, and either clicking all in the chat box, or clicking the '4' on their keyboard, which is especially useful while using a coal bag.
World 84 is typically used for training with this method, however another world may be preferred by those experiencing lag from the large number of players in world 84. These specialised worlds consist of larger clusters of players mining the same rock in order to gain further protection from the dangerous living rock creatures and to increase productivity in the mines. When rocks collapse - players simply move in large groups to the next rock, resulting in faster XP rates. This is nicknamed "Migration" due to the massive groups of people all moving at once. The normal XP per hour here is ~35-60k.
Levels 85-99
Mining runite is the fastest possible way to make money with mining. The best location to mine it is the Wilderness Runite mine. The Heroes' Guild Mine is another option, safer but more crowded. With level 45 Dungeoneering, the Mining Guild Hidden Mine is a safe alternative to both, with 3 runite rocks. The first two locations have 2 runite rocks. Mining runite can make 300k to 600k coins per hour. Speed can be improved by keeping track of the runite spawn times and logging into a world just as the ores spawn, so you can eliminate competition when mining for long periods of time. If you were to mine runite from 85-99, you would have to mine 78,207 runite ores, in turn making immense profits of Expression error: Unexpected < operator. coins.
After Fremennik Isles, another Runite rock is open, which is rarely used, is safe and isn't far from a bank (as well as a furnace.)
As of the release of the Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf quest, there are two additional safe rune rocks to be had in the North Keldagrim mining area, less than a 10 second run from the Keldagrim bank.
With the release of Resource Dungeons, The Dwarven Mine resource dungeon has become arguably the best place to mine Runite, due to the place containing 3 rocks.
The less crowded single rune rocks may be faster money at peak times of play, as many of these stand unmined for long periods of time, and are thus located a hop away. Some players use low level scouts without the mining level to mine rune to see if ore is spawned or not while they wait for the count-down timer for their mining accounts to log in. This is especially a used tactic for mining the wilderness runite mine on f2p worlds.
Mining Additions
Varrock Armour
The members-only Varrock armour is extremely useful for training mining. It gives the player a 8% chance of mining two ores instead of one, taking the same amount of time as it would have taken to mine just one ore, and giving full experience for both ores. The level (1, 2, 3, or 4) of Varrock Armour does not affect the probability of mining double ores; however, it does affect what ores the double ore effect applies to. Players receive experience for both ores mined by this effect. The bonus of the Penance Master Horn does not stack with this bonus. This means you get double experience for only one rock and it does not count towards completion of an urn.
Golden mining suit
The members-only Golden mining suit gives a mining boost, up to 5% with a full set. This can be combined with the Varrock armour to increase total xp/hour furthermore.
Penance horn
The Penance horn or Penance Master Horn can be used for double experience when mining. It is held in the offhand slot and can be wielded with a pickaxe. Although it must be recharged, depending on your levels in Barbarian Assault it may be worth the time.
Lava Titan
The Lava Titan requires 83 summoning, lasts about 1 hour, costs Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "[". coins per pouch, and gives an invisible boost of +10 mining while it is summoned. It is very useful to have summoned when mining and is most commonly used at the Living Rock Caverns unofficial worlds by players mining Concentrated Gold or Coal.
Mining Urns
Having a mining urn in your inventory will significantly increase your experience rates per hour. You should always have at least one in your inventory when mining a rock. Bonus is equal to 20% of the base exp gained.
Shooting Stars
Shooting stars may not give much mining experience for the time it takes to find them and have a slow xp rate per minute, but have the advantage of sometimes lasting up to two hours without having to go and bank. Shooting Stars can become an excellent source of experience when you have a star hunting clan which will find stars for you.
Superheating
A more efficient method of moneymaking while mining coal as an easily amassed resource and stable selling prices is by superheating. This can be done with iron, mithril, adamant, or rune ores.
First, buy either 22 mithril, 20 adamant, or 18 rune ores; preferably mithril as it is cheaper and allows for more coal to be mined between banking intervals. Optionally, ores respawning at the coal site can be mined. Then, buy the same number of nature runes as ores. Afterwards, head to a mining site with coal rocks with a pickaxe and fire staff. The Grand Tree mine is ideal because it permits non-interfered abundant coal mining for long periods of time. Alternatively, more popular locations for ignored or considered reasons of banking times, locale, quest and level requirements, or scenery for convenience are Dwarven Mines, East Ardougne, Legends' Guild, and Living Rock Caverns. Mine the available rocks until the inventory is full; after that, cast superheat on the ore. Depending on Grand Exchange price fluctuations, a profit or loss may be made for the superheated metal, as well as 53 magic xp and smithing xp of the metal. To note, although few game ticks will be lost in the process of the superheating animation, superheating the ores and coal benefits the player in which it minimizes inventory take-up and accumulates faster gp per hour than simply banking raw material. A Coal bag obtained from Dungeoneering can be used to hold 27 more coal. When smelting or superheating, coal in the bag will be used before the coal in the inventory.
Current prices
- Exchange:copper oreExchange:tin oreExchange:iron oreExchange:coalExchange:silver oreExchange:gold oreExchange:mithril oreExchange:adamantite oreExchange:runite ore
Icon Item Price ItemId Last updated
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