View source for Minecraft:Ore vein

{{Distinguish|Ore (feature)}}
{{Infobox structure
|title=Ore vein
|image=Ore veins.jpg
|biome=Any
|blocks=
{{BlockLink|Deepslate Iron Ore}}<br>
{{BlockLink|Block of Raw Iron}}<br>
{{BlockLink|Tuff}}<br>
''or''<br>
{{BlockLink|Copper Ore}}<br>
{{BlockLink|Block of Raw Copper}}<br>
{{BlockLink|Granite}}<br>
|canspawn=
}}
An '''ore vein''' is a rare underground [[Minecraft:terrain feature]] that provides massive amounts of [[Minecraft:ore]].

== Structure ==
[[File:Excavated Copper Vein.png|thumb|right|A fully exposed copper ore vein]]
Ore veins occur as large branching networks of a filler rock, paired with high concentrations of an associated ore type. '''Copper veins''' generate between Y=0 and Y=50 and contain [[Minecraft:copper ore]] and [[Minecraft:Block of Raw Copper|raw copper]], with [[Minecraft:granite]] as the filler material. '''Iron veins''' generate below Y=-8 and can reach as deep as Y=-60, and contain [[Minecraft:iron ore]] and [[Minecraft:Block of Raw Iron|raw iron]], with [[Minecraft:tuff]] as the filler material.

Ore veins generate similarly to [[Minecraft:Cave#Spaghetti cave|spaghetti caves]] and share their shape and scale. They snake and branch, forming large networks and eventually reaching dead ends. Where they intersect caves, the player can easily spot them in the floors, walls, and ceilings. The size of a single vein is virtually unlimited; in some cases, more than 2,000 of a particular ore can be found in a single vein.

Ore veins are a part of cave generation and are not [[Minecraft:Feature|decorators]]. This means they are overridden by caves, mineshafts or other underground structures. This also means they can generate in [[Minecraft:The Void]] biome.

The tuff or granite around an ore vein can be replaced by gravel, but the main mineral blocks (iron ore and copper ore) remain. So there can be ore blocks completely surrounded by gravel.

{{Calculator|chunkbase|pois=Ov|zoom=0.75}}

== Generation ==
{{expand section}}
Ore veins generate the same way as noise caves, in particular spaghetti caves. They are thickest between Y=20 and Y=30 for copper veins and between Y=-40 and Y=-28 for iron veins, and taper off towards the limits of their generation at Y=0 to Y=50 and Y=-60 to Y=-8 respectively. 70% of the blocks within the vein are not changed. Of the remaining 30% between 10% and 30% is the ore material within the vein, with the rest being filler material. 98% of the non-filler blocks generate as normal ore blocks, while 2% are generated as raw ore blocks ([[Minecraft:block of raw copper]] and [[Minecraft:block of raw iron]], respectively).[[File:1-18-ore-distribution.jpg|thumb|right|Ore distribution graph for 1.18]]While the composition of veins is {{w|Hard_coding|hardcoded}}, datapacks may change the shape and size of veins by changing the '''vein_toggle''', '''vein_ridged''' and '''vein_gap''' [[Minecraft:Density function|density functions]] supplied to the [[Minecraft:noise router]].
{{-}}

== History ==
=== Development ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine||March 12, 2021|link={{ytl|yAEw1lJrsL4|t=497}}|[[Minecraft:Agnes Larsson]] talks about "New really big ore veins we are going to add".}} 
}}

=== ''Java Edition'' ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine|java}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.17|dev=21w16a|Added ore veins, which must be enabled using the [[Minecraft:Caves & Cliffs Prototype Data Pack]].}}
|{{HistoryLine|||dev=April 21, 2021|slink={{tweet|henrikkniberg|1384924653597216777}}|[[Minecraft:Henrik Kniberg]] showcases ore vein generation.}}
|{{HistoryLine|||dev=April 22, 2021|slink={{tweet|henrikkniberg|1385457395862839296}}|Kniberg mentions tweaks to ore vein generation: the veins are now smaller and more clumped.}}
|{{HistoryLine|||dev=April 22, 2021|slink={{tweet|henrikkniberg|1385482419361533953}}|Kniberg mentions tweaking generation to make the gaps between clumps smaller.}}
|{{HistoryLine|||dev=21w17a|Ore veins are now slightly rarer, slightly smaller, more clumpy, and can rarely contain [[Minecraft:Block of Mineral#Raw Metal|raw metal block]]s.}}
|{{HistoryLine|||dev=21w18a|Ore veins were once again made slightly rarer and slightly smaller on average. Their sizes now vary significantly, meaning players can still find huge ore veins like in previous snapshots as well as smaller ones.
|Raw metal blocks now generate more frequently within ore veins.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.18|dev=Experimental Snapshot 1|Ore veins can now be found in the base game, and no longer have to be enabled with a data pack.}}
|{{HistoryLine|||dev=experimental snapshot 2|Ore veins are now slightly larger and spawn more frequently.}}
}}

=== ''Bedrock Edition'' ===
{{HistoryTable
|{{HistoryLine|bedrock}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.17.30|exp=Caves and Cliffs|dev=beta 1.17.30.23|Added ore veins behind the Caves and Cliffs [[Minecraft:experimental gameplay]] toggle.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.17.40|exp=Caves and Cliffs|dev=beta 1.17.40.20|Ore veins are now slightly larger and spawn more frequently.}}
|{{HistoryLine||1.18.0|dev=beta 1.18.0.20|Ore veins can now be found by default, and no longer have to be enabled with experimental gameplay toggle.}}
}}

==Issues==
{{Issue list}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Copper vein.png|Copper vein with a raw copper block.
File:CopperVeinUnderwater.png|A copper vein exposed on the seabed.
File:Discovered Copper Vein.png|Exposed copper vein.
File:Discovered Iron Vein.png|Exposed iron vein.
File:Ore vein exposed on surface.png|Copper ore vein found exposed of surface.
File:Iron Vein.jpg|An iron vein.
File:Copper Vein.jpg|A copper vein.
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Minecraft:Tutorial:Mining]]

== Navigation ==
{{Navbox terrain features}}

[[Minecraft:fr:Veine de minerai]]
[[Minecraft:ja:鉱脈]]
[[Minecraft:ko:광맥]]
[[Minecraft:pl:Żyła rud]]
[[Minecraft:pt:Veio de minério]]
[[Minecraft:ru:Рудная залежь]]
[[Minecraft:zh:矿脉]]