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.
Coal Ore in Minecraft: Where to Find It and Uses
Coal ore is a very common ore and the first one most players mine. It drops 1 coal (1 to 4 with Fortune) and 0 to 2 experience, and any pickaxe can mine it. Coal is the cheapest good furnace fuel and makes torches.
Where is coal ore found?
It generates in two batches: 30 tries per chunk spread evenly from Y=136 to Y=320, and 20 tries per chunk from Y=0 to Y=192, most common at Y=96. That makes it most common in mountains and hills, and rare in deepslate below Y=0.
How do you mine it?
Mine it with any pickaxe. Fortune I, II and III give up to 2, 3 and 4 coal. Silk Touch drops the ore block itself, which you can smelt later for coal and experience.
What is coal ore used for?
- Coal for torches and campfires
- Furnace fuel (one coal smelts 8 items)
- Blocks of coal for longer-burning fuel
- Trading coal to some villagers
Tip
Coal is easy to find in mountains and in caves around Y=96.
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 ore Y levels.
Does ArtemisPvP have custom gear?
Frequently asked questions
What level is coal most common at?
Around Y=96, with more spread evenly from Y=136 to Y=320.
What pickaxe do you need for coal ore?
Any pickaxe.
Sources
Every fact on this page was checked against these pages; the wording is ours.