Updated 25 October 2026. Facts on this page come from minecraft.wiki, minecraft.net and the live Artemis PvP server; sources are listed at the bottom.
Basalt in Minecraft: Where to Find It and Uses
Basalt is a gray Nether stone that forms pillars in soul sand valleys and covers the basalt deltas. It is a building block that rotates like logs. You can make it yourself with lava, soul soil and blue ice.
Where is basalt found?
It generates as pillars in soul sand valleys, as the main terrain and columns in basalt deltas, and in bastion remnants.
How do you mine it?
Mine it with any pickaxe; it drops itself. A basalt generator works when flowing lava sits above soul soil and next to blue ice: the lava turns into basalt.
What is basalt used for?
- Building blocks with a pillar look
- Polished basalt
- Smoothing into smooth basalt
- Infinite stone from a basalt generator
Tip
A basalt generator gives endless building stone in the Nether, the way a cobblestone generator does in the Overworld.
Pickaxes, Silk Touch and Fortune
Most stone-like blocks need a pickaxe: without one they break slowly and drop nothing. Silk Touch picks up a block that normally drops something else, such as an ore or plain stone, and Fortune adds drops to ores but not to plain stone. Blast resistance and hardness decide how well a block survives explosions and how long it takes to break, which matters when you choose a building block for a base. A stonecutter turns stone blocks into stairs, slabs and walls one block at a time, which is cheaper than crafting for stairs (1 stair per block instead of 4 stairs from 6). See tool tiers and basalt deltas.
Does ArtemisPvP have custom gear?
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a basalt generator?
Flowing lava above soul soil and next to blue ice turns into basalt.
What pickaxe do you need for basalt?
Any pickaxe.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.