TBC Classic Mining Profession Guide (Phase 3)

Mining is a gathering profession that feeds three crafts at once: Blacksmithing, Engineering, and Jewelcrafting. Ore and bars are needed constantly and in large quantities, so a miner is never left without income.

Beyond the ore itself, the profession gives you deposit tracking on the minimap and the ability to smelt bars, while gems can be extracted from Adamantite Ore using a prospecting prism — the very thing jewelcrafters make money on in TBC. Plus a small health bonus from the skill.

Mining pairs most easily with Blacksmithing or Jewelcrafting: you gather it yourself, process it yourself, and sell it yourself.

Trainers are found in every capital, and the Master rank (300-375) is learned in Outland.

Horde

Makaru — Orgrimmar

Belil — Silvermoon

Brom Killian in Undercity and Brek Stonehoof in Thunder Bluff also teach it.

Alliance

Geofram Bouldertoe — Ironforge

Gelman Stonehand — Stormwind

Muaat — The Exodar

Masters in Outland (300-375)

Krugosh — Thrallmar, Hellfire Peninsula

Hurnak Grimmord — Honor Hold, Hellfire Peninsula

Mining doesn't require buying materials — all you need is a pickaxe and time. Useful pointers:

• Don't skip learning new profession ranks: without them, higher-level veins simply won't show up.
• Turn on ore tracking on the minimap — it comes together with the profession.
• Smelting bars also raises the skill, but most smelting recipes turn green quickly, so the main gains still come from mining.

A noticeable chunk of skill is picked up along the way: if you're leveling a character, just gather every vein you pass. Dedicated runs are only needed when your skill falls behind the zone.

Levels 1-65

Mine Copper Ore.

Best zones: Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades, Elwynn Forest, Darkshore, Dun Morogh.

Levels 65-125

Mine Tin Ore while gathering the remaining copper along the way.

Best zones: Hillsbrad Foothills, Redridge Mountains, Ashenvale, The Barrens.

Levels 125-175

Mine Iron Ore and Gold Ore; tin still gives skill at the start of the range.

Best zones: Arathi Highlands, Badlands, Thousand Needles.

Levels 175-245

Mine Mithril Ore and Truesilver Ore.

Best zones: Hinterlands, Tanaris.

Levels 245-275

Thorium Ore is added to mithril and truesilver.

Best zones: Un'Goro Crater, Searing Gorge, Felwood.

Levels 275-300

Mine Thorium Ore, with priority on Rich Thorium Veins.

Best zones: Un'Goro Crater, Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Burning Steppes.

You don't have to grind all the way to 300 in Azeroth: Outland ore starts giving skill as early as 275, so many players head to Hellfire Peninsula earlier and finish off the rest there.

From here you need the Master rank from Krugosh or Hurnak Grimmord.

Levels 300-325

Mine Fel Iron Ore.

Best zone: Hellfire Peninsula. Veins are dense across the entire territory, and a route around the edge of the zone covers the range quickly.

Levels 325-350

Mine Adamantite Ore.

Best zones: Zangarmarsh, Terokkar Forest.

Levels 350-375

Keep mining adamantite, with priority on Rich Adamantite Veins.

Best zones: Nagrand, Netherstorm, Shadowmoon Valley.

Khorium Ore is rare and isn't farmed on its own: it shows up incidentally in adamantite veins. Don't skip such veins — khorium bars stay expensive throughout the entire expansion.

A miner's main income isn't the ore itself but the processing. Smelt bars and sell them: they're almost always worth more than ore. Adamantite Ore is worth holding onto for a jewelcrafter — prospecting it with a prism yields gems that are worth noticeably more than the raw ore.

It's also worth memorizing the rich-vein routes in Nagrand and Netherstorm: a single loop takes 15-20 minutes and brings steady income without any competition with your raid schedule.