How to find iron and copper ore veins in Minecraft

Iron and copper ore veins in Minecraft are special terrain features that yield large amounts of both useful earth metals. They were added to the 1.18 Caves and Cliffs Update part 2 in which most of the game's world generation was drastically altered. Players can obtain loads of iron and copper from these veins, though they are rare in the game's world.

Interestingly, ore veins have large branches filled with ore blocks. Both copper and iron veins generate below the Overworld's surface at different Y levels. Fortunately, there are other blocks that generate around the ore blocks that help players spot veins more easily.

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An in-depth look on ore veins and how to find them in Minecraft

Changes that led to ore veins generation

The Overworld realm went through some major changes in the 1.18 Caves and Cliffs update part 2. Mojang announced that the realm's bedrock layer at Y level zero would now be shifting 64 levels down, creating a lot of space for new caves and structures to generate. Along with this, ore generation has also changed, with diamonds shifting down to Y level -58 and emeralds becoming more common in the mountains.

With all of these changes, Mojang also introduced ore veins that will be generating in the realm. Since iron is one of the most used resources in the game, Mojang helped players by creating an ore vein for them to find. Additionally, players can also gather loads of copper through copper veins as well.

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How to find these veins

Exact Y levels for both the ore veins (Image via Minecraft Wiki)

First, players must understand that these veins are rare and will only generate in new chunks that were discovered after the release of the 1.18 update. Any chunks that are older than this will not generate these ore veins. There is no particularly easy way to find these ore veins other than exploring caves, although players can look for a few indicators.

Copper ore veins can generate anywhere between Y level 48 and 0. Therefore, players don’t need to go too deep to find them. Any underground cave or structure will be overridden by these terrain generations. Once players are between these Y levels, the best way to find them is by looking for loads of granite block generation. Copper ore veins will mainly contain the ore block itself surrounded by granite blocks.

Copper ore vein surrounded by granite (Image via Minecraft Wiki)

On the other hand, iron ore veins can generate anywhere between Y level -8 and -58. They can only be found in the deepslate area of the Overworld and can also go all the way down to Bedrock. Once players are between the above mentioned Y levels, the best way to spot these ore veins is by looking for tuff block generation since the iron ore vein will be surrounded by them.

If players are using X-ray mods in the game, they will easily spot the ore vein underground since all the other blocks will be invisible around them.