OSRS Mining Training Guide: The Quickest Way To Train

Within the wonderful MMORPG experience that OSRS offers, there is a cavalcade of things to do. Whether that be quests, slaying bosses, farming gold, wheeling and dealing or simply getting to know the locals on your server, the main takeaway is that there is always something to do. There is always a way forward and a way to help your character grow. While quests, exploration, and combat will naturally help you build your character, there are certain aspects that players will need to approach in a more thoughtful and meticulous way if they want to strengthen their character build. These are, of course, your skill stats.

In OSRS, skills dictate how useful your character is in certain situations. For example, if your character is good at cooking, they can make more complex recipes with fewer resources. Or if your character is a master craftsman they will be able to create some of the finest wears around with just base materials. There are twenty-three different skills in all, each with its own unique perks. So with this in mind, we thought we would help.

We have created a series of guides giving players insight into each of the different skills in OSRS, providing information on why they are important, what you’ll need to do to improve them fast, and any other important tidbits that will help you craft a character with a maxed out skill set. In this guide, we take a look at Mining, one of the best skills to have in OSRS. Without further delay, here is our OSRS essential guide to mining.

What is Mining in OSRS?

Mining

Mining in OSRS is a skill that dictates the speed and ability that players can successfully excavate caves and obtain rocks, ore, and gems from mining. This is a skill that is often paired with smithing. The reason is that players who can successfully mine for ore can then use their smithing ability to smelt down these resources into bars and then use their smithing ability to craft weapons, armor, and other interesting wears.

To mine, a player will need to go to a designated mine with a pickaxe. Then they must find an area with rocks, select the rock with the left click function, and then their character will begin mining this area. Then eventually, they will uncover ore or a gemstone. Mining works in cycles and a better quality pickaxe will speed up the mining cycle, leading to more successful mining sessions.

Why is Mining Important in OSRS?

There are a series of reasons why mining is an important skill within OSRS. This skill allows players to collect a series of essential materials for crafting and smithing, which in turn allows players to keep a healthy stock of weapons and armor. Mining also allows players to get their hands on rare materials which can be sold for a high profit. Then with a higher mining rating, the rate of great materials acquired shoots up drastically, meaning that mining can be a very viable and low effort money-making method.

The skill is also essential to complete several quests. Quests that open up new and interesting opportunities to players and should not be missed. Overall, mining is regarded as one of the dullest pastimes in OSRS. However, to balance this out, it is also the most profitable. So depending on your preferences, this is certainly an option to consider.

What Equipment do you need for Mining Training?

In terms of what the player needs to grind out mining experience, the simple fact of the matter is that a pickaxe is all you will ever need. In some instances you will need to wear certain protective gear depending on the environment you choose to excavate. However, in principle, you only need this single tool. The quality of this tool is a factor that may change as you gradually progress through the mining levels. Here is a list of all the pickaxes that you can acquire throughout the game:

  • Bronze pickaxe: costs 1 gold
  • Iron pickaxe: Costs 140 gold
  • Steel pickaxe: costs 500 gold
  • Black Pickaxe: Earned Via Reward
  • Mythril pickaxe: costs 1300 gold
  • Adamant pickaxe: 3200 gold
  • Rune pickaxe: 32000 gold
  • Dragon pickaxe: Monster Drop
  • Infernal pickaxe: Upgrade dragon pickaxe
  • Crystal pickaxe: Crafted with dragon pickaxe and 120 crystals.

While there is a debate about which pickaxe is the best based on the preferences of the player in question. Most players will concede that the Infernal Pickaxe is the best option for grinding XP. This is because it is an incredibly quick and strong pickaxe that is only slightly inferior to the Crystal pickaxe in these areas. However, to make up for this, the Infernal pickaxe has a 33% chance of making any runes discovered when mining combust.

This means that in terms of profits, this pickaxe isn’t a great choice as 33% of all materials gathered will be destroyed. However, when trying to get through as many mining cycles as possible per hour, this pickaxe shines. Thanks to these items not clogging up your inventory anywhere near as much, you can do much more mining before you ever have to think about clearing your pockets. So if you can afford it, we would recommend the internal pickaxe.

What is the Best Way to Train Mining in OSRS?

Mining Training

Now that you know what you need to bring along with you, you’ll need to know the best way to grow your character from a humble level, one miner, into a respected level 99 master miner.

