Mineshaft

Mineshaft
Biomes	Regular mineshaft Any Overworld biome except for the deep dark Badlands mineshaft Badlands Eroded Badlands Wooded Badlands
Mobs	Cave Spider (from monster spawner);
Generates in; existing chunks	No
	Rail; Torch; Cobweb; Cave Spider Monster Spawner; Iron Chain; Minecart with Chest; On regular mineshafts: Oak Planks; Oak Fence; Oak Log; On badlands mineshafts: Dark Oak Planks; Dark Oak Fence; Dark Oak Log;

Mineshafts are common underground structures primarily found underground in the Overworld. They consist of interlinked 3×3 tunnels with incomplete rail lines running through them, with oak planks platforms bridging gaps or hanging in larger exposed caverns.

A unique variant of mineshafts made out of dark oak wood can generate on the surface in badlands biomes.

Generation

Mineshafts generate underground in any Overworld biome except for the deep dark (although a mineshaft can overlap). They generate before chunk features such as ores. Multiple mineshafts can generate near each other, producing larger complexes. When mineshafts intersect with caves and canyons, corridors generate a bridge of planks over empty space, either suspended with iron chains above or supported by log pillars below. When a mineshaft intersects with an aquifer, a barrier of solid blocks generates to prevent fluids from flowing into the mineshaft, often resulting in corridors cut off from the rest of the mineshaft.^[1]

Mineshafts often generate on the surface in badlands biomes. Badlands mineshafts are composed of dark oak planks and fences with railways more complete above ground. Since badlands biomes generate gold ore often and at higher altitudes, they are good places to easily find gold.

Mineshafts can be located with mineshaft explorer maps, which are found in secret chests in abandoned camps.

Mineshafts are the most common generated structures in the Overworld, having a 0.4% chance to attempt to begin generating in every chunk.

Structure

All mineshafts have:

Starting point: a 10×10 parlor, with an arched ceiling and one to four exits in each direction.
Corridors: some 3×3 tunnels and junctions are supported by planks and fences. Some places are decorated with torches and cobwebs. On long corridors, these supports are placed four blocks away from each other, while some have missing planks which may be filled up with cobwebs or blocks of stone jutting out from the top. The tunnels are connected by incomplete rail systems on the ground, upon which minecarts with chests generate uncommonly. Cobwebs do not generate if they would not be connected to solid blocks, while corridors generate with log pillars, iron chains, and fences for support if they are in mid-air.
Crossings: dual-floor, 5×5 intersections supported by wooden columns.
Staircases: diagonal tunnels, stairs blocks are not used.
Abandoned passageways: accessory corridors with numerous cobwebs concealing cave spider monster spawners.

Any chest found in a mineshaft always occurs as a minecart with chest that rests on top of some rails.

Loot

In Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, each mineshaft chest contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size			Weight			Chance	Avg. per chest	Avg. # chests to search
Item	1×	2–4×	3×	1×	2–4×	3×	Chance	Avg. per chest	Avg. # chests to search
Rail	—	—	4–8	—	—	²⁰⁄₅₀	78.4%	7.200	1.3
Torch	—	—	1–16	—	—	¹⁵⁄₅₀	65.7%	7.650	1.5
Name Tag	1	—	—	³⁰⁄₇₁	—	—	42.3%	0.423	2.4
Glow Berries	—	3–6	—	—	¹⁵⁄₉₈	—	38.7%	2.066	2.6
Bread	—	1–3	—	—	¹⁵⁄₉₈	—	38.7%	0.918	2.6
Golden Apple	1	—	—	²⁰⁄₇₁	—	—	28.2%	0.282	3.6
Coal	—	3–8	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	1.684	3.7
Beetroot Seeds	—	2–4	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Melon Seeds	—	2–4	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Pumpkin Seeds	—	2–4	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Iron Ingot	—	1–5	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Activator Rail	—	—	1–4	—	—	⁵⁄₅₀	27.1%	0.750	3.7
Detector Rail	—	—	1–4	—	—	⁵⁄₅₀	27.1%	0.750	3.7
Powered Rail	—	—	1–4	—	—	⁵⁄₅₀	27.1%	0.750	3.7
Lapis Lazuli	—	4–9	—	—	⁵⁄₉₈	—	14.5%	0.995	6.9
Redstone Dust	—	4–9	—	—	⁵⁄₉₈	—	14.5%	0.995	6.9
Gold Ingot	—	1–3	—	—	⁵⁄₉₈	—	14.5%	0.306	6.9
Enchanted Book^[A]	1	—	—	¹⁰⁄₇₁	—	—	14.1%	0.141	7.1
Diamond	—	1–2	—	—	³⁄₉₈	—	8.9%	0.138	11.3
Nothing^[B]	1	—	—	⁵⁄₇₁	—	—	7.0%	0.070	14.2
Iron Pickaxe	1	—	—	⁵⁄₇₁	—	—	7.0%	0.070	14.2
Enchanted Golden Apple	1	—	—	¹⁄₇₁	—	—	1.4%	0.014	71.0

↑ All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
↑ 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.

In Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, each mineshaft chest located in a sulfur cave contains items drawn from 3 pools, with the following distribution:

Item	Stack Size			Weight			Chance	Avg. per chest	Avg. # chests to search
Item	1×	2–4×	3×	1×	2–4×	3×	Chance	Avg. per chest	Avg. # chests to search
Rail	—	—	4–8	—	—	²⁰⁄₆₀	70.4%	6.000	1.4
Torch	—	—	1–16	—	—	¹⁵⁄₆₀	57.8%	6.375	1.7
Name Tag	1	—	—	³⁰⁄₇₁	—	—	42.3%	0.423	2.4
Music Disc (Bounce)	—	—	1	—	—	¹⁰⁄₆₀	42.1%	0.500	2.4
Glow Berries	—	3–6	—	—	¹⁵⁄₉₈	—	38.7%	2.066	2.6
Bread	—	1–3	—	—	¹⁵⁄₉₈	—	38.7%	0.918	2.6
Golden Apple	1	—	—	²⁰⁄₇₁	—	—	28.2%	0.282	3.6
Coal	—	3–8	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	1.684	3.7
Beetroot Seeds	—	2–4	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Melon Seeds	—	2–4	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Pumpkin Seeds	—	2–4	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Iron Ingot	—	1–5	—	—	¹⁰⁄₉₈	—	27.3%	0.918	3.7
Activator Rail	—	—	1–4	—	—	⁵⁄₆₀	23.0%	0.625	4.4
Detector Rail	—	—	1–4	—	—	⁵⁄₆₀	23.0%	0.625	4.4
Powered Rail	—	—	1–4	—	—	⁵⁄₆₀	23.0%	0.625	4.4
Lapis Lazuli	—	4–9	—	—	⁵⁄₉₈	—	14.5%	0.995	6.9
Redstone Dust	—	4–9	—	—	⁵⁄₉₈	—	14.5%	0.995	6.9
Gold Ingot	—	1–3	—	—	⁵⁄₉₈	—	14.5%	0.306	6.9
Enchanted Book^[A]	1	—	—	¹⁰⁄₇₁	—	—	14.1%	0.141	7.1
Diamond	—	1–2	—	—	³⁄₉₈	—	8.9%	0.138	11.3
Nothing^[B]	1	—	—	⁵⁄₇₁	—	—	7.0%	0.070	14.2
Iron Pickaxe	1	—	—	⁵⁄₇₁	—	—	7.0%	0.070	14.2
Enchanted Golden Apple	1	—	—	¹⁄₇₁	—	—	1.4%	0.014	71.0

↑ All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.
↑ 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.

[enchant-randomly-2] All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.

[nothing-3] 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.

[enchant-randomly-4] All enchantments are equally probable, including treasure enchantments (except Soul Speed, Swift Sneak, and Wind Burst), and any level of the enchantment is equally probable.

[nothing-5] 'Nothing' does not refer to the chance of an empty chest. Instead, it refers to the chance that the random loot generator does not add any loot on a single roll.

[1]

[A]

[B]

[A]

[B]

Structure	Identifier
Mineshaft	`mineshaft`
Badlands Mineshaft	`mineshaft_mesa^[2]`

