This is probably close to my final design for expandable, efficient mining. Technically a spiral is more efficient, but is harder to return to the central hub, more difficult to do correctly, and quite frankly, not as cool. :smile.gif: The benefits of this system are:
[*:1f1wlp94]Fully Expandable. With traditional branch mining, if you want initially make every branch 20 blocks deep, but later want to expand, you will spend more time walking to each branch end to continue mining. This system always gets you to the end of your mine in the shortest distance possible. And unlike my previous design, you don't have to decide how large your mine will be beforehand.
[*:1f1wlp94]Increasing Efficiency. The more you put into the mine, the more efficient it becomes. For example, by the time the return path(shown in green in the third image) becomes 150 meters long, you will have mined over 16000 blocks, and exposed over 64000 blocks.
This image shows the blind spots of the system. The further into each branch you get, the more sparse these blind spots become.
And finally, how to mine this method without needing to count. The green blocks are blocks you mine to keep the shortcut path going. After you mine the 2 meters for the shortcut path, turn 90 degrees right, and mine 6 meters. Then, turn 90 degrees left and mine 3 meters. Mine 2 more blocks at head level(not a tunnel, just a window, shown by the red blocks), this will be the marker for your next leg. Then, turn 90 degrees left, and mine until you join with your previous window, then mine 6 more. The image shows it better, but after every window you mine 6 more meters and turn, no need to count the legs.
I've also included this screenshot of the red-block 'windows', in case anyone is confused. Looking through the window is looking back to where I was standing when I dug it out. Now that I hit the window, I know I need to dig 6 more meters, then turn.
One common question is, what layer to mine at. Normally, the recommendation is to mine at layer 12. This is a solid recommendation, unless you are concerned with finding lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli is actually between 2 and 3 times as common if you mine at layer 14 instead of layer 12, while diamond, gold, iron, and redstone are just as common at that level as they are at level 12. If you come across a lava lake, you will almost always be 2 blocks above it. Just dump water on the lava, and explore the cavern for exposed ore, before continuing.
For bonus points, build your base/mine in the SW direction from the (0,0) point on your map to take advantage of the higher mineral percentage there(however, I see this glitch being fixed before release, so it's not as important).
The last point is, what material pickaxe to use. This depends on what you are mining for.
If your goal is to find diamond, there are 2 options. Either mine with an iron pickaxe(if you don't mind losing approximately 3 iron for every diamond you find), or mine with a stone pickaxe. Mining for diamond with diamond is inefficient.
If your goal is to find iron, there are again, 2 option. You can mine with diamond, if you don't mind spending 1 diamond for every 10 iron you find, or mine with stone. Once again, mining for iron with iron is inefficient.
If your goal is to find as many materials as possible(iron, gold, redstone, lapis, diamond), then the best option is to mine with diamond. You will find more diamond than you spend on average, but you will gather the other resources at a tremendously higher rate than using iron or stone.
VARIATION COURTESY GRIZDALE
Explanation coming later. This uses the same number of blocks mined, but reduces 'blind spots' by about 10%
makes for a nice looking mine.
There is a design that is also modular and thats the one i use, but the thread is buried under everything else atm
I've put a lot of thought into different designs, and I think I know which modular design your are talking about. I love this one because the path back to the central hub is a straight line, and very short comparatively. Only a quad-mine when you know what the max size of your mine will *ever* become can be more efficient than this.
Quote from Lionel_Messi »
I think i've just found out how to revolutionize my mining, this is genius.
Normally i just strip/branch mine, which i've found has been highly inefficient. Thanks for this, definitely will use this method
Glad you liked it. I took a screenshot of the red-block 'windows' in case anyone is confused by them. This picture is what you would see when you came across a previously made window. You can see, 6 blocks further, is where the leg turns. Also adding pic to first post.
yeah, i understood everything you explain, it's amazing, theres no counting involved, unless you count the 6 at the end of every return shaft and the 3 inbetween those.
also, its all in a straight line, which helps loads.
I would space the shafts 3 blocks inbetween, taking advantage of the fact that it is very rare to find a deposit only one block thick. Most of the deposits will touch either shaft.