In this training guide, we will break down the best way to approach the art of mining based on the level bracket that you find yourself in. Throughout the early stages, simply engaging with the act of mining will see you make a lot of progress but to become a master miner in a prompt fashion, you’ll need to read up and understand the process.

Just for clarity, this guide is based on the full P2P OSRS format. If you would like a F2P guide of this nature be sure to let us know in the comments section. Here is our mining training guide below:

Level 1-37

Level 1-37

While it is possible to gain levels fast by simply mining in caves with a bronze pickaxe, this is not the most effective way to go about mining training. The fastest way to zoom through the first 30-40 levels is through completing a series of quests that are immediately available to the player. Here is a list of the quests that the player should complete early on in their mining journey:

  • Doric’s Quest
  • The Dig Site
  • Plague City
  • The Giant Dwarf
  • The Lost Tribe
  • Another slice of H.A.M.

If the player completes all of these quests, you will gain a total of 27,525 mining experience which will not only see you shoot up to level 37. It will also allow the player to begin their physical mining with an adamant pickaxe which will make the whole process much less tedious and stressful.

Level 37-99

Level 37-99

Assuming you have used this method above, the best ore for you to begin mining is iron and this arguably continues to be the case right up until level seventy. Many argue that through mining granite and using three-tick manipulation strategies, you will have better results. However, this is strictly based on performance, isn’t guaranteed to be a swifter method, and requires a great deal more knowledge and attention. So we would argue that iron mining is much better as a whole.

The best way to carry out this method is by mining as many rocks at once as you possibly can. In OSRS, several areas allow the player to mine up to three rocks at once thanks to the triangle formation in which they appear. This lowers the amount of waiting around for rocks to respawn to an absolute minimum and the small lulls in between should they arise can be used to drop unwanted ore. Here is a list of the areas that you can visit to mine iron in this fashion:

  • Al Kharid Mine
  • Legends’ Guild Mine
  • Lovakengj Mine
  • Mount Karuulm Mine
  • Piscatoris Mine
  • Resource Area (must be level 51)
  • South Mor Ul Rek mine
  • Verdant Valley

Any of these areas are viable options from level 37 onwards and produce very similar results. However, when you reach level 60, we would urge you to switch to the pay-to-play area of the mining guild. This is because rocks respawn in half the time, meaning you can blast through more rocks with less time spent sitting around.

Players will gain up to 45000-60000 XP per hour through this method. We would also urge players to acquire and equip the Varrock 1 armour before mining sessions as this gives the player a chance of mining two ores at once and therefore, offers a higher experience output in the long run.

Level 45-99 (Tick Manipulation)

Level 45-99 (Tick Manipulation)

This is a method that can be used from level 45 onwards but if players are new to this method, we would suggest perhaps only adopting this when in the 70+ level range when iron mining becomes unfeasible for fast development. To access this method you will need to travel to the southwest of the Quarry. You can use the Camulet to travel to Enakhra’s Temple and then travel from there for easy access. Or if you have completed the Desert Diaries, you can go straight to the entrance. You will also need to wear some desert heat protection to mine in the quarry for long periods.

To perform this action requires a certain aptitude and timing to do effectively. You will need to click to start the mining process on a granite rock, then when the 3-tick begins, you drop the granite and then move on to the next rock. This is a lot more effective than having to clear out your entire inventory regularly but does require a lot more attention. However, the benefits are clear to see, with players managing to rack up anywhere from 60-70K experience an hour at low levels like 45. To numbers like 125-130K experience per hour in the late nineties. So if you have the skill to pull this off, it’s worth the time spent learning.

Are There Any Quests That Require a High Mining Skill?

Yes, as mentioned above, there are several quests in OSRS that will require a certain mining level to even engage in. Some of these quests offer specific rewards that will grant you beneficial items. Items that will make mining even more fruitful than before. Here is a list of all the mining-specific quests present in OSRS:

  • The Forsaken Tower
  • Doric’s Quest
  • Plague City
  • The Giant Dwarf
  • Heroes’ Quest (mining 50 required)
  • Another Slice of H.A.M.
  • The Lost Tribe (mining 17 required)
  • Between a Rock… (mining 40 required)
  • Enakhra’s Lament (mining 45 required)
  • Making Friends with My Arm (mining 72 required)
  • The Dig Site
  • Dragon Slayer II (68 mining required)
  • Song of the Elves (70 mining required)

What Materials Can you Gain From Mining?

