Special Ores¶
11 special ores smelt into the alloys of the Runic Anvil. 10 of them have veins of their own in the world; each may also come with ordinary ore.
| Ore | Vein (chance per square) | Pickaxe | Ore per vein | With ordinary ore | Smelts into | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Hot Iron Ore Its cracks still glow, as if the ash beneath it never cooled. |
Hot iron deposit Black Forest (1%) Ashlands (30%) |
 Black Metal Pickaxe |
6–10 | Scrap Iron 0.25% Flametal Ore 3% |
 Ember Steel |
 |
Frost Iron Ore Rust-brown iron bound together by veins of blue ice. |
Frost iron deposit Mountain (12%) Deep North (20%) |
 Iron Pickaxe |
4–8 | Scrap Iron 0.5% |  Rime Steel |
 |
Thunder Copper Ore Copper nuggets laced with yellow forks of frozen lightning. |
Thunder copper deposit Black Forest (10%) |
 Antler Pickaxe |
4–8 | Copper Ore 2% |  Thunder Copper |
 |
Bog Scrap Rusted scraps the swamp has glued into one lump. |
Bog scrap pile Swamp (18%) |
Iron Pickaxe |
4–8 | Scrap Iron 2% |  Bog Bronze |
 |
Barrow Silver Ore Pale silver that glints like candlelight in a burial mound. |
Barrow silver deposit Mountain (10%) |
Iron Pickaxe |
4–8 | Silver Ore 2% |  Barrow Silver |
 |
Scarlet Tin Ore Tin turned scarlet by the blight mist. It stays red after the mist is gone. |
No vein of its own: tin deposits and heavy and wind tin veins inside a Blight Mist give it | — | — | Tin Ore 0.25% |  War Steel |
 |
Arrow Copper Ore Pale blue crystals push out of the rock like arrowheads. |
Arrow copper deposit Mountain (6%) Deep North (12%) |
Iron Pickaxe |
4–8 | Copper Ore 0.5% |  Flying Rune Alloy |
 |
Whisper Silver Ore Violet light seeps through black glass, murmuring in the mist. |
Whisper silver deposit Mistlands (45%) |
Black Metal Pickaxe |
4–8 | Silver Ore 0.4% |  Whisper Silver |
 |
Heavy Tin Ore Dense grey tin, heavier than it has any right to be. |
Heavy tin deposit Black Forest (8%) |
Antler Pickaxe |
4–8 | Tin Ore 2% |  Bastion Alloy |
 |
Runebearing Copper Ore Copper seams with green patina and thin red cracks like faded runes. |
Runebearing copper deposit Black Forest (6%) |
Antler Pickaxe |
4–8 | Copper Ore 1% |  Ancestral Alloy |
 |
Wind Tin Ore Wind-scoured tin, light and bright as the open plains. |
Wind tin deposit Plains (40%) |
Iron Pickaxe |
4–8 | Tin Ore 0.5% |  Wayfarer Alloy |
Veins¶
Veins are placed once per world: each 128 m square of a biome may get one, at the chance in the table. A vein stands on free ground, not in water or lava, on slopes up to 35°, away from ore and locations and never within 40 m of a building; when its spot is taken it moves up to 20 m within its biome. A whole vein gives its ore in one stack.
Smelting¶
Every special ore smelts 1:1 into its alloy in an ordinary Smelter: 2 Coal and 30 s per ore, up to 10 ore at once.
Unusual ore¶
Unusual ore: each unit of ordinary ore a deposit drops may bring one unusual ore of its metal beside it, rolled once per unit; the ordinary ore is kept.
| Ordinary ore | May bring |
|---|---|
 Tin Ore |
Heavy Tin Ore 2% Wind Tin Ore 0.5% Scarlet Tin Ore 0.25% |
 Copper Ore |
Thunder Copper Ore 2% Runebearing Copper Ore 1% Arrow Copper Ore 0.5% |
 Scrap Iron |
Bog Scrap 2% Frost Iron Ore 0.5% Hot Iron Ore 0.25% |
 Silver Ore |
Barrow Silver Ore 2% Whisper Silver Ore 0.4% |
 Flametal Ore |
Hot Iron Ore 3% |
Inside a Blight Mist, ordinary tin ore comes out as Scarlet Tin Ore, and heavy tin and wind tin veins give it instead of their own ore.
The Miner's unusual ore chance works per hit: a hit on ordinary ore may knock out one more random unusual ore of the same metal, picked by the chances above (not from tin inside a Blight Mist); on a special vein it adds to the extra yield chances for more of the vein's ore.
| Name | Type | Effect | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Unusual ore | Craft node ×3 | +2% chance for extra unusual ore |
 |
Unusual ore | Craft notable | +5% chance for extra unusual ore |
Data from Path of Valheiman 6.0.6, extracted 2026-11-09.