If there’s a skill that Old School RuneScape players love to hate, it’s Mining.
The Mining skill involves training a player’s ability to mine ores and gems from rocks all over the game, some of which are extremely valuable and used as a resource for hundreds of different reasons. It’s all the same: grab a pickaxe and get to swinging like the dwarves under Ice Mountain!
The training to reach 99 Mining can be grueling for players, with most methods giving low experience rates compared to other skills unless you do constant tick manipulation.
Recommended Read: Old School RuneScape – Level 1-99 Fishing Guide
In this guide, I am going to detail the journey from levels 1-99 Mining to make getting your Mining skillcape as straightforward and efficient as possible!
The road to 99 Mining in OSRS consists of mining Tin and Copper from levels 1-15 and mining Iron ore from levels 15-70. Throughout this, you will also train in different methods at varying levels, including doing the Motherlode Mine at 30 Mining, 3-tick Granite at 45 Mining, Volcanic Mine at 70 Mining, mining Amethyst at 92 Mining, and much more.
Table of Contents
Best Way to Reach Level 99 Mining in OSRS
As mentioned, getting 99 Mining in Old School RuneScape is one of the more lengthy grinds in the game, but that doesn’t mean you have to avoid it entirely.
There is still a healthy mix of AFK and high-intensity methods to suit your playstyle.
Levels 1-15: Mining Copper & Tin Ore
When you’re fresh off of Tutorial Island, you can start mining both Tin and Copper ore.
These ore rocks can be found in pretty much any mining area in the game, with the more common places that newcomers go to being Lumbridge Swamp, Al-Kharid Mine, Falador Mines, or south of Varrock (both east and west mines).
Levels 15-70: Mining Iron Ore
Iron ore provides some of the fastest experience rates from 15-70 without the need for tick manipulation.
It is highly recommended to just drop the ores as you train instead of trying to bank them. It is more worthwhile to increase your experience rates than to collect ores that admittedly aren’t worth much.
At level 60 Mining, you will be able to enter the Mining Guild, which has multiple spots where Iron Ore is clustered together. The Mining Guild also gives you an invisible +7 boost to your Mining level.
When training to 70 Mining, you can expect average experience rates of 50k Mining exp per hour.
Level 30+: Motherlode Mine
For miners who are all about the slow grind but don’t want to click very often, the Motherlode Mine is for you.
Right next to the Mining Guild, the Motherlode Mine has OSRS players mining pay-dirt from the cavern walls and turning them into the water circuit to clean.
After doing so, players will be able to collect a variety of ores depending on their Mining level, as well as Golden Nuggets that can be used to unlock other rewards.
When training from 30-99 Mining at the Motherlode Mine, your experience rates may vary between 15k to 50k Mining exp per hour, all of which depend on your Mining level.
Ignoring the low experience rates, you will be able to get a decent profit of around 150k-300k gp per hour at higher levels (mostly after 85 Mining since you will unlock Runite).
Level 45+: Mining Granite
At 45 Mining, you will have the option to mine Granite, but you will only be able to realistically make the most of it by using tick manipulation. 3-tick mining granite gives the fastest Mining experience per hour in the entire game.
Granite can be found in the Quarry in the Kharidian Desert, so you will need some form of heat protection while you are there.
A Desert Amulet 4 from the Elite Desert Achievement Diary, a Hitpoints Skillcape, a Regeneration bracelet, a Circlet of Water, or Waterskins are all viable options to combat the heat.
When training from 45-99 Mining by 3-tick mining granite, you can expect experience rates between 70k-100k Mining exp per hour.
Level 52+: Mining Gem Rocks
For players who want to gain a moderate amount of profit while still getting decent experience rates, mining Gem Rocks is for you.
Although there are already some Gem Rocks at the surface level of Shilo Village, it is recommended to complete the Hard Tier Karamja Achievement Diary to access the Gem Mine and avoid bots.
You can also either choose between mining them normally or by doing tick manipulation.
Without tick manipulation, experience rates can average between 50k to 75k Mining exp per hour. With tick manipulation, your rates jump to between 90k to 108k Mining exp per hour.
