Mining 1 to 300

Ranks

What you can mine

Setup

1. Learn Apprentice Mining from any mining trainer (in every capital and most starting towns).
2. Buy a Mining Pick from a trade goods vendor. Keep it in your bags.
3. Open your spellbook and drag Find Minerals onto a bar. Turn it on: ore nodes now show on your minimap.
4. Also learn Smelting (free with Mining). Smelting gives skill points too.

1 to 65: Copper

1. Mine Copper Veins in your starting zones: AllianceElwynn Forest, Dun Morogh, Teldrassil (rare), Darkshore. HordeDurotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades, The Barrens.
2. Smelt Copper Ore into Copper Bars at any forge whenever you pass one. It's easy skill from 1 to about 30.
3. At skill 50, go back to the trainer for Journeyman Mining (needs level 10).

65 to 125: Tin (and Copper)

1. Go to Redridge Mountains or Westfall Alliance, or The Barrens and Stonetalon Mountains Horde. Hillsbrad Foothills and Ashenvale have lots of Tin for both factions.
2. Mine Tin and the leftover Copper you see. Silver Veins are rare, always take them.
3. Smelt Bronze Bar (Copper + Tin) for extra points. Bronze sells well to Blacksmiths and Engineers.
4. At skill 125, learn Expert Mining (needs level 20).

125 to 175: Iron

1. Go to Arathi Highlands, Desolace or Thousand Needles. Badlands also works.
2. Mine Iron Deposits. Take every Gold Vein you see, it's rare and valuable.
3. Learn Smelt Iron and Smelt Gold from the trainer and smelt as you go if you need points.

175 to 245: Mithril

1. Go to The Hinterlands and Tanaris. Badlands, Searing Gorge and Felwood also have Mithril.
2. Mine Mithril Deposits. Watch for Truesilver from 230.
3. At skill 200, learn Artisan Mining (needs level 35).

245 to 275: Small Thorium

1. Go to Un'Goro Crater, the Blasted Lands, Felwood or Western Plaguelands.
2. Mine Small Thorium Veins and any Mithril left over until it turns grey.
3. At 250 you can learn Smelt Thorium for a few extra points.

275 to 300: Rich Thorium

1. Go to Un'Goro Crater, Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Silithus or Burning Steppes.
2. Mine Rich Thorium Veins (and Small ones while they still give points). Done: 300!

Tips

• Run a loop around the edge of a zone, along cliffs and hills. Most nodes are against walls.
• Nodes respawn, so if a zone is busy, pick another from the same step.
• Mining lets you mine Dark Iron at 230, but smelting it needs the Black Forge in Blackrock Depths after a quest.