Mining Leveling Guide

Ore circuits, smelting breakpoints, and trainer stops to push Mining 1-450 fast. Great with Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Jewelcrafting.

Updated 2026 Supports Classic / TBC / WotLK Best paired with Blacksmithing/JC/Engineering

Classic Route (1-300)

Skill	Ore/Zone	Notes
1-65	Copper: Elwynn/Durotar/Dun Morogh	Mine + smelt Copper to 65; sell bars or use for BS.
65-90	Tin: Darkshore/Barrens/Loch Modan	Smelt Bronze (65-90) using Copper + Tin.
90-125	Iron: Wetlands/Arathi/Hillsbrad	Smelt Iron to 125; grab some Coal for Steel later.
125-155	Steel smelting	Smelt Steel (Iron + Coal) to push cheap points.
155-175	Gold: Arathi/Badlands	Mine/Smelt Gold; can also finish on Iron.
175-230	Mithril: Tanaris/Hinterlands/Searing Gorge	Tanaris outer loop or Mithril stand in Searing Gorge.
230-250	Truesilver pockets	Small gains from Truesilver; keep for crafts.
250-300	Thorium: Un'Goro/Winterspring/Silithus	Do Un'Goro outer rim, then Winterspring for rich nodes.

Trainer at 50/125/200/275. Keep a Mining Pick, buy a cheap helm with Mithril Spurs for speed, and use Fiery Enchant on boots (Classic) for extra movement.

TBC Route (300-375)

Skill	Ore/Zone	Notes
300-325	Fel Iron: Hellfire Peninsula	Cliff edges and around Hellfire Citadel.
325-350	Fel Iron/Adamantite: Zangarmarsh	Circle the outer swamp; lower competition.
350-365	Adamantite: Nagrand	Elemental plateau + around Halaa.
365-375	Adamantite/Khorium: Nagrand/Netherstorm/SMV	Swap to Netherstorm floating islands for rich nodes.

Smelt Fel Iron to 325 and Adamantite to 340+ if you want less travel. Keep Primal Earth/Fire from mote clouds if you have Engineering mote extractor.

WotLK Route (375-450)

Skill	Ore/Zone	Notes
375-400	Cobalt: Borean Tundra/Howling Fjord	Coastlines and ridges; smelt to 400 if needed.
400-425	Cobalt/Saronite: Dragonblight/Grizzly Hills	Dense Saronite in Dragonblight cliffs.
425-440	Saronite: Sholazar Basin	Outer rim + Maker's Perch. Extremely dense.
440-450	Titanium/Saronite: Icecrown/Storm Peaks	Focus on rich Saronite and Titanium; requires Cold Weather Flying.

Smelting Saronite to 440 is viable if competition is high. Save Titanium for Titansteel cooldowns (20h) and Jewelcrafting prospecting.

Prep & Gold Tips

        Use Find Minerals tracking at all times; keep it on a macro with your mount.
Smelt for cheap skill-ups when ore is expensive. Check if bars sell higher than raw ore on your realm.
Prospecting (Jewelcrafting) multiplies profits on Adamantite/Saronite. Consider mailing ore to your JC alt.
Farm during off-hours to avoid node sniping. Pair with RestedXP routes to bank XP while gathering.

      

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