Mining

While we have only suggested that you mine two very specific ore types to get to level 99, there are more materials out there. A lot of these items hold value at the grand exchange and can also be used to make excellent items. Here is a list of all the resources you can acquire through mining:

  • Rune essence
  • Clay
  • Copper
  • Tin
  • Blurite ore
  • Limestone
  • Iron
  • Silver ore
  • Volcanic ash
  • Coal
  • Pure essence
  • Sandstone
  • Gold ore
  • Gem rock
  • Granite
  • Mythril stone
  • Lovakite ore
  • Adamantite
  • Runite
  • Amethyst
  •  

How Long Does it Take to Get to Level 99 Mining?

As we have discussed, it depends on the methods you use, what quests you complete and what equipment you can afford. However, assuming that you complete as many quests as you can and set time aside every day to mine for say six to eight hours. We would say that dedicated players could theoretically grow their characters mining level from level one to level ninety-nine in a mere three weeks to a month.

Is Mining Training The Most Tedious Skill Training?

mining loot

There is no hiding this fact, mining is considered one of, if not the most boring skill to grind in the entire game. This is because there is nothing really engaging about the process. The act of mining involves either mindless clicking or meticulous, rhythmic clicking, and absolutely nothing else. As you can see from the information above, the rewards for sticking with this process are plentiful. However, only those that have patience and don’t need to be constantly stimulated and entertained will be able to tolerate this process.

Is Mining Profitable in OSRS?

This again depends on your equipment and the mining level that your character has obtained. However, in general, mining is a very low-profit skill initially but as you get better, so does the scope for making gold. A player with the right tools will be able to make around 400,000 gold an hour at level 80 and as they progress up to max level, they will be able to make somewhere around 700,000 gold. So if you stick with grinding this skill, the profits you can make doing so are astronomical.

Level 99 In No Time

As you can see, while mining can be a bit of a chore and not perhaps have the same engaging content that other skill training grinds have. This method is a manageable one, one that requires very little brainpower or planning to grind out. Plus, best of all, the rewards for leveling this skill up to the max are fantastic. So if you stick with this method, your gold counter will thank you for it. So grab that pickaxe, pick a good spot and get to work.

FAQs

Question: What is the Fastest Skill to Max Out?

Answer: This is a toss-up rather predictably between the two cheapest skills listed above, Fletching and Firemaking. A skilled firemaker who can manage their profits will be able to level this skill up to 50 in just thirty-five minutes. However, the fastest skill is undoubtedly Fletching. In fact, a Youtuber called EVScape holds the record for the fastest 1-99 fletching grind ever, coming in at just three hours and nine minutes. This involves the player making bronze arrows and dragon darts. So if this interests you, be sure to give it a try.

So that is our essential handbook on OSRS mining training. What did you make of this guide? Was this helpful for you? Are there any other OSRS skill that you would like us to cover in the future? Let us know in the comments section below and as always, thank you for reading.

Question: What are the Cheapest Skills to Max out?

Answer: This will depend on how savvy you are with your OSRS gold. However, several skills are considered to be much more cost-effective when it comes to obtaining a level 99 skill. Fire making is one option as it generates its own profits, meaning that you can continue this process with your training basically paying for itself. This will cost you a mere 8,000,000 gold if you train this skill carefully and manage your profits wells. The other skills that give fire making a run for its money in terms of cost-effectiveness are fletching, cooking and smithing.

Question: Can you hire players to train for you?

Answer: Yes, you absolutely can. There are several third-party sites out there with professional players on hand to offer assistance. If you pay a respectable fee and give these companies access to your account, they will log in as you, engage in the activity of your choice and raise the stats of the skill you require in the most efficient way they can. This tends to be the best way to raise the stats of skills that you have little to no interest in training. Much like mining due to its rather dull nature. So consider this option before you grab your trusty pickaxe.

Question: What is the Fastest Skill to Max Out?

Answer: This is a toss-up rather predictably between the two cheapest skills listed above, Fletching and Firemaking. A skilled firemaker who can manage their profits will be able to level this skill up to 50 in just thirty-five minutes. However, the fastest skill is undoubtedly Fletching. In fact, a Youtuber called EVScape holds the record for the fastest 1-99 fletching grind ever, coming in at just three hours and nine minutes. This involves the player making bronze arrows and dragon darts. So if this interests you, be sure to give it a try.

Final Thoughts

So that is our essential handbook on OSRS mining training. What did you make of this guide? Was this helpful for you? Are there any other OSRS skill that you would like us to cover in the future? Let us know in the comments section below and as always, thank you for reading.

 

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