Can't mine this hard dark stone?

#1wolfy42Posted 10/13/2010 2:39:57 AM
Hi everyone I'm new to Minecraft and havn't read FAQ's etc because I dont' want to ruin things.

I made a deap mine in a mountain near where I started, it takes over a minute to go from the top to the bottom of my stairway. At the bottom now though I keep hitting these dark stones (looks like coal but a bit darker) that I can't seem to mine even with my iron pickaxes. I have yet to find any diamonds etc (perhaps they are diamond stone?) so maybe that is what I need.....but can anyone give me a heads up on how to keep mining down?

Is there just a limit to how far you can go down? I had to avoid lava a few times on my way down (just filled in the hole quickly if I found lava which seemed to work) and I've dug out plenty of iron, gold, red stone, flint and coal on the way down (not to mention a ton of normal stones which I've made into a about 500 stars or so to make travel from the top to bottom very easy)

I'm enjoying digging down as far as I can and hate that I seem to be unable to go any further down. I guess I could epand at this depth and make a huge cavern etc and mine away at the sides but thats not as fun as trying to tunnel to china.

So anyway I can keep mining down?

No duckies, just drowning.
#2Amidamaru_Posted 10/13/2010 2:42:14 AM
If they are grey with dark-grey or black lines, then it's bedrock. Nothing can go through that. If you find a hole in the bedrock, though, DON'T jump in. You'll end up in the void. Nothing good comes from that.
#3bong2004Posted 10/13/2010 2:45:44 AM
Bedrock, it limits how far you can go down. Sometimes the placement of bedrock can be buggy and you get holes, which look a light blue. This is the Void, if you fall down you die in it and lose all your stuff. So if you're around bedrock, never mind the block youre standing on.

You shouldn't mine the block you stand on under normal circumstances too...
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#4nessonett106Posted 10/13/2010 2:46:52 AM
In a game like this where theres no story or spoilers, faqs don't hurt.

Have a look at the block list and crafting tables in the wiki

Currently playing: Monster Hunter 3, MHF, Minecraft, Starcraft 2
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#5wolfy42(Topic Creator)Posted 10/13/2010 2:58:53 AM
Thanks everyone:)

Well thats dissapointing I wanted to keep mining down!!

Also I have never found any gems yet (diamonds etc), just red stone, gold and plenty of iron.

I'm mining now in a straight line right above the bedrock now looking for a natural cavern or if I'm lucky a diamond!!

Not sure what my next goal is going to be. I was so enjoying digging as low as I could. I guess maybe I'll continue my stairway up into the sky next:)
No duckies, just drowning.
#6putnamehere3145Posted 10/13/2010 7:09:03 AM
You'll more likely find lava >_>
#7wolfy42(Topic Creator)Posted 10/13/2010 10:54:36 AM
I found Lava a few times on my way down actually but just filled in the area with stone and that sealed it off...then I just dug down a bit more until I got past the lava. I'm not sure why stone stops lava (shouldn't the lava melt the stone?) but it works great.

It seems like the lava is in pools and not something that continues down to the bedrock anywhere so you can dig underneath it just fine:)

Most of the time I ran into it while doing side mines for iron/gold it didn't disrupt my primary stairs more then twice (and in both cases I just had to alter my angle slightly to avoid it.

I have a pretty long tunnel at the bottom so far and have not hit any lava along it yet. Wet stone/dirt a bunch but thats about it.

I made a compass now so I am thinking of making a tunnel from the bottom of my mine back to where I started using the compass and then tunneling back up to the surface. After that I can explore safely and never get lost!
No duckies, just drowning.
#8Amidamaru_Posted 10/13/2010 11:52:14 AM
Keep in mind the compass only points to your spawn-point.
You're still better off marking your route some other way, like torches.

Still, if you can work with that compass, it's still a useful tool.