Welcome to the ultimate guide for leveling your Mining profession in Classic World of Warcraft (WoW) from 1 to 300! Mining is an essential gathering profession, especially paired with crafting professions like Blacksmithing and Engineering. If you’re looking to maximize your crafting potential, consider checking out our Classic Blacksmithing Leveling Guide or Classic Engineering Leveling Guide.
For those still on their journey to level 60, we highly recommend Zygor’s 1-60 Leveling Guide. It’s an invaluable tool to speed up your leveling process and get you ready for end-game content faster.
Classic WoW Mining Trainers
To begin your Mining journey, you’ll first need to find a Mining trainer. These trainers can teach you the basics and help you advance your skills as you level up. Here are the trainers available for both the Horde and Alliance factions:
Horde Trainers
- Brugar Grimaxe – Orgrimmar
- Furen Longbeard – Undercity
- Krugosh – Valley of Trials
Alliance Trainers
- Brock Stonefist – Ironforge
- Dwarf Miner Grikka – Kharanos
- Yarr Hammerstrike – Stormwind City
Classic Mining Leveling Guide
Let’s dive into the most efficient way to level your Mining skill from 1 to 300 in Classic WoW. We’ll break down the process by skill ranges and optimal zones for each stage.
1 – 65: Copper Ore Zones
Every starting zone in Classic WoW is rich with Copper Ore. Whether you’re in Elwynn Forest, Durotar, or Tirisfal Glades, you’ll find plenty of Copper veins to get you started.
Important Note for Night Elves: If you’re a Night Elf player, you’ll need to venture to Darkshore to begin mining, as Teldrassil lacks Copper Ore deposits.
Before you start mining, make sure to purchase a Mining Pick from a Mining Supply vendor near your trainer. You don’t need to equip it, but it must be in your inventory to mine.
Image showing a mining route in Durotar for Copper Ore, highlighting Venture Co. Mine and surrounding areas.
For Horde players in Durotar, the Venture Co. Mine is a goldmine for Copper Veins. High-level players can clear both the mine and the area behind it on the mountainside for approximately 8 Copper Veins. Navigating the mine can be tricky initially, so the map below (originally from Cataclysm but with the same layout) will be helpful. Explore every corner of the cave to maximize your mining gains. Low-level players may find the Venture Co. Mine challenging and might want to stick to surface veins.
Image showing a mining route in Mulgore for Copper Ore, focusing on areas around Thunder Bluff and Red Cloud Mesa.
Image showing a mining route in Tirisfal Glades for Copper Ore, emphasizing areas around Undercity and Brill.
For Alliance players, Elwynn Forest and Darkshore are excellent zones to mine Copper.
Image showing a mining route in Elwynn Forest for Copper Ore, focusing on areas around Goldshire and Northshire.
Image showing a mining route in Darkshore for Copper Ore, highlighting areas around Auberdine and Cliffspring Falls.
The respawn rate of Copper Veins is quite fast in these zones. Stick to the routes shown in the images, and if you encounter competition, simply switch between routes while mining the Copper in between.
Image showing a mining route in Dun Morogh for Copper Ore, emphasizing areas around Kharanos and Coldridge Valley.
65 – 125: Tin and Silver Ore Zones
Once you reach Mining skill level 65, visit your trainer to learn Journeyman Mining (requires level 50 Mining skill). Now, you’ll be targeting zones rich in Copper Ore, and Silver Ore.
At Mining level 75, you can learn to smelt Silver Ore. Smelting Silver Ore into bars can be beneficial as Silver Bars often sell for a similar price to raw Silver Ore at the Auction House, effectively increasing your profit.
Hillsbrad Foothills, Redridge Mountains, Ashenvale, and The Barrens are excellent zones for this skill range.
Image showing a mining route in Hillsbrad Foothills for Tin and Copper Ore, highlighting areas around Southshore and Tarren Mill, with caves marked for higher level players to avoid.
Image showing a mining route in Redridge Mountains for Tin and Copper Ore, focusing on areas around Lakeshire and the path to Elwynn Forest, with a cave marked for higher level characters.
In Redridge Mountains, the cave marked on the map usually contains two Tin Veins, making it worthwhile to enter, especially for higher-level characters. Low-level players should stick to the eastern side of Redridge and avoid the caves.
Image showing two mining routes in Ashenvale for Tin and Copper Ore, a southern route with more nodes and a northern alternative, highlighting areas around Astranaar and Splintertree Post.
Ashenvale offers two routes: a more abundant southern route and a northern alternative if the southern area is crowded. The difference in ore quantity between the two isn’t significant.
Image showing a mining route in The Barrens for Tin and Copper Ore, focusing on areas around Ratchet and the central regions of the zone.
125 – 175: Iron and Gold Ore Zones
Reach Mining level 125 and visit your trainer again to learn Expert Mining. Zones to focus on now are rich in Gold Ore.