I.e:
[] [] [] [] [] []
[] [] [] [] [] []
You have to understand that there are downsides to mining with 3 blocks in between, just as with 2. With 3 blocks in between, you have just as much chance to miss ore. While you give yourself the chance to see more veins on the 2 levels you are mining, you also increase chance for veins to stick into that 1 block wide space from above or below. If you want to mine above/below this mine, then I could probably come up with a better design to take advantage of the multiple-levels, but I recommend, for finding all ores, to only have 1 mine at layer 14. Above and you start missing out on diamond. Below, you miss out on lapis. Very few people will ever make this style mine too big to be practical any longer, you would need to be willing to mine hundreds of thousands of blocks... and even then you could install some short minecart tracks.
So to clarify, this is optimized for non-stacked mines, to utilize the layer 14 hotspot.
Well that depends on whether your goal is to mine out all ores in a given constrained area, or to just get the most ore in a unit of time. If you are after the latter, it is in fact better to space out the shafts even more, as you do not want to be "discovering" the same deposits over and over again from different sides.
'Optimal' shaft spacing has more than one variable. Most players focus on the argument of 'few veins are only 1 block wide', without taking into consideration other factors. For example:
[*:vft529q0]Will you be mining the same pattern above and below?
[*:vft529q0]Will it be offset N-S/E-W?
[*:vft529q0]What material pickaxe will you be using?
[*:vft529q0]Is your goal to find ore in the stone, or to find low-level caves to spelunk in?
[*:vft529q0]Are you after the most ore/hour(which in and of itself has many more factors than are considered by most players)?
[*:vft529q0]What ores are important/unimportant to you?
Those are just off the top of my head. I'm certain there are more considerations. My goal is to factor in as many as possible, not just the common 'knee-jerk' factors.
I was looking into a version with 3 spaces between each "branch" and I noticed that the blind spots in the 2 space version become 2x3 shafts. I would rather just do a branch mine if I was doing a 2 layer design. I will stick to the 2 space version when I start diamond mining in my current world.
tested it out and I gotta say it's pretty good, used almost whole diamond pick and got 4 diamonds 2 and a half stacks of redstone, 50 iron and about a stack of coal. oh and i've used about a stack of torches (i'm afraid of dark :tongue.gif: )
What cartograph do you use? 'Cause that looks really good!
OT-I usually strip mine to bedrock then make layered branch mines on one of the sides, like so:
[] []
[] []
[] [] []
[] [] []
But I'm gonna start using this method on the other wall :ohmy.gif:
Awesome and cool looking: Yes
Overly Complicated: Definitely.
Traditional branch mining is more efficient and straightforward if less cool looking.
If you tried to get a clan of people doing this on a PvP server there would be chaos.
it's actually very easy to do as long as you use "windows" and MUCH more fun to mine this way than the traditional ways...I didn't even notice when my inventory was full
I was looking into a version with 3 spaces between each "branch" and I noticed that the blind spots in the 2 space version become 2x3 shafts. I would rather just do a branch mine if I was doing a 2 layer design. I will stick to the 2 space version when I start diamond mining in my current world.
Quote from Aryil »
Nice! Will definitely be trying this out sometime.
Quote from CougarHat »
Thank you. Unfortunately my mine at the moment cannot accommodate this very well, as it is a mine which goes down diagonally, but I will be testing this in future, it seems very effective.
Yeah, considering that this method is about efficiency in a given space(especially to keep the shortcut paths as shortcut-y as possible), I prefer the 2-space method. Let me know how you do when you do use it.
Quote from Evil_LeGeNdZz95 »
Thanks for this man! Branch Mining has been letting me down recently. I've been using lots of pickaxes but the mine hasn't been delivering. Now I've tried yours, and I can only say wow. I've had tonnes of Redstone, Coal, Gold and Iron uncovered, and even a few Lapis and Diamond to top it off. I'll definitely be recommending this and using it often.
tested it out and I gotta say it's pretty good, used almost whole diamond pick and got 4 diamonds 2 and a half stacks of redstone, 50 iron and about a stack of coal. oh and i've used about a stack of torches (i'm afraid of dark :tongue.gif: )
here's my grid so far:
Just a note on this image. Tauro will have mined approximately 800 meters by the time he finishes the current leg, and the shortcut path is less than 50 meters long. That is 1600 blocks mined, 6400 blocks exposed. Average yield for that mining space is 5 diamonds, 32 iron, 40 redstone, and 3-ish lapis(depending on the layer). Looks like it's working well for him.
