Best WotLK mining guide (2022)

If you are excited about the release of the Wrath of the Lich King but don’t know where or how to start mining, our WotLK mining guide is just the thing you need to get started with mining.

You’ve swept through Azeroth and Outland. The troops of the Lich King now await you in the cold continent of Northrend. Take on the undead Scourge and the Lich King himself atop Icecrown Citadel. After its original release in 2008, the Lich King returns with Wrath of the Lich King on World of Warcraft Classic and you can check it out and try it for yourself by visiting its official site. Also, you can check out the most useful add-ons for the WotLK from our article. You can also check out our WotLK DPS ranking and tier list to learn the best damage dealing class in the game.

Mining is the most essential and lucrative gathering profession in the World of Warcraft. The ore that Miners gather is smelted into bars that are utilized in Engineering and Blacksmithing, and the raw ore is prospected for gems by Jewelcrafters. As a result, demand for ore and bars is frequently strong, allowing dealers to have more direct market control than Herbalism or Skinning. Miners can smelt Saronite Bar and Titansteel Bar after capping, two of the most important endgame crafting resources. With that out of the way, let us continue to our WotLK mining guide.

WotLK mining guide

Find Minerals is the most important skill a miner learns. It works similarly to Herbalism’s Find Herbs in that it displays ore nodes on your minimap. Once you’ve discovered a vein, you’ll need to dig it with your Mining Pick. Engineers can also craft different mining tools such as the Gnomish Army Knife and Hammer Pick. Because these aren’t BoP, they could be worth picking up, but a basic pick from a Trade Supplies seller would suffice.

WotLK mining guide: Training Mining

Old World

Trainers in any major capital can educate you from Apprentice to Artisan, thus there is no need to go to a specific metropolis for this stage. Mining may also be leveled with your character, and nodes will appear in level-appropriate zones.

However, as mentioned in the next section, it is simpler and faster to train your mining in the Eastern Kingdoms for power leveling, so Alliance should consider visiting Geofram Bouldertoe in Ironforge or Gelman Stonehand in Stormwind. The Horde should consider visiting Brom Killian in Undercity or Belil in Silvermoon for the same purpose.

Outland

The Master Mining Trainers may be found in your faction’s initial questing location after passing through the Dark Portal to Outland. This will be Hurnak Grimmord at Honor Hold for the Alliance, and Krugosh in Thrallmar for the Horde. If you have access to Shattrath, you can also find two neutral trainers: Fono of The Aldor and Hanlir of The Scryers.

Northrend

Grand Master Mining Trainers in Northrend should be among all other Grand Master profession trainers immediately after landing at your faction’s fort from the zeppelin. The Alliance must locate Fendrig Redbeard in Valiance Keep, and Brunna Ironaxe will train the Horde in Warsong Hold. If you have access to Dalaran, Jedidiah Handers is another neutral trainer, but because you must be gathering ore rather than learning new recipes, there is no difference between training with him and training with the Grand Master in your initial questing region.

WotLK mining guide: Leveling Mining

Next up on our WotLK mining guide is leveling mining. Making circles around the outer borders of a zone, like most other collecting professions, is the quickest way to locate mineral nodes and boost your Mining skill. These are known as “circuits,” and they are the best option. Unless otherwise specified, your gathering approach should be to simply complete circuits when zones are given below. While it may appear to be time-consuming, it will help you achieve the cap faster than other approaches.

Old World

Surprisingly, Vanilla material is the hardest aspect of Mining leveling. This is due to two factors. To begin, node placement between Kalimdor (abbreviated as K below) and the Eastern Kingdoms (EK below) is extremely unequal. For example, in the EK, you may stay in 3 or 4 zones between 175 and 250, whereas in Kalimdor, you must travel between 4 and 6 in the same level range. Second, the lack of flying horses significantly lengthens the time required to execute a round around a zone.

As a result, if you want to swiftly power level, we propose training skill levels 1 – 275 (or as soon as you can get there) in the Eastern Kingdoms. To begin, locate a mining trainer and enroll in Apprentice Mining. Find Minerals as soon as possible! Veins spawn in faction-specific zones until Expert, therefore they will be split accordingly below.

