Do this before you read.
Before you mine anything, look at your current Y level. Numbers 15 and 22 matter. Everything else depends on which biome you are in.
TL;DR:
- Nether wastes: nether quartz (XP-heavy, fast) and nether gold ore (drops gold nuggets, not ingots)
- Basalt deltas: basalt and magma blocks — useful for building, not for progression
- Soul sand valley: soul sand and soul soil — needed for withers and soul fire builds
- Crimson and warped forests: stems, shroomlight, nether wart — no ore, but useful blocks
- Ancient debris only spawns between Y=8 and Y=22, with highest density around Y=15
- Mine sideways in horizontal strips — straight-down mining in the Nether is how you fall into lava
The Nether is not a mine in the traditional sense. You are not looking for one thing in one place. Every biome has different stuff worth taking, and some of the most valuable material in the game (ancient debris) is in a specific Y range regardless of biome.
Start with your Y coordinate. Then figure out which biome you are in. Then decide what is worth your time.
What Y Level You Are At and Why It Matters
In the Overworld, Y=11 was where diamonds clustered. In the Nether, the number to know is Y=15.
Ancient debris — the ore you smelt into netherite scraps — spawns between Y=8 and Y=22. The highest concentration is around Y=15. If you are mining at Y=60, you are wasting time on ancient debris. If you are at Y=15, you are in the right layer.
Press F3 on Java Edition to see your coordinates. On Bedrock, enable the coordinates display in settings. The Y number is your vertical position.
For most other Nether mining (quartz, gold ore), Y level matters less. Those spawn across a wide range. Ancient debris is the one that requires you to be intentional about depth.
Nether Wastes — Quartz and Gold Ore
Nether wastes is the most common biome — the red-brown landscape with lava lakes and zombie piglins. If you entered the Nether through a portal built in a random location, you probably landed here.
Nether quartz ore is the white-speckled ore you see in the walls. Break it with any pickaxe and you get nether quartz. No smelting required. It gives experience points directly — more XP per ore than almost anything else in the game. If you need to level up fast to enchant, quartz mining is one of the fastest methods.
Nether quartz is used in daylight sensors, comparators, and quartz block variants for building. It is not a progression item in the same way iron or diamonds are — it is more of an XP farm with a byproduct you can build with.
Nether gold ore looks like stone with gold flecks. It drops gold nuggets (not ingots) unless you use a Fortune pickaxe. 9 gold nuggets craft into 1 gold ingot. The drop rate with Fortune III gives you 4-6 nuggets per ore, so it is workable but not efficient compared to farming Piglin gold.
Gold is still worth picking up. Wearing gold armor keeps zombie piglins neutral. Having gold for Piglin bartering gets you crying obsidian and other loot. Do not ignore it, but do not build a mining operation around it.
Basalt Deltas — Building Blocks, Not Resources
Basalt deltas look different from everything else in the Nether — gray, jagged, with ash particles floating and lots of magma cubes. The terrain is messy and hard to navigate.
The blocks here — basalt columns, blackstone, magma blocks — are primarily building materials. Basalt is a dark gray block useful for builds that need a stark, industrial look. Blackstone functions like cobblestone and can be used for tools and furnaces in a pinch. Magma blocks emit light and damage mobs that walk on them (useful for mob farms and traps).
There is no unique ore to mine in basalt deltas. The main reason to be here is magma cubes for magma cream, or to collect the building blocks in bulk.
Soul Sand Valley — Soul Sand and Soul Soil
Soul sand valley is recognizable by the pale blue ground, fog, and the fossils sticking out of the terrain. Soul sand and soul soil cover the floor.
Soul sand slows anything that walks on it, including you. It is the base ingredient for wither skulls plus soul sand to summon the Wither. It also powers soul fire and soul lanterns (blue fire).
Soul soil works similarly to soul sand but does not slow movement. Soul fire on soul soil does not slow you down the way a soul sand fire would.
If you are building anything involving blue fire aesthetics or preparing to fight the Wither, collect soul sand and soul soil here in bulk. A stack or two goes a long way.
Crimson and Warped Forests — Stems and Shroomlight
Crimson forest (red) and warped forest (teal) do not have ore. What they have is wood — crimson stems and warped stems, which are the Nether's equivalent of logs. They can be crafted into planks, slabs, stairs, and other woodworking items. Notably, they do not burn, which makes them useful for builds in fire-heavy environments.
Shroomlight — the glowing mushroom-shaped blocks — is found in both forests. It emits light level 15, the same as glowstone. It is rounder and more organic-looking than glowstone and works well in natural or overgrown build styles.
Nether wart grows in patches in crimson forests and in Nether fortresses. It is the base ingredient for almost every brewed potion. Collect it whenever you see it.
Ancient Debris — Slow But Critical
Ancient debris is rare. It looks like brown rock with a swirling gray texture — distinct enough that you will recognize it when you see it. It spawns in small veins (1-3 blocks usually) between Y=8 and Y=22.
You need 4 ancient debris to smelt 4 netherite scraps. You need 4 netherite scraps plus 4 gold ingots to craft one netherite ingot. One netherite ingot upgrades one piece of diamond gear to netherite. A full set of netherite armor requires 4 ingots — which is 16 ancient debris minimum.
Ancient debris does not drop from explosions, which means TNT mining works. The blocks explode away, but the debris survives and floats for you to collect. Branch mining (digging horizontal tunnels at Y=15 every 2-3 blocks) is slower but uses fewer resources.
One practical note: ancient debris is blast-resistant but requires a diamond or netherite pickaxe to mine. Bring diamond tools before you go looking for it.
Common Mistakes
- Mining at the wrong Y level for ancient debris. Y=15 is the target. Check before you start digging.
- Mining straight down. Lava pools are common under the Nether floor. Dig sideways in horizontal branches, not vertically.
- Expecting gold ingots from nether gold ore. It drops nuggets. You need 9 to make one ingot.
- Skipping nether quartz because you have enough blocks. The XP is the reason to mine it, not the blocks.
- Going to basalt deltas expecting ore. It is a building block biome, not a resource biome. Adjust expectations before you spend 20 minutes looking for something that is not there.
- Using iron pickaxe on ancient debris. It requires diamond or netherite. Iron gives you nothing.
A Closing Thought
The Nether rewards you for knowing what you are looking for before you start swinging. An unfocused mining session produces a mix of stuff you did not need while missing the thing you came for. A focused session with a target Y level and a target biome produces results you can actually use.
Look at the Y number. Pick the biome that has what you need. Mine in horizontal strips. Collect what you came for and come back to base.
Pair this guide with Ancient Debris Guide, TNT Mining in the Nether, and Magma Cube Combat Made Simple.
Listen to the audio version above. Send corrections to [email protected] — we read everything.
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