How to Prospect for Ores with the Prospector's Pick

Reading the Prospector's Pick

Craft a Prospector's Pick, then right-click any block with it to scan the area. The pick reports what ore deposits are nearby, letting you decide where to dig before you commit to a shaft. Use it repeatedly across different blocks to narrow down a direction — the reading changes as you move, so walk a short distance and scan again to triangulate.

Digging to the Deposit

Once the Prospector's Pick points you toward a deposit, dig down or across in that direction. Deposits are large clusters rather than single blocks, so when you hit ore, keep mining the surrounding stone to collect the whole vein. Bring spare picks, since you will break several before you finish.

What You Will Find

Deposits yield the mod's raw materials: Aluminum, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Platinum, Silver, Tin, and Zinc. Each drops as an ore block you smelt or blast later. Platinum is the rarest, so scan a wide area before giving up on a region. Coal deposits also exist and feed into the coke recipes described in the coke oven guide. Mark productive scan spots with torches so you can return to them after smelting your haul.