Level 70+: Volcanic Mine
This minigame hosted on Fossil Island after completion of the “Bone Voyage” quest provides players with the best AFK mining experience rates in Old School RuneScape.
You will also need at least 150 Kudos from the Varrock Museum and have turned in five Unidentified small fossils to Peter.
In the Volcanic Mine, you and a group of players mine a giant rock through a pool of lava while avoiding lava monsters, falling stalagmites, and gauging the pressure levels of the volcano.
Depending on your level and overall performance, experience rates between 70-99 Mining can be around 70k-92k Mining exp per hour. This also varies on which pickaxe you are using (Dragon, Infernal, Crystal, etc.).
Level 75+: Blast Mine
OSRS players with 100% Lovakengj favour will be able to take part in the Blast Mine, which provides decent experience rates and great profit once you reach 75 Mining.
Although you only need 42 Mining to participate, it is not worth it as you will only unlock Runite at 75 Mining.
At the Blast Mine, you light Dynamite into the walls, collect Blasted Ore, and quickly deposit it into the ore sack before it depletes.
The Blast Mine rewards players with ores up to ones that they would normally be able to mine at their level + 10 (i.e. at 75 Mining you will be able to receive Runite ore despite originally needing 85 Mining to mine Runite on its own).
Since you will be running around a lot between the different wall cavities, it is best to wear weight-reducing gear while you are depositing the Blasted Ore, then wear the full Prospector’s outfit when you go to receive your reward for increased experience rates.
Starting at 75 Mining, you can receive around 70k-80k Mining exp per hour and anywhere between 500k-600k gp per hour.
Level 85+: Mining Runite
It wouldn’t be a true Mining guide if I didn’t mention mining Runite Ore: the legendary metal of Old School RuneScape. At 85 Mining, you will be able to mine Runite Ore for extremely slow experience rates but great profit.
There are multiple spots to find Runite rocks to mine, most of which require the completion of certain quests to reach, including:
- Lava Maze Mine – Deep in the Wilderness (also the only location where F2P can mine Runite)
- Mining Guild – Requires 60 Mining
- Fossil Island Mine – Requires completion of the “Bone Voyage” quest
- Neitiznot Runite Mine – Requires partial completion of “The Fremennik Isles” quest
- Mor Ul Rek Mine – Must sacrifice a Fire Cape to access
- Frozen Waste Plateau Mine – Deep in the Wilderness
- Heroes’ Guild Mine – Requires completion of the “Heroes’ Quest” quest
- Myths’ Guild Mine – Requires completion of the “Dragon Slayer II” quest
- Trahaearn Mine – Requires completion of the “Song of the Elves” quest
Despite only returning experience rates between 8k-12k Mining exp per hour (depending on if a player is using Varrock armour 4 and Superior/Expert mining gloves), each ore is worth around 12k gp.
This means that you will be able to get, on average, 600k-700k gp per hour by hopping worlds to mine Runite ore.
Level 92+: Mining Amethyst
For a slight step up from mining Runite, players with 92 Mining can mine Amethyst at the back portion of the Mining Guild.
If you have completed the Elite Tier Falador Achievement Diary, you will be able to access the other Amethyst mine in the same general area, which has double the rocks available, so you do not have to compete with that many other players.
While mining Amethyst, you can expect around 24k Mining exp and 350k gp per hour.
Other Things To Consider
Although tedious, there are other items of consideration that can help quicken the journey to 99 Mining, often in the form of quests or item unlocks.
Quests That Give Mining Experience As A Reward
As mentioned earlier in this guide, there are quests that you can complete at 1 Mining that will still give Mining experience.
If you are able to complete the mentioned quest, you will be able to jump from 1-37 Mining without touching a single rock!
