For information on training this skill, see the Mining Training article.
Mining is a skill in RuneScape Classic that allows players to mine rocks and obtain various ores and minerals. Ores can be smelted into bars and then forged into armour and weapons.
Pickaxes
A player attempting to mine. A pickaxe bubble is visible above their head.
Before attempting to mine a rock, a player must have a pickaxe. The higher the level the pickaxe, the more swings the player will automatically take at the rock you are trying to mine with one click.
Pickaxes can be bought from Nurmof's Pickaxe Shop in the Dwarven Mine. Bronze Pickaxes can also be bought from various General Stores and other shops.
| Image | Pickaxe | Level | # of Swings | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bronze pickaxe | 1 | 1 | 1 coin |
|
Iron pickaxe | 1 | 2 | 140 coins |
|
Steel pickaxe | 6 | 4 | 500 coins |
|
Mithril pickaxe | 21 | 6 | 1300 coins |
|
Adamant pickaxe | 31 | 9 | 3200 coins |
|
Rune pickaxe | 41 | 12 | 32000 coins |
Rocks
Unlike modern RuneScape, attempting to mine a rock containing ore you do not have the mining level for does not warn you that you cannot mine it. You will instead receive the message "You only succeed in scratching the rock".
| Image | Rock | Image | Ore | Level | Experience | Respawn Rate | Fatigue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Clay rock | 
|
Clay | 1 | 5 | ~ 1 Second | 0.106% |
|
Copper rock | 
|
Copper ore | 1 | 17.5 | 2 - 4 Seconds | 0.373% |
|
Tin rock | 
|
Tin ore | 1 | 17.5 | 2 - 4 Seconds | 0.373% |
| File:Bluriterock.png | Blurite rock | 
|
Blurite ore | 10 | 17 | 2 - 3 Seconds | 0.362% |
|
Iron rock | 
|
Iron ore | 15 | 35 | 4 - 7 Seconds | 0.746% |
|
Silver rock | 
|
Silver | 20 | 40 | 50 - 70 Seconds | 0.853% |
|
Coal rock | 
|
Coal | 30 | 50 | 25 Seconds | 1.066% |
| File:Goldrock.png | Gold rock | File:Goldore.PNG | Gold | 40 | 65 | 50 - 70 Seconds | 1.386% |
| File:Gem rocks.png | Gem rock |       
|
Uncut gems | 40 | 50 | 120 Seconds | 1.066% |
|
Mithril rock | 
|
Mithril ore | 55 | 80 | 110 Seconds | 1.706% |
|
Adamantite rock | 
|
Adamantite ore | 70 | 95 | 180 - 220 Seconds | 2.026% |
| File:Runiteore.png | Runite rock | 
|
Runite ore | 85 | 125 | 12 - 15 Minutes | 2.666% |
Gems
While mining rocks for ores, players may randomly find an uncut gem which include sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds. Finding a gem from regular rock gives no mining experience. Mining gem rocks found in Shilo Village is a faster way to obtain uncut gems but the mine can only be accessed after completing the Shilo Village quest.
The higher level rocks have greater likelihood of finding a gem and wearing Charged Dragonstone Amulet also increases the chance.
Uncut gems can be used in the crafting skill to create various pieces of jewellery.
Certing
 |
 |
| Giles and Jinno cert ores. | |
The following certificates can be exchanged by Giles in Draynor Village or by Jinno in Zanaris. Certing ores is useful to trade bulk amounts easier and faster.
Locations
Mining spot south-west of Varrock.
There are various mining sites in Runescape Classic each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
For a complete list of mines, see the Mines article.
For where to train mining most efficiently, see Mining Training article.
Quests
Mining is required to complete various quests:
- Level 3 to mine plain rocks for Rocks during Underground Pass
- Level 10 to mine Blurite rock in The Knight's Sword
- Level 40 to mine Rock of Dalgroth in Ogre Enclave during Watchtower
- Level 40 to mine 'pure gold' in Witchaven dungeon during Family Crest
- Level 50 to mine Rockslide in White Wolf Mountain during Hero's Quest
- Level 52 to smash Boulders in Legends caverns during Legend's Quest
Mining plays an important role in Digsite quest. Players can search the specimen trays, dig in level 1, 2 and 3 sites and pan for gold nuggets in the nearby river.
See: Digsite (location) for more information
The following quests give mining experience as a reward:
- Doric's Quest - (Level + 1) * 75 + 100 XP
- Digsite - (Level + 1) * 300 XP
- Hero's Quest - 2575 XP
- Plague City - Level * 75 + 175 XP
Trivia
- Drinking Dwarven Stout temporarily increases mining and smithing levels by 1
- Joe Bill64 was the first player to gain 99 mining in 2002
- Mining system was changed in November 2002 to give visual feedback of the rock's state and the respawn times were halved
- In 2002 low fatigue soft rocks and high fatigue hard rocks were introduced for variety. They were removed with the release of Sleeping bags in May 2003