1 – 65: Copper Ore / Copper Vein (Requires Mining level 1)

• Copper is one of the most plentiful ores, and it can be found in the first zone of every race in World of Warcraft. Simply complete loops around your starting location after studying Apprentice Mining.

Return to your trainer when you’ve accumulated enough mining to learn Journeyman.

65 – 125: Tin Ore and Silver Ore

• Tin Ore/ Tin Vein (Requires Mining 65)
  • Eastern Kingdoms
    • Horde: Silverpine Forestand Hillsbrad Foothills
    • Alliance: Loch Modanand Westfall
  • Kalimdor
    • Horde: Stonetalon Mountains, The Barrens, and Thousand Needles
    • Alliance: Darkshoreand Ashenvale
  • Silver Ore/ Silver Vein (Requires Mining 75)
    • Eastern Kingdoms
      • Both: Arathi Highlands
      • Horde: Silverpine Forest, Hillsbrad Foothills, and Ghostlands
        • While a full circuit will function in the Ghostlands, you may also build a smaller circuit in the burned terrain and route between Deatholme and the Sanctum of the Moon.
      • Alliance Loch Modanand Duskwood
    • Kalimdor (Silver is very difficult to obtain in Kalimdor, so it may be preferable to continue accumulating tin until you reach 125.)
      • Both: Ashenvale

When you’ve gathered enough ore to level 125, go back to your teacher and learn Expert Mining. Following this step, all nodes will be visible in disputed zones.

125 – 175: Iron Ore and Gold Ore 

• Iron Ore/ Iron Deposit (Requires Mining 125)
  • Eastern Kingdoms
    • Duskwood, Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Badlands
      • The finest circuit in Duskwood begins at the border closest to Stranglethorn Vale, continues along the border with the Swamp of Sorrows, and concludes by following the ridge towards Darkshire and looping around the edge of The Twilight Grove.
      • A conventional circuit is sufficient in Badlands, but for added speed, you may finish a smaller one among the cliffs between Kargath and Dustbelch Grotto.
    • Kalimdor
      • Thousand Needles, Desolace, Ashenvale, Tanaris
        • The most successful circuit in Desolace begins from Shadowprey Village, travels through Mannoroc Coven and along the outside perimeter of the Kodo Graveyard, passes through the Valley of Spears, and returns to Shadowprey.
        • In Ashenvale, simply go around the east edge of the zone, halting parallel to Raynewood Retreat.
        • The fastest route to Tanaris begins in Gadgetzan, travels around the exterior of The Caverns of Time, then returns to Gadgetzan.
      • Gold Ore/ Gold Vein (Requires Mining 155)
        • Eastern Kingdoms
          • Burning Steppes, Alterac Mountains, Arathi Highlands, Badlands
            • In Badlands, in addition to the regular, bigger circuit, you may create the same mini-circuit as for Iron Ore.
          • Kalimdor
            • Tanaris, Thousand Needles, Un’Goro Crater
              • In Thousand Needles, you can circle around at the edge of the Shimmering Flats and complete your circuit.
              • The biggest concentration of gold in Un’Goro Crater is along the Northwest side, so follow the mountains from Marshal’s Refuge until you’re parallel with Fire Plume Ridge, then double back along the same road.

You may train up to Artisan after finishing these circuits! When you reach the end of Artisan and start gathering Dark Iron Ore, you must travel to the Eastern Kingdoms since Dark Iron Ore does not spawn in Kalimdor.

175 – 275: Mithril Ore, Truesilver Ore, and Dark Iron Ore.