Good job Tauro :smile.gif: When you hit those bigger caves you'll get a nice bonus to your ore count.
Quote from robly18 »
What cartograph do you use? 'Cause that looks really good!
OT-I usually strip mine to bedrock then make layered branch mines on one of the sides, like so:
[] []
[] []
[] [] []
[] [] []
But I'm gonna start using this method on the other wall :ohmy.gif:
Nothing wrong with branch mining, I've just been looking for alternatives to reduce walking time, improve expandability, etc...
Level 16; Diamond still (or 17, and you have one layer without diamond but more minerals).
[]
[] Level 14; Lapis
[] Level 12; Diamond
[]
[]
Level 10; can block off lava safely
[*:1nr6mmnf]Diamond is the same percentage at layers 1-17, including 16 and 17. Layers 18 and 19 is where it starts to drop off.
[*:1nr6mmnf] I recommend mining at layer 14. The fad right now is layer 12 mining, which is actually mining layers 11 and 12. I recommend mining layers 13 and 14. The reason for this is that you will double the number of lapis you find, and you will still hit all the natural lava caverns. I've noticed a trend(not tested, just an observation, will verify later) that the lava lakes you hit while layer 12 mining, if not actually part of a large cavern, usually have about 2 blocks clearance above the lava, then stone. So layer 14 mining still allows you to exploit these lakes.
[*:1nr6mmnf]Mining with a 3-high roof decreases your total efficiency by approximately 9%.
[*:1nr6mmnf]Stacking layers actually reduces efficiency dramatically. The reason for this is because natural caverns and lava lakes account for a large percentage of total ore found in any given space, assuming a good sample size. Stacking layers removes the efficiency of the layer 10 lava lakes from the upper mine, and you will 'double-find' most good caverns, which are the best thing you can possibly find for ore. I need to get a new computer first, but I expect that the actual drop in efficiency would be around 50% when you started mining above your layer 14 level.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I have put *a lot* of thought into my mining patterns and tips.
Awesome and cool looking: Yes
Overly Complicated: Definitely.
Traditional branch mining is more efficient and straightforward if less cool looking.
If you tried to get a clan of people doing this on a PvP server there would be chaos.
Traditional branch mining is not more efficient. When all things considered, this method(or my quad-mining method) are both much more efficient.
At first glance, this does seem complicated, but it actually is very simple. Try it yourself. After you make the first 2 legs, you won't have to think about what you are doing. Mine until you hit your window, then mine 6 more. It's easy, and you'll never have to 'go back' to expand(horrible waste of time).
Getting a clan to do this wouldn't really be so bad. You could assign 1 person to each quadrant, or, if latency allows for it, assign 2 ppl to each quadrant. 1 mines top block 1 mines bottom block, not sure if this would work since I don't play SMP.
I really like this idea. I dont really use redstone for anything cool so i think I will line the return path with it so I will have a glowing path back to the central hub. Op is not a #@%.
If I were to mine in this pattern in the SW quadrant with a full diamond pick, chances are I'll break even?
Mining for diamond with diamond nets you 1.5 diamond for every 1 diamond you spend on pickaxes, so you should get 4.5 diamonds by the time your pick breaks. That figure is only for strict mining in stone. Any caves you find are pure bonus, and allow you to get much higher returns.
However, if you want diamond more than anything, mine with iron pickaxes. If your iron is precious, then mine with diamond or stone pickaxes.
Quote from Alwayswright »
I will now use this. Thank you OP!
:wink.gif:
Quote from zcar »
1st Day results
(found a small cave, with a zombie spawner)
434 cobbles stone
37 lapis lazuli
39 iron
about 128 coal (some lost during smelting and torch making process)
about 64 redstone
19 gold
5 diamonds
50 gravel & 5 flint
Used
about 2 iron picks!
I approve of this method !
Just a question is it worth it to raise the ceiling height? (from 2 high to 4 high)?
Nice take.
Do not mine your ceiling 4 high. That would reduce your efficiency by 12.5%. More actually, but that's the highest number I can currently quantify accurately.
[*:1f1wlp94]Fully Expandable. With traditional branch mining, if you want initially make every branch 20 blocks deep, but later want to expand, you will spend more time walking to each branch end to continue mining. This system always gets you to the end of your mine in the shortest distance possible. And unlike my previous design, you don't have to decide how large your mine will be beforehand.
