Mining is one of the major activities that you have to do in playing Stardew Valley in order to supply your needs in resources. When we say mining in Stardew Valley, it refers to your skill of breaking any rock whether it is a normal rock, a valuable rock, or a node.
The primary location of mining is in the mines. But during the early games, the mines won’t be accessible yet. The reason behind this is the landslide caused by the Joja Corporation. You have to reach first the fifth day of Spring, or basically your fifth Stardew Valley day. On this day, you will receive a message saying that the mines are unlocked and available for explorations.
To go to the mines, you have to go to the northern area of the mountains.
Exploring the mines gives you the essential resources that you will need in progressing the game. But mining is not as easy as you think – it is not just about breaking rocks and looting common to rare items. That is why we are here to help you figure out how you can figure out surviving the mines.
Read this brief Stardew Valley mining guide until the end, and learn the basics and tips on mining in Stardew Valley.
Table of Contents
Mining Spots
Before you become successful in your mining career, you must first know all the mining spots that you can go to in Stardew Valley. As mentioned above, the primary location for mining is in the mines. But to tell you, there are also other places where you can mine rocks. This is to maximize your mining activity.
The following locations are the best spots that you can mine in Stardew Valley. Read to learn what each location holds.
The Mines
The mines, located in the northern area of the mountains, are made up of 120 floors also known as levels. These floors or levels are categorized into three sections or themes: the first 40 floors have a brown earth theme, and the next 40 levels have an ice theme, while the last 40 levels have lava and dark purple theme.
Moreover, the last 10 levels of each section have different variations of the main theme. These are shadows, castles, and darker crimson themes respectively. As you go on higher levels, there is also a higher probability of getting high-quality items or resources.
When you enter the mines, you will meet the dwarf which is the resident of it. At first, the dwarf will talk to you in dwarvish language which, of course, you wouldn’t understand. In order to translate its language, you will need to have four dwarvish scrolls that you can find in the mines and donate them to the museum. Consequently, Gunther will reward you with the dwarvish translation guide that makes you understand the dwarf’s language.
In order to move up levels and look for more items, you must fight monsters that you will encounter at each level. Defeating an enemy gives you a 15% chance of spawning a ladder.
Of the various mining levels in the mines, here are a few to look out for:
- level 1-40: you will find basic mining material. This includes copper ore which will become less rare the further down you go into the mines. You might also find an earth crystal and various geodes and omni geodes that are incredibly valuable.
- level 40-79: This is the first mining level where you start seeing iron ore, which is the next material after copper ore. Again, iron ore becomes more common the further down you go. You’ll also find more geodes of varying types, like a Frozen geode which has minerals, artifacts, or basic resources inside. Jade is also found at this level, which can be used to buy staircases (they function just like ladders). When going through the stardew valley mine, staircases are very helpful.
- level 80-119: these floors have lava in them and various resources that are associated with lava. For example, this floor is where you can find Fire Quartz, a lava version of the normal quartz. Magma geodes and omni geodes are also available here. Maybe, more importantly, you can find gold ore on floors 80-119.
The Skull Cavern
Another option for a mining location is the Skull Cavern. Compared to the mines, the skull cavern is comparably more dangerous than it is, hence it is called the harder mine.
In order to get access to the skull cavern, you must first obtain the skull key by reaching level 120. After obtaining the skull key, you can arrive at the skull cavern in the Calico Desert by riding the bus. But before you can ride the bus to and fro, you must first complete the vault bundles in the community center. The other way is purchasing its repair from Joja.
Once you enter the skull cavern, it is far more different than the mines – there is no elevator so you must always start from level 1. Although it takes a long time to reach deeper floors, there is actually a way to reach other floors faster. Inside the cavern, you can find holes. You can choose to jump into these holes and get to three or 15 floors deeper, but you’ll receive damage in doing this.
The good thing is going to the lower levels of the skull cavern is the possibility of collecting a plentiful of iridium ores. As you go deeper, the chances of getting iridium ore drop increases.
The Skull Cavern also has Magma Geodes, Omni Geodes, and Fire Quartz inside. Making it a secondary location to find these precious stones.
The Volcano
The Volcano Dungeon, located at the north end of the Ginger island, is the third major mine in Stardew Valley. You won’t be able to access this part of the map during the early game. This will only be accessible once you finished the Community Center or Joja Form.
If it was mentioned earlier that the skull cavern is comparably more dangerous than the mines, then the volcano dungeon is much more dangerous than the skull cavern.
In contrast to the mines and skull caverns, the volcano dungeon doesn’t have ladder spawns. Instead, there are doors that you need to find in order to move to the next level. Plus, this dungeon only has 10 floors.
