Best Y Level for Every Ore in Minecraft (26.3 Chart)

The best Y levels for ores in Minecraft are Y=-59 for diamonds and redstone, Y=-16 for gold, Y=0 for lapis, Y=16 for iron underground, Y=48 for copper and Y=96 for coal. Emeralds and the richest iron are high up in mountains, around Y=232. In the Nether, ancient debris peaks at Y=16, while quartz and Nether gold are spread evenly from Y=10 to Y=117.

Last checked: November 9, 2026. Every range below comes from the ore placement files in Java 26.3, the current release. The "best Y" is where the game places the most ore attempts, worked out from those files.

Best Y level for each ore (chart)

Y=-59 is used instead of the true bottom because bedrock fills the lowest layers of the Overworld, from Y=-64 to about Y=-60. Mining with your feet at Y=-59 puts you as low as you can comfortably tunnel.

How to read these numbers

Most ores use one of two spreads in the game files:

• Triangle spreads get more common toward the middle of their range. Copper, for example, runs from Y=-16 to Y=112 with the peak exactly in the middle at Y=48. At Y=16 you find about half as much, and at Y=95 a bit over a quarter.
• Even spreads place ore equally at every height in the range. Nether quartz and Nether gold work this way, so height does not matter for them.

Several ores are made of two or three layers stacked on top of each other. Iron has a large layer high in mountains, a medium layer peaking at Y=16, and a small even layer near the bottom. That is why iron has two different "best" heights.

Some placements are also thrown away when they would touch air. Diamonds, ancient debris, part of the lapis and part of the lower gold and coal placements are removed or thinned out if a cave opens next to them. So solid rock at the right height beats cave walls for those ores, while copper, iron and redstone show up in cave walls normally.

Coal: Y=96

Coal's main layer runs from Y=0 to Y=192 and peaks at Y=96. A second layer covers everything from Y=136 to the top of the world, so mountainsides above Y=136 are the densest coal spots of all. Coal never generates below Y=0, so do not expect it in the deepslate layer.

Copper: Y=48

Copper peaks at Y=48 and runs down to Y=-16. The dripstone caves biome gets an extra set of much larger copper veins at the same heights, so a dripstone cave is the best place to fill your inventory. Copper ore veins, the long streaks mixed with granite and raw copper blocks, appear between Y=0 and Y=50.

Iron: Y=16 or Y=232

Underground, iron is most common around Y=16. In mountains, the big upper layer peaks at Y=232 with about twice the ore density of the best underground height, so a tall mountain is the fastest source if one is nearby. Deep down, iron ore veins mixed with tuff and raw iron blocks run between Y=-60 and Y=-8.

Lapis lazuli: Y=0

Lapis has a small layer peaking at Y=0 and a second, even layer from the bottom of the world to Y=64 that only places ore away from air. Y=0 is the best target, and mining through solid rock there beats caving.

Gold: Y=-16, or the badlands

Normal gold peaks at Y=-16 and goes down to the bottom of the world. The badlands biomes (badlands, wooded badlands and eroded badlands) add a large extra layer of gold from Y=32 to Y=256. That extra layer is even across its range and replaces stone, so dig into the stone under the colorful terracotta, or explore badlands caves and mineshafts at those heights.

Redstone and diamonds: Y=-59

Both get more common the deeper you go, all the way to the bottom of the world. Redstone also has a small even layer up to Y=15. Mine at Y=-59 for the most of both. The diamond guide covers branch mining, lava safety and Fortune at that depth.

Emerald: Y=232 in mountains

Emerald ore only generates in mountain biomes: meadow, cherry grove, grove, snowy slopes, frozen peaks, jagged peaks, stony peaks, windswept hills, windswept gravelly hills and windswept forest. Its spread peaks at Y=232. Emerald veins are very small, so trading with villagers is a far better source of emeralds for most players.

Nether ores: quartz, gold and ancient debris

Nether quartz and Nether gold ore are spread evenly from Y=10 to Y=117, and the basalt deltas biome gets twice as many placement attempts for each, though much of its rock is basalt and blackstone rather than netherrack. Ancient debris is the exception. It has a small layer peaking at Y=16 and a thin even layer up to Y=119, so mining at Y=15 with a two-block tunnel covers the two best layers. The netherite guide explains the bed and TNT mining methods and how to turn debris into netherite.

Tips for mining any ore

• Check your height. Press F3 on Java and read the Y value. Your position is your feet, so stop when the number matches your target.
• Use Fortune III on coal, copper, lapis, redstone, diamond, emerald, Nether quartz and Nether gold for more drops per block. Fortune does not affect ancient debris.
• Know the deepslate line. Below Y=0 the stone is all deepslate, and between Y=0 and Y=8 it is a mix. Deepslate ores take longer to mine, so Efficiency helps.
• Pick the right pickaxe. Breaking an ore with a pickaxe that is too weak destroys it with no drop.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Y level for iron in Minecraft?

Y=16 is best underground, where iron's middle layer peaks. If you can reach a tall mountain, Y=232 holds even more iron, because the game places its largest iron layer there.

What is the best Y level for gold?

Y=-16 is the peak for normal gold ore. In badlands biomes, gold also generates evenly from Y=32 to Y=256, which makes those mesas the richest gold source.

What Y level is best for redstone?

Mine at Y=-59. Redstone gets more common the deeper you go, and Y=-59 is the lowest layer you can tunnel along without hitting bedrock.

What is the best Y level for lapis lazuli?

Y=0. Lapis peaks there, and much of it only generates away from air, so tunneling through solid rock at Y=0 finds more than exploring caves.

Where do emeralds spawn in Minecraft?

Only in mountain biomes, such as meadows, groves, snowy slopes, peaks and windswept hills. They can appear from Y=-16 upward and are most common around Y=232.

What Y level is ancient debris at?

Ancient debris peaks at Y=16 in the Nether. Mine at Y=15 so your two-block tunnel covers both Y=15 and Y=16.