[*:1f1wlp94]Increasing Efficiency. The more you put into the mine, the more efficient it becomes. For example, by the time the return path(shown in green in the third image) becomes 150 meters long, you will have mined over 16000 blocks, and exposed over 64000 blocks.
This image shows the blind spots of the system. The further into each branch you get, the more sparse these blind spots become.
And finally, how to mine this method without needing to count. The green blocks are blocks you mine to keep the shortcut path going. After you mine the 2 meters for the shortcut path, turn 90 degrees right, and mine 6 meters. Then, turn 90 degrees left and mine 3 meters. Mine 2 more blocks at head level(not a tunnel, just a window, shown by the red blocks), this will be the marker for your next leg. Then, turn 90 degrees left, and mine until you join with your previous window, then mine 6 more. The image shows it better, but after every window you mine 6 more meters and turn, no need to count the legs.
I've also included this screenshot of the red-block 'windows', in case anyone is confused. Looking through the window is looking back to where I was standing when I dug it out. Now that I hit the window, I know I need to dig 6 more meters, then turn.
One common question is, what layer to mine at. Normally, the recommendation is to mine at layer 12. This is a solid recommendation, unless you are concerned with finding lapis lazuli. Lapis lazuli is actually between 2 and 3 times as common if you mine at layer 14 instead of layer 12, while diamond, gold, iron, and redstone are just as common at that level as they are at level 12. If you come across a lava lake, you will almost always be 2 blocks above it. Just dump water on the lava, and explore the cavern for exposed ore, before continuing.
For bonus points, build your base/mine in the SW direction from the (0,0) point on your map to take advantage of the higher mineral percentage there(however, I see this glitch being fixed before release, so it's not as important).
The last point is, what material pickaxe to use. This depends on what you are mining for.
If your goal is to find diamond, there are 2 options. Either mine with an iron pickaxe(if you don't mind losing approximately 3 iron for every diamond you find), or mine with a stone pickaxe. Mining for diamond with diamond is inefficient.
If your goal is to find iron, there are again, 2 option. You can mine with diamond, if you don't mind spending 1 diamond for every 10 iron you find, or mine with stone. Once again, mining for iron with iron is inefficient.
If your goal is to find as many materials as possible(iron, gold, redstone, lapis, diamond), then the best option is to mine with diamond. You will find more diamond than you spend on average, but you will gather the other resources at a tremendously higher rate than using iron or stone.
VARIATION COURTESY GRIZDALE
Explanation coming later. This uses the same number of blocks mined, but reduces 'blind spots' by about 10%
Normally i just strip/branch mine, which i've found has been highly inefficient. Thanks for this, definitely will use this method
Thanks.
I've put a lot of thought into different designs, and I think I know which modular design your are talking about. I love this one because the path back to the central hub is a straight line, and very short comparatively. Only a quad-mine when you know what the max size of your mine will *ever* become can be more efficient than this.
Glad you liked it. I took a screenshot of the red-block 'windows' in case anyone is confused by them. This picture is what you would see when you came across a previously made window. You can see, 6 blocks further, is where the leg turns. Also adding pic to first post.
also, its all in a straight line, which helps loads.
You can see these here too:
http://nzphoenixma.blogspot.com/2011/04 ... -mine.html
You have to understand that there are downsides to mining with 3 blocks in between, just as with 2. With 3 blocks in between, you have just as much chance to miss ore. While you give yourself the chance to see more veins on the 2 levels you are mining, you also increase chance for veins to stick into that 1 block wide space from above or below. If you want to mine above/below this mine, then I could probably come up with a better design to take advantage of the multiple-levels, but I recommend, for finding all ores, to only have 1 mine at layer 14. Above and you start missing out on diamond. Below, you miss out on lapis. Very few people will ever make this style mine too big to be practical any longer, you would need to be willing to mine hundreds of thousands of blocks... and even then you could install some short minecart tracks.
So to clarify, this is optimized for non-stacked mines, to utilize the layer 14 hotspot.
'Optimal' shaft spacing has more than one variable. Most players focus on the argument of 'few veins are only 1 block wide', without taking into consideration other factors. For example:
[*:vft529q0]Will you be mining the same pattern above and below?
[*:vft529q0]Will it be offset N-S/E-W?
