Where to find Copper in Minecraft and what it is used for
Learn how to find Copper in Minecraft and what you can do with it
Want to learn how to find Copper in Minecraft, and what it is used for? That's right: Copper is now in Minecraft as of the 1.17 update, and boy, is it a complex resource. Copper can be made into all sorts of fascinating decorative blocks, as well as a couple of very fancy pieces of equipment.
Below we'll walk you through how to find Copper in Minecraft, and then we'll cover all the what you can do with Copper once you've got your hands on it.
Where to find Copper in Minecraft
Copper is obtained by mining Copper Ore blocks. Each block of Copper Ore that you mine will drop 2 or 3 Raw Copper, which you can smelt into Copper Ingots in a Furnace.
Copper Ore blocks spawn in veins like Iron Ore, and they can spawn in any biome underground, no matter your Minecraft seed. Copper is most commonly found at Y-Level 47-48, but you can find them fairly frequently at pretty much any depth below sea level (Y-Level 64) So don't expect to have as much trouble finding Copper as you would finding Diamonds.
Copper Ore can also spawn in Deepslate at the bottom of the world, though this is rarer, and the block will become Deepslate Copper Ore. This will become more important when Deepslate becomes a larger part of world generation once the Minecraft 1.18 update releases. It can still be mined in the same way as regular Copper Ore blocks though.
Once you've found a vein of Copper Ore, you can mine each Copper block with any Pickaxe of Stone or higher quality. It's a good idea to use a Fortune enchanted Pickaxe if you have one, as this will increase the amount of Raw Copper you get from each block.
If you're having trouble spotting Copper Ore, then you might want to use a texture pack we discuss in our best Minecraft Texture Packs guide, which highlights ores to make them easier to find.
What can I do with Copper in Minecraft?
Raw Copper on its own isn't useful for much. You can place 9 of them in a 3x3 grid to create a Copper Ore block again, but that isn't very exciting.
Instead, you should smelt Raw Copper into Copper Ingots with a Furnace. With Copper Ingots, you can craft the following:
- Copper Block: 9 Copper Ingots in a 3x3 grid;
- Spyglass: 1 Copper Ingot above another Copper Ingot, with an Amethyst Shard on top;
- Lightning Rod: 3 Copper Ingots in a vertical line.
The Copper Block is a very versatile and interesting decorative block. First off: it oxidises over time, which in Minecraft simply means it gains a green-turqoise tint over time when exposed to air. The block itself journeys through 4 different phases: regular, then Exposed, then Weathered, and finally Oxidised. Each stage reduces the orange-ness and increases the green-ness.
You can use an axe on any of these partially oxidised variants to take it back one level (e.g. from Oxidised back to Weathered).
You can also create a Waxed version of any Copper Block by combining it with Honeycomb in a crafting window, which prevents this oxidisation effect. To learn how to get Honeycomb, read our guide on Bees in Minecraft. Using an axe on a Waxed Copper Block will turn it back into a regular Copper Block.
Finally, you can place 4 Copper Blocks in a 2x2 grid to make a Cut Copper Block, which is like the Copper version of the Stone Brick Block. These Cut versions can also be oxidised and waxed as above.
With so many different possible blocks that can be made from Copper, it's no wonder the builders of Minecraft have been pretty excited about Copper for some time. There are limitless uses for Copper both in houses and other building ideas. Copper looks particularly great with good lighting, so for optimum viewing experience be sure you've got one of the best Minecraft shaders running.
That should be everything relating to the curious case of Copper in Minecraft covered. For more information on other aspects of the Minecraft 1.17 update, be sure to check out our pages on how to tame and breed Axolotls, and how to make Candles.
