Where to find coal in Minecraft

18th Nov, 2022

One of the most important items in Minecraft is coal. You can use it for many purposes but the most important are to make torches, smelt, and cook food.

The generation mechanisms for many ores have been completely altered with the Minecraft 1.18 update. This has resulted in a decrease in efficiency for many of the best methods to obtain coal.

This guide is for those who are enjoying Minecraft 1.18 but still have trouble finding coal.

Since Minecraft 1.18's “Caves and Cliffs”, part 2, coal ore has been much more prevalent and will produce large blobs. These blobs can be found between the heights Y = 265 and Y = 0.

However, coal ore blobs can be generated at different heights, ranging from 0 to 256. Coal ore blobs are most commonly found between Y= 95 and Y= 96.

If you are looking for coal ore but don't have the funds to mine it, a good tip is to visual scan the surface and sides of cliff structures. This is where you will often find exposed coal ore, sometimes in large quantities. This is a great option for people in the beginning stages of the game, as it doesn't require much mining.

If you are looking to acquire a lot of coal quickly, it may be beneficial to strip mine at levels Y=95 and Y=96. These levels produce coal at a consistent rate, and many stacks can easily be made in less than 20 minutes if everything is done properly.

Strip mining, also known as “branch mining”, can be used by players to quickly obtain a particular type of ore.

This technique increases Minecraft players' chances of obtaining ores faster because many types of ores can be generated across the map and can often be found in nearby veins.

It is recommended that players strip mine coal at the highest possible level. Below is a detailed guide that explains how to use the strip mine method in Minecraft.