The Ultimate Guide to Finding Iron in Minecraft

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Where to find iron and the best ways to use it

Co-authored by Zac Churchill and Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: December 6, 2025 Fact Checked

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Getting Iron

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Iron Crafting Uses

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Other Iron Uses

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

After stone, iron is the next tier of tools and weapons, specifically swords. It is relatively common, making it an adequate and preferred material for tools and weapons. Not only that, but iron is also used in many crafting recipes later in the game. Without iron, you cannot progress to the next tiers. Here is a simple guide on how to get iron in Minecraft, plus all the ways you can use Iron Ingots.

Where do I find iron in Minecraft?

With a Stone Pickaxe, go into caves and start searching for Iron Ore. Search between vertical levels 1 through 63, using torches to light up the cave and repel monsters. Once you've mined Iron Ore or Raw Iron, smelt it into Iron Ingots with a fuel in a Furnace.

Section 1 of 3:

Getting Iron

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The first pickaxe you will craft will be made out of wood, which will be used to mine stone.
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Get yourself a Stone Pickaxe. The stone will be necessary to break the iron blocks down in order to get the material. To craft one, place three cobblestones (mined from stone with a wooden pickaxe) on the top row of the crafting table, and place 2 sticks below it, resembling the shape of a pickaxe.^{[1]
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- If your pickaxe has the Silk Touch enchantment, you'll get Iron Ore when you break an Iron Ore block. If you don't have Silk Touch, you'll get Raw Iron. Both of these items can be used to smelt Iron Ingots in the same way, however, so it isn't necessary to get Silk Touch right away.^{[2]
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You will need to bring some torches with you, as it can get dark and impossible to see. To do this, you place one Stick on your crafting area/table and one piece of Coal or Charcoal above it.^{[3]
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You might not always need it, but if you're ever in a sticky situation while mining, you're going to need cheap and abundant Dirt to get yourself out of it.
Caves are the best way to find iron.^{[4]
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Research source} They usually appear in veins at a time. Stop wasting your time digging down from the surface, as this will only yield a small chance of success.
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Investigate all blocks surrounding any iron you find. Iron occurs in veins, or groups, so if you find one, there is likely more nearby. Check diagonal blocks as well. The usual size of a vein is 2x2x2 blocks.
- Iron looks like peach or pinkish splotches on grey stone.
Recover them when you can, but only if it's a one-time mining trip. Otherwise, keep it there, or else monsters will spawn in the dark.
Using your map or the debug mode, check out the "Y" axis: this indicates your elevation. Remember that Iron Ore only occurs from levels 1-63.
Iron Ore and Raw Iron are almost of no benefit to you, and only the Iron Ingots are useful. You can use a Furnace to create Iron Ingots. Combine one Iron Ore or Raw Iron with one fuel in a Furnace to create an Iron Ingot.^{[5]
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Section 2 of 3:

Iron Crafting Uses

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Iron Ingots are used to make many items. Iron Ore and Raw Iron are only really used to make Iron Ingots, so they're a little bit useless on their own. However, once you convert these raw materials to Iron Ingots, you can make a ton of items:^{[6]
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- Activator Rail (6): 6x Iron Ingots, 2x Sticks, 1x Redstone Torch
- Anvil: 4x Iron Ingots, 3x Blocks of Iron
- Blast Furnace: 5x Iron Ingots, 3x Smooth Stones, 1x Furnace
- Block of Iron: 9x Iron Ingots
- Bucket: 3x Iron Ingots
- Cauldron: 7x Iron Ingots
- Chain: 1x Iron Ingot, 2x Iron Nuggets
- Compass: 4x Iron Ingots, 1x Redstone Dust
- Crafter: 5x Iron Ingots, 2x Redstone Dusts, 1x Crafting Table, 1x Dropper
- Crossbow: 1x Iron Ingot, 2x Sticks, 2x Strings, 1x Tripwire Hook
- Detector Rail (6): 6x Iron Ingots, 1x Stone Pressure Plate, 1x Redstone Dust
- Flint and Steel: 1x Iron Ingot, 1x Flint
- Heavy Weighted Pressure Plate: 2x Iron Ingots
- Hopper: 5x Iron Ingots, 1x Chest
- Iron Trapdoor: 4x Iron Ingots
- Iron Axe: 3x Iron Ingots, 2x Sticks
- Iron Bars (16): 6x Iron Ingots
- Iron Boots: 4x Iron Ingots
- Iron Chestplate: 8x Iron Ingots
- Iron Door (3): 6x Iron Ingots
- Iron Helmet: 5x Iron Ingots
- Iron Hoe: 2x Iron Ingots, 2x Sticks
- Iron Leggings: 7x Iron Ingots
- Iron Nugget (9): 1x Iron Ingot
- Iron Pickaxe: 3x Iron Ingots, 2x Sticks
- Iron Shovel: 1x Iron Ingot, 2x Sticks
- Iron Spear: 1x Iron Ingot, 2x Sticks
- Iron Sword: 2x Iron Ingots, 1x Stick
- Lodestone: 1x Iron Ingot, 8x Chiseled Stone Bricks
- Minecart: 5x Iron Ingots
- Piston: 1x Iron Ingot, 3x Planks (any), 4x Cobblestones, 1x Redstone Dust
- Rail (16): 6x Iron Ingots, 1x Stick
- Saddle: 1x Iron Ingot, 3x Leather
- Shears: 2x Iron Ingots
- Shield: 1x Iron Ingot, 6x Planks (any)
- Smithing Table: 2x Iron Ingots, 4x Planks (any)
- Stonecutter: 1x Iron Ingot, 3x Stone (any)
- Tripwire Hook (2): 1x Iron Ingot, 1x Stick, 1x Planks (any)

Section 3 of 3:

Other Iron Uses

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There are many other uses for Iron Ingots. Iron Ingots are a very valuable resource in the game, and they're used for many other things besides crafting. Here's what else you can do with Iron Ingots:
- Trading: You can trade Iron Ingots with Apprentice-level Armorers, Toolsmiths, and Weaponsmiths for emeralds.^{[7]
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- Repairing: Iron Ingots are used to repair all iron armor, weapons, and tools, as well as chainmail armor.^{[8]
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- Iron golems: An Iron Ingot will restore 25 hearts to an iron golem.^{[9]
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- Beacons: Iron Ingots can be used to select powers from a beacon.^{[10]
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- Smithing: Iron Ingots can be used with any armor trim and any armor piece to add a gray-colored trim to the armor.^{[11]
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Community Q&A

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Why do I have to make an iron tool? Why can't I make armor instead?

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Armor is usually made when you have a good amount of iron to spend, as armor needs a lot of Iron. Also, certain ores (such as the valuable diamond) need an Iron tool in order to be mined.

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Can iron be found near lava with diamonds?

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Yes, iron can be found at Levels 1-63. It can therefore be found near lava with diamonds.

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How do I make a compass in Minecraft?

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Craft it by placing a piece of redstone in the middle of your crafting table and iron at the sides, top and bottom (but not the corners).

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Iron is good for making armor, tools, and iron blocks. Look in mountains, cliffs, and caves, or dig down until you find some.
If you are strip mining, get a bunch of torches. Stacks of torches will prevent monsters from spawning.
Bring a chest or an ender chest when mining in caves. Monsters could spawn any second!

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