This Cataclysm Classic Mining leveling guide will show you the fastest way to level your Mining profession up from 1 to 525 in Cataclysm Classic.
I recommend trying Zygor's 1-85 Leveling Guide if you are still leveling your character or you just started a new alt. The guide will help you to reach level 85 a lot faster.
Table of contents:
- Mining Trainers
- Smelting to 500
- 1-50 Copper Ore
- 50-100 Tin Ore
- 100-150 Iron Ore
- 150-200 Mithril Ore
- 200-275 Thorium Ore
- 275-325 Fel Iron Ore
- 325-350 Adamantite Ore
- 350-400 Cobalt Ore
- 400-425 Saronite Ore
- 425-475 Obsidium Ore
- 475-525 Elementium Ore
Mining Trainers
You can learn every rank of Mining from every trainer.
Horde |
Alliance |
OutlandNorthrend
|
Outland
Northrend
|
Smelting to 500
If you have enough gold, you can actually skip the first 500 skill points by simply smelting ores (you have to mine a few ores here and there). But, if you need the ores for Jewelcrafting, or you simply prefer leveling Mining regularly, then scroll down a bit in the guide for farming routes.
Most smelting recipes are yellow or green, so I cannot list the exact number of ores that you will need. These are all approximate numbers below. It's possible you will need even more ores if you are unlucky with the skill gains.
Skill |
Notes |
1-50 | 70x Smelt Copper until you reach 50. |
50-70 | 70x Smelt Tin. This one will be grey after 75, but you will need these later. You can still go to the next step even if you did not reach 70. |
70-90 | 70x Smelt Bronze. You might not reach 105, your skill will be somewhere between 80 and 90. |
90-100 | 10-15x Smelt Silver until you reach 100. If there is no Silver Ore at the Auction House, you have to smelt more Bronze Bars up to 100. |
100-125 | 40x Smelt Iron until you reach 125. |
125-135 | 20x Smelt Steel until you reach 135. You can buy Coal from Blacksmithing, Mining or Trade Supply vendors. |
135-150 | 15x Smelt Gold until you reach 150. If you don't have Gold Ore you have to smelt more Iron Ore. |
150-175 | 50x Smelt Mithril until you reach 175. |
175-200 | 25x Smelt Truesilver until you reach 200. It's possible you can't get this many Truesilver, then you have to smelt or mine more Mithril. Make sure to save smelting Truesilver until after you smelt Mithril. So, for example, if you have 10x Truesilver Ore, smelt or mine Mithril until 190. |
200-275 | 130x Smelt Thorium until you reach 275. |
275-325 | 250x Smelt Fel Iron (500x Fel Iron Ore) until you reach 325. |
325-340 | 90x Smelt Adamantite (180x Adamantite Ore) until 340. |
340-350 | No smelting recipe for this part. You will have to mine a few ores. |
350-375 | 60x Smelt Cobalt (60x Cobalt Ore) until you reach 375. |
375-400 | I recommend Mining some cobalt for this part because the smelting recipes you can make are much harder to sell than regular bars (depending on your realm). But, if you can get a lot of cheap Khorium Ore, you can use Smelt Khorium up to 400 or you can also level with Smelt Hardened Adamantite. |
400-425 | 100x Smelt Saronite (200x Saronite Ore) until you reach 425. |
425-475 | 240x Smelt Obsidium (480x Obsidium Ore) until 475. |
475-500 | 200x Smelt Elementium (400x Elementium Ore) until 500. |
Mining Leveling Routes
Make sure that you turn on the Find Minerals filter on your minimap!
1 - 50
Don't forget to buy a Mining Pick from the Mining Supply vendor near your trainer! You don't have to equip it, but you must have one in your inventory.
You will mine Copper Ore in this section.
Durotar
Darkshore
50 - 100
Learn Mining Journeyman. You will mine the following ores: Tin Ore, Silver Ore
Hillsbrad Foothills
The red zone on the map is filled with Tin everywhere. When you mined all of it, go outside the zone where you can see the little yellowish arrows, mine a few Tin, and head back to the red zone because it's most likely that the Tin Veins there are already respawned.
Northern Stranglethorn
100 - 150
You will mine the following ores: Iron Ore, Gold Ore
Western Plaguelands
Feralas
150 - 200
Learn Mining Expert.
You will mine the following ores: Mithril Ore, Truesilver Ore
Felwood and Burning Steppes are the best places to farm because the mining route is just so simple in these two zones. Badlands is also a really good place, but I found more Mithril in these zones.
Felwood
Burning Steppes
Don't go into Dreadmaul Rock. There is plenty of Mithril at the corner of the map; you will just get dismounted if you go into the cave, and it will slow you down.
200 - 275
Learn Mining Artisan.
You will mine Thorium Ore.
When you reach 275, you can go to Hellfire Peninsula and mine Fel Iron or stay in the zones listed below until you reach 300.
Un'Goro Crater
Winterspring
Master Mining
300 - 325
There is not much difference between the two routes. I got roughly the same number of Fel Iron on both routes.
Small Thorium Veins will give skill points up to 345, and Rich Thorium Veins up to 350. If you have a lot of competition in Hellfire Peninsula or don't have a flying mount, I recommend mining more Thorium at the previous zones up to 325.
325 - 350
There will be a few Rich Adamantite nodes in Terokkar Forest that you can't mine until you reach 350. But, they can only spawn in the areas accessible by flying mount, so this is not an issue for lower-level players. (Skettis and the area above Shattrat City)
There are two caves marked with red circles on the map. You should go inside both of them and make sure that you go all the way to the end because sometimes you won't see the Mining nodes from the entrance.
You will need a flying mount for this route, use route 3 if you don't have one.
Alternative route for players without flying mount.
Grand Master Mining
Visit your trainer and learn Grand Master mining. (Requires level 55)
350 - 400
Both Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord are great zones for leveling to 400. But I recommend using the "no flying" routes if you are still leveling and don't have a flying mount yet. Lower-level players also might want to skip some of the caves in Borean Tundra (depending on your level and gear).
400 - 450
I think Sholazar Basin is the better zone for leveling to 450, and the route is much easier to follow. But, you can use Storm Peaks as an alternative if you have a lot of competition in Sholazar Basin.
425 - 475
Visit your trainer and learn Illustrious Mining.
You will mine Obsidium Ore.
There is a lot more Obsidium in Hyjal than in Vashj'ir, but there are also a lot more players. Hyjal beats Vashj'ir if no one is farming the zone; otherwise, the zones are similar. If you go to Vashj'ir, you must do the starting quests until you get your underwater mount.
Mount Hyjal
Vashj'ir
475 - 525
You will mine Elementium Ore.
Twilight Highlands
Rich Elementium Vein requires Mining 500 and Pyrite Deposit 525, so you won't be able to mine them yet.