Quest (Mining Lvl Required) – Mining Experience Rewarded:
- Another Slice of H.A.M. (Lvl 1) – 3k
- Doric’s Quest (Lvl 1) – 1.3k
- Plague City (Lvl 1) – 2,425
- The Dig Site (Lvl 1) – 15.3k
- The Forsaken Tower (Lvl 1) – 500
- The Giant Dwarf (Lvl 1) – 2.5k
- The Lost Tribe (Lvl 17) – 3k
- Between a Rock… (Lvl 40) – 5k
- Enarkhra’s Lament (Lvl 45) – 7k
- Heroes’ Quest (Lvl 50) – 2,575
- Dragon Slayer II (Lvl 68) – 60k
- Song of the Elves (Lvl 70) – 40k
- Making Friends with My Arm (Lvl 72) – 50k
Mining-Related Items
These are items that either give increased experience rates, help you gain extra mining rewards, or overall help make your mining journey easier.
Prospector’s Kit
This is the Mining-variant of the skilling outfits in Old School RuneScape. It can be unlocked by turning in a total of 180 Golden Nuggets to Prospector Percy’s Nugget Shop in the Motherlode Mine.
While wearing the full kit, you will have a 2.5x multiplier while you are mining. This effect also works for when you are collecting ores from the Blast Mine.
If you have it, You can wear the Varrock Armour 4 in place of the Prospector’s jacket and still have the set bonus.
Varrock Armour 1/2/3/4
This armour is obtained from the different tiers of the Varrock Achievement Diary. Depending on the tier, you will have a 10% chance of mining two ores instead of one up to a different ore type.
- Easy Tier: Up to Gold
- Medium Tier: Up to Mithril
- Hard Tier: Up to Adamantite
- Elite Tier: Any Ore including Amethyst
Despite the different tiers having a possible 10% chance of receiving two ores, you can only wear the Varrock Armour 4 in place of the Prospector’s outfit to share the effects.
Dragon/Infernal/Crystal Pickaxe
The pickaxe is the miner’s best friend, so while you are training for 99 Mining, you want to make sure you have the best pickaxe possible for your needs. Be sure to upgrade your pickaxe as you level up to make the grind as efficient as possible.
It is worth noting that most pickaxes don’t require you to wield them to use them, as having them in your inventory with the required Mining level will be enough to use them.
The Dragon Pickaxe requires 61 Mining to use and 60 Attack to wield. If you are able to equip it, you can use the special attack to give you a +3 boost to your Mining level.
The Infernal Pickaxe has the same requirements as the Dragon Pickaxe, with the added effect of smelting and destroying ? ores that you mine, thus giving you Mining and Smithing experience (half that you normally would) at the same time. If you have an Ironman account, you will need to use a Smouldering Stone on a Dragon Pickaxe to make it.
The Crystal Pickaxe requires 71 Mining to use, along with 70 Attack and 50 Agility to equip.
Having the same special attack as the Dragon and Infernal Pickaxe, it can be charged with Crystal shards to increase the speed at which it mines ore (around 3% faster than a regular Dragon Pickaxe).
For Ironman accounts, you can make one with a Crystal Tool Seed and 120 Crystal Shards on a singing bowl in Prifddinas.
Celestial Signet (Celestial Ring & Elven Ring)
By combining the Celestial Ring and Elven Ring at a singing bowl in Prifddinas with 100 Crystal Shards and 1k Stardust, you will be able to make the Celestial Signet, a ring that combines the effects of both rings:
- Celestial Ring: While charged, there is a 10% chance you will can an extra ore when mining. You also have an invisible +4 boost to your Mining level.
- Elven Signet: While charged, there is a 10% chance you will not use a charge when using crystal equipment.
Mining Gloves (Regular/Superior/Expert)
Obtained from Belona in the Mining Guild for a number of Unidentified Materials, a player wearing these gloves will have a chance of not depleting the ore they are mining (applicable ores depending on which tier of gloves they are wearing).
The regular and superior gloves can also be turned into Belona with 60 Unidentified minerals to make the Expert mining gloves, combining the effects of both gloves.
- Regular: Only effects Silver, Coal, and Gold ore
- Superior: Only affects Mithril, Adamantite, and Runite ore
Obtaining the Mining Skillcape
Congratulations on reaching 99 Mining! You can purchase the Mining skillcape from the Mining Guild for 99k gp.
The Mining Skillcape gives an additional 5% chance of receiving an extra ore up to Adamantite. This effect stacks with other items that have similar effects.
This has been an in-depth guide to training Mining levels 1-99 in Old School RuneScape!
Do you have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