Java Edition Beta
1.8	Pre-release	Added mineshafts.
	Pre-release 2 ;)	Mineshafts are a lot less dense and do not stretch out as far as before.^[3]
	Pre-release 2 ;)	To counter this change, they were made 2¹⁄₂ times as common throughout the world.^[4]
1.8.1		Support beams in mineshafts now generate using oak fences instead of oak planks.
Java Edition
1.0.0	Beta 1.9 Prerelease	Added pumpkin seeds to mineshaft chests.
1.2.1	12w05a	Added bridges made of oak planks under floating sections of mineshafts.
1.4.6	12w50a	Added enchanted books to mineshaft chests.
1.5	13w02a	Changed mineshaft chests to minecarts with chests on rails.
1.6.1	13w18a	Added iron horse armor to mineshaft chests.
1.7.2	13w36a	Mineshafts appear as often as in the original release of Java Edition Beta 1.8 Pre-release again,^[5] but without any increase in density or size, which makes them 60% less common than before.
1.9	15w44a	Added torches, beetroot seeds, name tags, enchanted and normal golden apples, activator, detector, and powered rails to minecart chests.
		Removed saddles and iron horse armor from minecart chests.
		Decreased the average yields of iron and gold ingots, melon and pumpkin seeds, diamonds, lapis lazuli, redstone, and bread.
		Increased the average yield of iron pickaxes and substantially increased the average yield of rails and enchanted books.
1.10	16w20a	Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
		If directly exposed to the sky during generation, no wooden parts spawn at that exact location.
		No longer generate floating in the air when using a low ground level in a superflat world.
1.17	21w06a	Mineshaft pieces no longer generate if they were fully floating in the air.
		Corridors now generate with wooden pillars for support if needed.
		Floating cobwebs from open spaces no longer generate.
	21w07a	Corridors are now supported by chains above.
	21w07a	Wooden pillars are now made of oak logs instead of bark wood.
	21w13a	Increased the max length of pillars and chains.
	21w13a	Glow berries now generate as loot in mineshaft minecart with chests.
1.18	21w37a	The starting room in mineshafts no longer generates with a dirt floor.^[6]
1.18	21w41a	Mineshafts in badlands generate higher up.
1.20.2 Experiment Villager Trade Rebalance	pre1	Efficiency enchanted books now have a higher chance of generating in mineshaft chest loot.
26.2	snap7	Music disc "Bounce" now generates as loot in mineshaft minecart with chests in sulfur caves.
26.3	snap7	Added explorer maps leading to mineshafts, which are found in abandoned camp secret chests.

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.9.0	build 1	Added mineshafts.
v0.9.0	build 1	Cave spider spawners are replaced by regular spiders until potion effects are added.
v0.10.0	September 9, 2014	Tommaso Checchi tweeted a picture of mineshafts generated at surface level within a badlands biome.
	build 1	Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in badlands biomes.
	build 1	Above-ground mineshafts now use dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.
v0.11.0	build 12	Mineshafts now generate with cave spider spawners.
v0.14.0	build 1	Mineshafts now generate minecarts with chests.
v0.14.0	build 1	Added enchanted books to mineshafts
v0.15.0	build 1	Name tags now can be found inside chest minecarts.
Bedrock Edition
1.2.0	?	Mineshafts are now more common.
1.11.0	beta 1.11.0.1	Mineshafts are now less dense.
1.17.0	beta 1.16.230.54	Glow berries now generate as loot in mineshaft chest minecarts.
	beta 1.16.230.56	Mineshafts now fit into large caves.
	beta 1.16.230.56	Mineshaft corridors are now attached to the ceiling via chains or to the floor via wood columns when missing support platform.
	beta 1.17.0.50	Cobwebs no longer generate suspended in the air in mineshaft.
1.18.0	beta 1.18.0.20	Mineshaft tunnels can't replace bedrock anymore.^[7]
	beta 1.18.0.24	The starting room in mineshafts no longer generates with a dirt floor.
		Mineshaft support pillars are no longer able to extend into lava.^[8]
		Wooden pillars are now made of oak logs instead of bark wood.^[9]
1.20.40 Experiment Villager Trade Rebalancing	Preview 1.20.40.20	Efficiency enchanted books now have a higher chance of generating in mineshaft chest loot.
26.30	Preview 26.30.28	Music disc "Bounce" now generates as loot in mineshaft minecart with chests in sulfur caves.
26.50	Preview 26.50.24	Added explorer maps leading to mineshafts, which are found in abandoned camp secret chests.

Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU5	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added mineshafts.
TU12	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1		Added wooden bridges under floating sections of mineshafts.
TU43	CU33	1.36	1.36	1.36	Patch 13		Mineshafts can now generate on the surface in mesa biomes, using dark oak planks and fences rather than oak.

Mineshaft

Generation

Structure

Loot

Data values

ID

Config

History

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Legacy Console Edition

New Nintendo 3DS Edition

Issues

Trivia

Publicity

Gallery

Renders

Screenshots

Mojang screenshots

In other media

References

External links

More in Generated structures

Related mods