• Mithril Ore/ Mithril Deposit (Requires Mining 175)
  • Eastern Kingdoms
    • Burning Steppes, Badlands, Arathi Highlands, Alterac Mountains
      • You may use the same mini-circuit that you used for Tin and Gold in Badlands.
      • Mithril is concentrated in the Alterac Mountains surrounding the Alterac Ruins, so you may limit your circuit to that area.
    • Kalimdor
      • Tanaris, Desolace, Azshara
        • The most efficient way in Desolace is to make rounds around the Valley of Spears.
        • In Azshara, stick to the trail until you reach the Ruins of Eldarath. After that, follow the mountains north of the Ruins, then the northern boundary of the zone, circle around the mountains on the northeastern shore, and return to the Ruins.
      • Truesilver Ore/ Truesilver Deposit (Requires Mining 205)
        • Eastern Kingdoms
          • Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Arathi Highlands, Alterac Mountains
            • Dreadmaul Rock has the largest concentration of Truesilver in the Burning Steppes, yet a standard circuit also works.
            • Truesilver does not spawn in the Tainted Scar in the Blasted Lands.
            • You may use the same route you used for Mithril in the Alterac Mountains.
          • Kalimdor
            • Tanaris, Azshara, Un’Goro Crater
              • The majority of Truesilver spawns in Tanaris near the mountains on the zone’s western boundary, thus you should be able to make a circuit alongside them.
              • The same circuit that worked for Mithril in Azshara will work for Truesilver, although the spawns are more infrequent.
              • Truesilver spawns in the southeast corner of Un’Goro Crater, therefore you should be able to make a direct circuit down from Fire Plume Ridge to where you stopped harvesting Gold earlier.
            • Dark Iron Ore/ Dark Iron Deposit (Requires Mining 230)
              • Eastern Kingdoms
                • Burning Steppes, Searing Gorge

When you’ve mined enough to reach 275, you’ll be able to enter the Dark Portal and study Master Mining.

Outland

275 – 350: Fel Iron Ore and Adamantite Ore 

• Fel Iron Ore/ Fel Iron Deposit (Requires Mining 275)
  • Hellfire Peninsula, Zangarmarsh

After mining enough Fel Iron, you’ll start collecting Adamantite, although there are two deposits accessible at various levels: Adamantite Deposit at 325 and Rich Adamantite Deposit at 350. In general, “Rich” or “Pure” nodes will produce more ore and have a larger possibility of dropping rare minerals (in this example, Eternium Ore).

Rich Adamantite Deposit has an extra, one-of-a-kind advantage in this circumstance. After reaching 350, most people rush to Northrend to start mining Cobalt, however, this causes a lot of rivalry in the initial areas. To get around this, keep collecting Rich Adamantite Deposit until you hit 375 to speed up the leveling process in WotLK content.

• Adamantite Ore/ Adamantite Deposit (325) + Rich Adamantite Deposit (350)
• Adamantite Deposit(325)
  • Nagrand, Terokkar Forest, Blade’s Edge Mountains
    • You can eliminate the region around Oshu’Gun from your circuits in Nagrand.
    • Your circuit in Terokkar Forest should revolve around Tuurem, Stonebreaker Hold, Allerian Stronghold, Bonechewer Ruins, and Fire Wing Point.
  • Rich Adamantite Deposit(350)
    • Shadowmoon Valley, Netherstorm
      • In Shadowmoon, begin your circuit at Legion Hold, then proceed southeast to Sanctum of the Stars, north to the Hand of Gul’Dan, and back to Legion Hold.
      • Begin immediately south of ManaForge B’Naar in Netherstorm, then proceed east to Kirin’Var Village, north to ManaForge Ultris, and west to Force Base Gehenna. From there, head south to the EcoDome Midrealm before returning to B’Naar through the Ruins of Enkaat.

Whether you stay in Outland or not, when you reach 350, you can travel to Northrend and become a Grand Master.

Northrend

350 – 450: Cobalt Ore and Saronite Ore 

Rich deposits also include cobalt and saronite. Because they occur in very similar locations to ordinary nodes, you may continue to build a conventional circuit while keeping an eye out for them. Furthermore, there is one area where you may discover a Pure Saronite Deposit, which is mentioned further below.

