How to find and use copper in Minecraft

Copper in Minecraft spawns in the Overworld between layers 0 to 63 but you have to dig for it as you won't find it on the surface. Copper is only available in Minecraft 1.17 or above. You can identify copper ore by its bright, orange-brown appearance. Continue reading to learn how to find and use copper in Minecraft.

Where to find Copper in Minecraft?

Copper, a brand-new type of metal with numerous uses, is one of the game's most recent additions. Copper can be found in two different ways: mining and exploring.

Mining
Minecraft's deep caves and underground tunnels are the most common places to find copper ore. It appears in veins just like iron and gold. Layers between 0 to 63 are where copper spawns. However, it is most commonly found between layers 14 to 50. Many players have found it in large quantities between layers 47 and 48. You might stumble upon a copper deepslate variant in the deepslate layer.

Exploring
Exploring mountain areas or caves is something players frequently do. Here copper ore spawns more hence players have an increased chance of finding copper. Additionally, copper ore is found in clusters, so one might be able to find several blocks of copper ore in one location. While digging, you might stumble across a cave, try to find the entrance of the cave and start exploring. This way you can make sure you have explored the whole cave. Cave openings are identified by large openings in the mountains or holes in the ground, cave entrances are typically visible from the ground.

Once in the cave system, you have to keep an eye out for copper. They replace the aforementioned blocks, so it's best to look for clusters of copper. Copper is usually found in groups so if you find one, keep diffing to find more. Remember it can be found at any layer between 0 to 63.

Note: Copper in Minecraft spawns slightly differently between Editions. In Java Edition, copper tends to be common in Extreme hills and the Taiga biome. In Bedrock Edition it is common to find them in the Badlands biome. Other biomes also contain copper but in lesser quantities. Feel free to explore them.

How to use Copper in Minecraft?

Copper in Minecraft is a versatile metal with numerous applications. Here are a few of the most common ways you can use copper in Minecraft.

Building
Copper has a distinctive texture and colour and can be used as decorative blocks while building. Additionally, it can be blended with other substances to make intriguing patterns and designs. Over time copper tends to oxidize making it green in colour. If you don’t like the colour you can apply beeswax to maintain its original colour.

Redstone
Copper in Minecraft can be used to craft redstone components. One of the most helpful items is a lightning rod because it can be used to shield your building from lightning strikes. If you had trouble seeing it from a distance, you could make spyglasses that would let you zoom in on far-off objects.

Tools
In Minecraft, tools like swords, pickaxes, shovels and hoes can be made from copper. They are efficient, meaning they mine and harvest faster but are less durable than Iron, meaning they get destroyed faster than iron tools.

Armour
Copper in Minecraft can be used to make armour too. Iron armour lasts longer than copper armour but during a lightning storm, only copper armour can protect you. Iron or any other armour cannot protect you from a lightning strike.

Crafting
Copper can be used in a variety of crafting recipes, including tinted glass, telescopes, and the new amethyst blocks.

How to get copper quickly in Minecraft?

Now, this is a large area to cover, and not a good idea to run around mining so many layers to get Copper. It's a complete-time waste and not fun. So, how should you mine Copper? What strategy should one use to make it fun and progress faster in the game?

To find Copper in Minecraft quickly, first dig straight to layer 11 and make a small home/storage room or a Base to keep necessary items like chests, smelter, enchantment table, food etc. Once done, you can start branch mining at layer 11. This layer and the layers below have a good concentration of resources, including Iron. Just make sure that level 10 will be your ceiling. This way you might end up with Lapis Lazuli, Gold, Redstone, Emerald, Diamond, Coal, Concrete and Cobblestone. These are very important resources in the game.

What tools to use to mine Copper in Minecraft?

Copper in Minecraft can be mined with a stone pickaxe. However, it's better to use an iron pickaxe or better to mine copper fast. Enchant your pickaxe with the maximum Fortune enchantment. A Fortune 3 enchantment can drop 2-4 copper ores per node.