[*:vft529q0]What material pickaxe will you be using?
[*:vft529q0]Is your goal to find ore in the stone, or to find low-level caves to spelunk in?
[*:vft529q0]Are you after the most ore/hour(which in and of itself has many more factors than are considered by most players)?
[*:vft529q0]What ores are important/unimportant to you?
Those are just off the top of my head. I'm certain there are more considerations. My goal is to factor in as many as possible, not just the common 'knee-jerk' factors.
here's my grid so far:
"Where the **** is my ceiling?!"
This one
viewtopic.php?f=1022&t=165779
it's actually very easy to do as long as you use "windows" and MUCH more fun to mine this way than the traditional ways...I didn't even notice when my inventory was full
Yeah, considering that this method is about efficiency in a given space(especially to keep the shortcut paths as shortcut-y as possible), I prefer the 2-space method. Let me know how you do when you do use it.
Glad it's working for you!
(found a small cave, with a zombie spawner)
434 cobbles stone
37 lapis lazuli
39 iron
about 128 coal (some lost during smelting and torch making process)
about 64 redstone
19 gold
5 diamonds
50 gravel & 5 flint
Used
about 2 iron picks!
I approve of this method !
Just a question is it worth it to raise the ceiling height? (from 2 high to 4 high)?
Just a note on this image. Tauro will have mined approximately 800 meters by the time he finishes the current leg, and the shortcut path is less than 50 meters long. That is 1600 blocks mined, 6400 blocks exposed. Average yield for that mining space is 5 diamonds, 32 iron, 40 redstone, and 3-ish lapis(depending on the layer). Looks like it's working well for him.
Good job Tauro :smile.gif: When you hit those bigger caves you'll get a nice bonus to your ore count.
Nothing wrong with branch mining, I've just been looking for alternatives to reduce walking time, improve expandability, etc...
*blush* lol, thank you
[*:1nr6mmnf]Diamond is the same percentage at layers 1-17, including 16 and 17. Layers 18 and 19 is where it starts to drop off.
Please feel free to ask any questions. I have put *a lot* of thought into my mining patterns and tips.[*:1nr6mmnf] I recommend mining at layer 14. The fad right now is layer 12 mining, which is actually mining layers 11 and 12. I recommend mining layers 13 and 14. The reason for this is that you will double the number of lapis you find, and you will still hit all the natural lava caverns. I've noticed a trend(not tested, just an observation, will verify later) that the lava lakes you hit while layer 12 mining, if not actually part of a large cavern, usually have about 2 blocks clearance above the lava, then stone. So layer 14 mining still allows you to exploit these lakes.
[*:1nr6mmnf]Mining with a 3-high roof decreases your total efficiency by approximately 9%.
[*:1nr6mmnf]Stacking layers actually reduces efficiency dramatically. The reason for this is because natural caverns and lava lakes account for a large percentage of total ore found in any given space, assuming a good sample size. Stacking layers removes the efficiency of the layer 10 lava lakes from the upper mine, and you will 'double-find' most good caverns, which are the best thing you can possibly find for ore. I need to get a new computer first, but I expect that the actual drop in efficiency would be around 50% when you started mining above your layer 14 level.
Traditional branch mining is not more efficient. When all things considered, this method(or my quad-mining method) are both much more efficient.
At first glance, this does seem complicated, but it actually is very simple. Try it yourself. After you make the first 2 legs, you won't have to think about what you are doing. Mine until you hit your window, then mine 6 more. It's easy, and you'll never have to 'go back' to expand(horrible waste of time).
Getting a clan to do this wouldn't really be so bad. You could assign 1 person to each quadrant, or, if latency allows for it, assign 2 ppl to each quadrant. 1 mines top block 1 mines bottom block, not sure if this would work since I don't play SMP.
Mining for diamond with diamond nets you 1.5 diamond for every 1 diamond you spend on pickaxes, so you should get 4.5 diamonds by the time your pick breaks. That figure is only for strict mining in stone. Any caves you find are pure bonus, and allow you to get much higher returns.
However, if you want diamond more than anything, mine with iron pickaxes. If your iron is precious, then mine with diamond or stone pickaxes.
:wink.gif:
Nice take.
Do not mine your ceiling 4 high. That would reduce your efficiency by 12.5%. More actually, but that's the highest number I can currently quantify accurately.