Getting started with mining

[CovertGuardian 0]

So you have a pickaxe and a prospecting pick. What is a good strategy to start mining to get a metal surplus?

The first time I reached this point in the game I ran out to an area where I had found a metal nugget,

dug a shaft for 20 units until I got a hit on the prospecting pick. Did the prospecting puzzle to lock down

the coordinates of the ore - Mined 6 units of ore 32 units under surface - no more in range of prospecting pick after those 6 units.

This process used up more metal than it found, not a good start. Admitted I wasted some tool wear until

I figured out the trick of proving where the metal was NOT instead of trying to play HOT/COLD.

Never got a reading above trace (thus the poor ore yield)

So what is the best strategy to mine at a profit in metal?

Possible answers I can think of are given herein below, other answers I have not considered are very welcome!

1) Should not give up so easy, dig deeper - there should be more further down.

2) Run around to all the sites where you have found metal on the surface and prospect on the surface a bit.

Only dig if you get a prospecting hit from the surface. (Harder on ProPick, but saves PickAxe which runs down

much faster when you start tunneling.)

3) Pick the site on the surface where the most metal nuggets have been found in the same small area.

Dig in the middle of that are until you get a prospecting hit or the rock type changes.

4) Do number 2 at all the metal finds you know of, if that fails then do number 3.

So what strategy do you use to get an ongoing supply of metal without wearing out

tools faster than you find ore?

[VegasGoat 51]

I think there should definitely be more very close, sounds like you found the end of the vein. I would definitely dig a little deeper. You have enough metal to make a second pickaxe.

[CovertGuardian 0]

Thanks for your thoughts!

I was not understanding the ore vs nugget distinction, so I guess I did make a very small metal profit on the

the expedition so far (I was thinking ~16 ore to make ingot, but now see the ore is much bigger than a nugget.)

My question still stands - assuming you had not already started digging - would you prospect all known locations for

a shallow deposit first or just start digging at the richest looking site even if surface prospecting shows nothing?

[LordOfWolves 514]

Question

I usually dig a bit below a rich surface. Then I prospect a bit and if I don't find something, I change mining site. However the first mines are below rich terrain, everytime.

[VegasGoat 51]

I always dig my first site where I find ore on the surface, so you are in the right place. It usually provides more than 6 ores though, which is why you should probably dig a little further, or at least check about 24 blocks in each direction before giving up on it.

[Kalix 9]

Well as far as surface prospecting goes I usually only mark the spot if I get 4+ nuggets. After that dig down for a while until you get a decent hit and then branch out, going on one axis in both directions until it goes down, go to the center of those two drop offs, then mine on the opposite axis. Doing that you can determine the center of the vein, then it only becomes up/down.