WoW Forever mining guide: 1-300
Built from Forever game data, October 10, 2026. Steps get checked in game as we level.
Mining collects ore and stone for Blacksmithing and Engineering, and the bars sell on the Auction House at every level. You need a Mining Pick in your bags.
How gathering skill-ups work
Every vein has a skill requirement. Gathering it gives a skill-up based on how far above that requirement you are:
| Your skill vs the vein | Color | Skill-up |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 25 above | Orange | Always |
| 25 to 50 above | Yellow | Usually |
| 50 to 100 above | Green | Sometimes |
| More than 100 above | Gray | Never |
So the fastest leveling is always the highest vein you can gather.
Veins by skill
| Skill needed | Vein | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poor Copper Vein | Starter areas |
| 1 | Copper Vein | The Barrens, Dun Morogh, Durotar, Redridge Mountains and more |
| 65 | Tin Vein | Ashenvale, Redridge Mountains, Loch Modan, The Barrens, Hillsbrad Foothills and more |
| 65 | Incendicite Mineral Vein | Wetlands |
| 75 | Silver Vein | Arathi Highlands, Thousand Needles, The Barrens, Hillsbrad Foothills and more |
| 75 | Ooze Covered Silver Vein | |
| 75 | Lesser Bloodstone Deposit | Arathi Highlands |
| 125 | Iron Deposit | Arathi Highlands, Desolace, Stranglethorn Vale and more |
| 150 | Indurium Mineral Vein | Uldaman |
| 155 | Gold Vein | Arathi Highlands, Badlands, Stranglethorn Vale, Blasted Lands, Felwood and more |
| 155 | Ooze Covered Gold Vein | Feralas, Thousand Needles |
| 175 | Mithril Deposit | The Hinterlands, Tanaris, Azshara, Blasted Lands, Felwood and more |
| 175 | Ooze Covered Mithril Deposit | Feralas, Thousand Needles |
| 230 | Truesilver Deposit | Winterspring, The Hinterlands, Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Felwood and more |
| 230 | Ooze Covered Truesilver Deposit | Silithus, Un'Goro Crater, Feralas |
| 230 | Dark Iron Deposit | Burning Steppes, Searing Gorge, Blackrock Spire and more |
| 245 | Small Thorium Vein | Un'Goro Crater, Silithus, Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Felwood and more |
| 245 | Ooze Covered Thorium Vein | Un'Goro Crater, Feralas |
| 275 | Rich Thorium Vein | Winterspring, Eastern Plaguelands, Azshara and more |
| 275 | Ooze Covered Rich Thorium Vein | Silithus |
| 275 | Hakkari Thorium Vein | Zul'Gurub |
Forever adds new ores that aren't in Classic: Pitchblende, Pyrite, Bauxite, Heavy Thorium Ore. They're marked scarce, and their skill requirements aren't in the game data yet.
Smelting
Smelting ore into bars also gives Mining skill-ups, which helps when the veins near you turn green.
| Bar | Materials | Learn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper Bar | 1 Copper Ore | 1 | |
| Bronze Bar | 1 Copper Bar, 1 Tin Bar | 65 | |
| Silver Bar | 1 Silver Ore | 75 | |
| Iron Bar | 1 Iron Ore | 125 | |
| Steel Bar | 1 Iron Bar, 1 Coal | 165 | |
| Gold Bar | 1 Gold Ore | ||
| Mithril Bar | 1 Mithril Ore | 175 | |
| Truesilver Bar | 1 Truesilver Ore | ||
| Dark Iron Bar | 8 Dark Iron Ore | ||
| Thorium Bar | 1 Thorium Ore | 250 | |
| Azerothium Bar | 2 Pitchblende, 1 Coal | New in Forever | |
| Heavy Thorium Bar | 1 Heavy Thorium Ore | New in Forever | |
| Elementium Bar | 1 Elementium Ore, 10 Arcanite Bar, 1 Fiery Core, 3 Elemental Flux |
Training
Train Journeyman Mining at 50, Expert at 125 and Artisan at 200. Each raises your cap by 75.
Mining camp items
Mining makes three camp items for Forever's campfires: the Lodestone at 20, the Rock Garden at 140 and the Molten Foundry at 300. See the professions guide for how Camping works.
Let the addon track it
ForeverArtisan's Mining window shows what to gather next for skill-ups, colored for your skill, and keeps a log of where you found each vein, so you know where to go back. It also reminds you when Find Minerals is off, and points out gear in your bags that helps, like gloves with +Mining.
Questions
What's the fastest way to level Mining in WoW Forever?
Mine the highest vein you can and smelt what you mine. Tin and Silver at 65 to 75, Iron at 125, Mithril at 175, Thorium from 245.
What's new for Mining in Forever?
New ores (Pitchblende, Pyrite, Bauxite and Heavy Thorium Ore) and new bars made from them, like Azerothium Bar and Heavy Thorium Bar.
Enjoy the journey!