• Cobalt Ore/ Cobalt Deposit (350) + Rich Cobalt Deposit (375)
• Cobalt Deposit(350)
  • Borean Tundra, Grizzly Hills, Howling Fjord
• Rich Cobalt Deposit(375)
  • Borean Tundra, Grizzly Hills, Howling Fjord
• Saronite Ore/ Saronite Deposit (400), Rich Saronite Deposit (425), + Pure Saronite Deposit (450)
• Saronite Deposit(400)
  • Icecrown, Sholazar Basin, The Storm Peaks
• Rich Saronite Deposit(425)
  • Icecrown, Sholazar Basin, The Storm Peaks
• Pure Saronite Deposit(450)
  • Ulduar has the only Pure Saronite vein. After completing the majority of the raid and arriving to the Prison of Yogg-Saron, players must battle General Vezax. There is a potential for a Pure Deposit to spawn in his chamber, just before the final fight. Unlike other pure deposits, this one does not drop the rare Titanium Ore, however, it does drop Eternal Shadow and Eternal Earth, whereas the Rich Deposit only drops the Crystallized variants.

And with that, you’ve finished! Congratulations! Continue reading to learn more about Titanium Ore, Titansteel Bar, and their potential to make you a fortune.

WotLK mining guide: Endgame (Titanium and Titansteel)

Last up on our WotLK mining guide is Titanium and Titansteel. Whether you utilize your ore for crafting or not, acquiring Titanium Ore benefits all Miners. It’s used in a variety of high-level items, including the Nesingwary 4000, Epic Engineering helms like the Electroflux Sight Enhancers and Jewelcrafting Epics like the Titanium Spellshock Necklace. The ore is mined from Titanium Vein, which can be found in abundance in Icecrown, Sholazar Basin, and The Storm Peaks, but be careful! Competition for these nodes is typically severe.

Titanium Bar is also the principal material used in the manufacture of Titansteel Bar. Titansteel is more sought than Titanium by all vocations that need bars to be made. It is the sole mineral used to make patterns and enchantments from ToC and ICC, except Saronite Bar. It is also the primary metal utilized in the production of the highly sought-after endgame Engineering items Jeeves, Mekgineer’s Chopper, and Mechano-hog. To create Titansteel, you must first Smelt Titansteel, which requires:

• • 3x Titanium Bar
  • 1x Eternal Fire
  • 1x Eternal Earth
  • 1x Eternal Shadow

But bear in mind that smelting has a 20-hour cooldown, so select wisely what to do with your bars.

WotLK mining guide: FAQ

In this section, we are going to try to answer some of the most asked questions about WotLK mining.

Is mining good in Wotlk?

Mining is the most essential and lucrative gathering profession in the World of Warcraft. The ore mined by miners is smelted into bars used in engineering and blacksmithing, and the raw ore is prospected for jewels by jewel crafters.

Where can I mine iron in Wotlk?

Feralas. Feralas is the greatest spot to mine iron, therefore you’ll find it everywhere you go. You may perform laps in the northern region without visiting the southern area.

Where can I mine tin in Wotlk?

The greatest spot to mine Tin Ore is simply Alterac Mountains in Hillsbrad Foothills. The location is shown in red on the map. If you run out of Veins, simply circle the mountains until they replenish. Because this is a horde zone, it may be more difficult to reach lower-level Alliance players.

How can I speed up my mining?

Making circles around the outer borders of a zone, like most other collecting professions, is the quickest way to locate mineral nodes and boost your Mining skill. These are known as “circuits,” and they are the best option.

Does mining still give stamina?

Mining boosts your stamina, scaling with your mining skill level. Mining provides nearly the same stamina gain as the crafting professions, making it quite appealing to tanks, particularly those that benefit from extra stamina, such as Blood Death Knights and Guardian Druids.

How do I learn Northrend mining?

This may be taught from Jedidiah Handers at All that Glitters Prospecting Co. in the Magus Commerce Exchange in Dalaran (Northrend).

What level should I mine Mithril?

Mithril Ore is mined from Mithril Deposits with a minimum mining skill of 150, although with the mining pick’s bonus +10, it may be mined with a skill of 140.

How do you farm Mithril?

Mithril may be found in abundance in the Burning Steppes. There is a mountain named Deadmaul Rock that has a lot of Mithril Deposits inside the caverns, but you have to battle monsters and be dismounted if you venture inside.

We hope that our WotLK mining guide was enjoyable. If you did enjoy this guide, we are sure that you will also like to check out some of our other articles,  such as WotLK jewelcrafting guide: Fastest way to level up jewelcrafting, or Best WotLK Engineering guide (2022).