How to Strip Mine in Minecraft

While mining in Minecraft, I always seek the most efficient way to find valuable resources. Forming a strip mine is, by far, the most popular option due to its efficiency, and I will show you how to do it in this guide.

Strip Mining in Minecraft, explained

When starting a strip mining operation in Minecraft, you first need to set up the underground base for your mine. This is where you will return to drop your materials and the entrances to each mining strip. When you start off, dig down until you're standing on a block at y 5 (where Bedrock starts to form) and dig a hole 3 blocks wide by 9 blocks long by four blocks high.

• After you've built the primary base, place all the equipment and tools you'll need in this area.
• Make a doorway that is 1 block wide by 2 blocks high. This is the start of your mine strip.
• Create this doorway every fourth block on the long wall. If you're confused, use the image above for reference.

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Repeat this process for the next layer up the wall. However, instead of making the doorways on the next layer directly above the previous layer, make sure they fall directly between the doorways underneath them.

This hive-like structure will serve as the bottom layer of your mine. Dig as far as you'd like through these doorways. Because of the way these doorways are aligned, you will not miss a single Ore Block in this section of your mine. At least one mine strip will touch every block between them. As you can see in the image above, it didn't take us long at all to find a Diamond vein.

From this point, you can expand your mine by expanding the ceiling of your mine's base or by branching the walls outward. Diamond Ore generates up to y 16, so I recommend expanding your mine upward to ensure you find all Diamond Ores near your mining base.

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Tips and Additional Info for Strip Mining in Minecraft

Tips

• Expanding upward creates the problem of getting inside each mine strip. There are a few options to do this, but I found the cleanest way is to place a half slab outside each doorway and a ladder going up to the highest level. You can also try covering the wall in scaffolding if you feel that works better.
• Place a light source every 7 to 10 blocks down each strip to make sure mobs don't spawn behind you.
• Strip Mining is most effective if you don't dig too far from your base above ground. I recommend mining strips in 50-block increments. It's completely up to you to dig past this, but it's important to consider the time spent traveling if you're looking to make the most optimal mining operation.

Information

• Strip Mining is considered the most effective way to mine due to the balance between effort and productivity. It offers the benefit of being certain you've found all valuable resources in the area with the least amount of mining possible.
• I recommend keeping the strips between the height of y 5 and y 16. Bedrock begins to form at y 5, so mining below that point will just interfere with your movement. Diamonds don't spawn above y 16.
• Emeralds generate between the levels of y 4 to y 31, but only underneath mountains. For this reason, it's best to form a strip mine underneath a mountain.

Those are the basics for getting started with strip mining in Minecraft! Don't forget to comment below if this technique improves your mining productivity!

Do you want to play with friends that are using other consoles? Check out our guide on How to Add Friends in Minecraft on All Platforms!