From the inside, you will see lava all over the place. In order to cross to the other side, you can create pathways using the water from your watering can. This path stays for the whole day but disappears every night.
The Quarry Mine
The Quarry Mine cave is a single-floor cave that can be farmed once a day. The entrance is located on the left edge of the Quarry, north of the bridge, and is available after completing ‘Bridge Repair’ community center or Joja bundle.
Inside the Quarry Mine, you will find copper and iron nodes all over the place. Also, this is where you unlock the Golden Scythe, a much more powerful scythe that can’t be replaced!
Getting Started in Mining
Aside from the map locations that you need to know, there are also some essential requirements that you need to meet before starting to mine. The reason behind this is to make it easier for you and to maximize your time mining. Here are some of the important things you must consider first.
Upgraded Pickaxe
In Stardew Valley, the pickaxe is your main tool when it comes to mining adventures. It would be alright if you have a normal pickaxe, but it can only break small rocks. Having said that, the most ideal type of pickaxe for you to have before starting to mine is a steel pickaxe. You can upgrade it by using five iron bars.
A steel pickaxe can easily break boulders on your farm. This is also the tool used to destroy the barrier that prevents you from talking with the dwarf in the mines.
Mining Skills
For your convenience and ease in mining activities, you must choose the right profession as you level up your mining skills.
Upon reaching mining level 5, you will be asked to choose between a miner or a geologist. A miner grants you +1 ore per vein, while a geologist increases the probability of gems appearing in pairs.
Moreover, if you reach the maximum mining level of 10, you will also be asked to pick between another two professions depending on the profession you picked on level 5. After picking the miner, you will be given the choices of a blacksmith and a prospector. However, picking the geologist leaves you to an excavator or a gemologist.
Excavators can double the number of geodes found, while Gemologists make gems worth 30% more.
AT MINING LEVEL 5
AT MINING LEVEL 10 (Geologist Only)
- Gemologist: Gems worth 30% more.
- Excavator: The chance to find geodes doubled.
AT MINING LEVEL 10 (Miner Only)
- Blacksmith: Metal bars worth 50% more
- Prospector: Chance to find coal doubled.
Mining Levels
Mining levels in Stardew Valley are mainly for discovering new crafting recipes. However, at levels 5 and 10 you can select a mining profession. We’ve already discussed the professions above so here are all the crafting recipes per mining level in Stardew:
- Level 1: Cherry Bomb
- Level 2: Staircase
- Level 3: Miner’s Treat
- Level 4: Glowstone Ring & Transmute (Fe) – just turn copper bars into an iron bar
- Level 5: Choose a profession
- Level 6: Bomb
- Level 7: Transmute (Au) – iron bars into a gold bar
- Level 8: Mega bomb
- Level 9: Crystalarium
- Level 10: Choose a profession
Cherry bombs, and bombs in general, can explode and do damage to enemies and farm ore/gem nodes around the area.
Rocks and Nodes
As you take deeper into mining, you will encounter different rocks, nodes, and items. In this section, you will find out their differences from each other.
Nodes
The most common thing you will see in the Skull Cavern are nodes. This looks like a stump of rock with different-colored rocks attached to each rock. These vary in color, shape, and size, as well as the items that you can get from cracking them open.
Here is a list of all the nodes that you can find.
- Amethyst Node
- Aquamarine Node
- Copper Node
- Diamond Node
- Emerald Node
- Gem Node
- Gold Node
- Iridium Node
- Iron Node
- Jade Node
- Mystic Node
- Ruby Node
- Topaz Node
- Geode Node
- Frozen Geode Node
- Magma Geode Node
- Bone Node
- Cinder Shard Node
- Clay Node
- Omni Geode Node
- Radioactive Node
- Mussel Node
All these nodes can be found while exploring the skull cavern and the quarry.
Important Things You Must Know about Mining
You might get too excited and proceed on mining already. But before that, there are still some more important things you need to keep your eyes on, before and during mining activities.
Health
As stated before, you will meet monsters if you go inside the cavern and the mines. If an enemy hit you, your character will take damage. This is why it is important to bring food with you when exploring these locations. Foods can help you recover your hp.
The reason why you should keep your eyes on it is that draining your health bar causes your character to pass out. Once your player passes out, you will lose up to 5,000 worth of gold as well as some of your items.
Energy
Just like how people are in real life, your character in Stardew Valley also gets exhausted from work. In the context of mining, swinging your tools reduces your energy. And when your energy bar reaches zero, your player will get exhausted which causes you to move slower. When the energy bar reaches zero, you shouldn’t force yourself to work anymore, as reaching -15 will cause your character to pass out.