At Mining level 155, you can smelt Gold Ore. Similar to Silver, smelting Gold Ore into bars can be profitable. Consider buying around 30 Gold Ore, smelting them into bars, and selling them at the Auction House to quickly boost your skill to around 175.
Arathi Highlands, Desolace, and Thousand Needles are prime zones for this stage.
Image showing a mining route in Arathi Highlands for Iron and Tin Ore, highlighting areas around Hammerfall (Horde detour advised for low-level Alliance players) and Refuge Pointe, with caves marked for higher level players.
Arathi Highlands has four caves marked on the map. Explore each cave thoroughly, as mining veins are often deep inside and not visible from the entrance. Low-level players should avoid all four caves, and low-level Alliance players should take a detour south of Hammerfall to avoid higher-level Horde areas.
Image showing a mining route in Desolace for Iron and Tin Ore, focusing on areas along the northern and western borders of the zone.
Image showing a mining route in Thousand Needles for Iron and Tin Ore, highlighting areas around Freewind Post and the racetrack.
175 – 245: Mithril and Truesilver Ore Zones
When you hit Mining level 225, remember to visit your trainer to learn Artisan Mining (requires level 200 Mining skill). Now, you’ll be mining Mithril Ore and Truesilver Ore.
The Hinterlands and Tanaris are the best zones for this range.
Image showing a mining route in The Hinterlands for Mithril and Truesilver Ore, highlighting areas around Aerie Peak and Revantusk Village, with a red route to be avoided by lower level players and caves marked for caution.
In the Hinterlands, the red route on the map is filled with level 62 elites and should be avoided by lower-level players. The cave marked with a red circle might also be challenging depending on your gear and class. Players below level 60 should skip all four caves marked in red.
Image showing a mining route in Tanaris for Mithril and Truesilver Ore, focusing on areas around Gadgetzan and Zul’Farrak.
245 – 275: Mithril, Truesilver, and Thorium Ore Zones
Continue mining Mithril Ore, Truesilver Ore, and now also Thorium Ore.
Un’Goro Crater, Blasted Lands, and Felwood are excellent zones for this range.
Image showing a mining route in Un’Goro Crater for Mithril, Truesilver, and Thorium Ore, highlighting areas around Fire Plume Ridge and the northern crystal formations, with caves marked for higher level players.
In Un’Goro Crater, the two caves marked on the map are heavily populated with mobs. This farming spot is recommended for level 60 players with good gear or stealth classes like Druids and Rogues.
Image showing a mining route in Blasted Lands for Mithril, Truesilver, and Thorium Ore, emphasizing areas around Nethergarde Keep and the Tainted Scar, with a cave marked as worthwhile to explore.
In Blasted Lands, the cave marked on the map usually contains 2-3 mineral veins and is worth exploring, especially for higher-level characters.
Image showing a mining route in Felwood for Mithril, Truesilver, and Thorium Ore, highlighting areas around Whisperwind Grove and Jadefire Run, with caves at Jaednar marked as potentially skippable or requiring stealth.
In Felwood, consider skipping the two caves at Jaednar, especially Shadow Hold, unless you have stealth.
275 – 300: Thorium and Rich Thorium Veins Zones
Congratulations, you’re in the final stretch! Now you can mine Mithril Ore, including the highly sought-after Rich Thorium Veins.
Un’Goro Crater, Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, and Burning Steppes are your go-to zones for reaching 300 Mining.
Image showing a mining route in Un’Goro Crater specifically for Rich Thorium Veins, building upon the previous Un’Goro route and highlighting areas with Rich Thorium spawns.
For Un’Goro Crater, this route is similar to the previous one but now includes Rich Thorium Veins. Be cautious of the red line on the map, which is heavily patrolled by level 57-58 elites. Stealth can be very helpful here.
Image showing a mining route in Eastern Plaguelands for Thorium and Rich Thorium Veins, highlighting key mining caves and areas with varying mob difficulty.
Eastern Plaguelands offers several mining spots with varying levels of risk:
- The cave marked ‘1’ is relatively easy to clear for most classes.
- The first part of cave ‘2’ is generally accessible without aggro, with deeper exploration depending on your gear.
- Area ‘3’ (gorge) is patrolled by elites, requiring careful navigation and occasional combat.
- Area ‘4’ is not recommended for most players due to high difficulty and mob density.
Image showing a mining route in Winterspring for Thorium and Rich Thorium Veins, highlighting areas around Everlook and Frostwhisper Gorge, with caves marked for potential caution for lower level players.
Winterspring’s caves marked in red are populated by level 50 mobs, which might be challenging for lower-level players.
Image showing a mining route in Burning Steppes for Thorium and Rich Thorium Veins, focusing on areas around Blackrock Mountain and Flame Crest.
Congratulations on reaching Mining level 300! We hope this guide has been helpful in your Classic WoW journey. If you have any feedback or suggestions for improvement, please send feedback – we appreciate your input!
