Mining Guide
Village in the Shade Mining Guide and Mineral Floors
The fastest way to mine efficiently in Village in the Shade is to stop clearing random Quarry floors and target the depth where the mineral you need appears most often.
The Quarry shifts as you go deeper, with more valuable ore appearing in later floor ranges. Every 10 floors, a checkpoint lets you return directly to that depth on later trips, which completely changes how efficient farming runs should be planned.
This page focuses on what players actually search for: where to mine for Copper, Iron, Gold and Meteor Iron, which floor is best instead of merely possible and how to avoid wasting stamina on the wrong kind of run.
Last verified: August 10, 2026. Floor recommendations are based on released-game guide data and player-tested mining notes, while exact ore-spawn RNG is still being refined.
Mining status
Quarry
Confirmed
10-Floor Checkpoints
Confirmed
Copper Ore
Confirmed
Iron Ore
Confirmed
Gold Ore
Confirmed
Meteor Iron
Confirmed
Gem Deposits
Confirmed
Best-Floor Advice
Released-game guide data
Quick Answer
What Are the Best Floors for Each Mineral?
This is the most useful short answer for most players: best farming floor, not just first appearance floor.
Main Table
Best Quarry Floors by Mineral
Use this as the main index for targeted Quarry runs.
The key distinction is that appearance floor is not always the same as best farming floor. Gold can begin appearing earlier than 101F, for example, but deeper target floors can be much better for focused runs.
Checkpoints
Every 10 Floors Changes Your Strategy
Minecart shortcuts are one of the most important Quarry systems.
Once a 10-floor checkpoint is unlocked, you can return directly there on future visits. That means the optimal strategy is not to start at 1F every day, but to jump close to the mineral you actually want.
Run Types
Progression Runs and Farming Runs Should Be Different
A lot of mining inefficiency comes from trying to do both jobs with the same routine.
- For progression runs, ignore low-value rocks and find the next descent hole quickly.
- For farming runs, start from the nearest unlocked checkpoint instead of Floor 1.
- Prioritize large ore veins before wasting stamina on ordinary stone.
- Leave once the current run stops being stamina-efficient, then repeat from the minecart shortcut.
If your goal is the next checkpoint, preserve stamina and keep moving. If your goal is ore, start from the right shortcut and target visible veins only.
Pickaxe
Upgrade the Pickaxe Early
Mining upgrades accelerate the same progression loop that supplies future upgrade materials.
Current mining guides consistently recommend prioritizing the Pickaxe because stronger versions break rocks in fewer hits, reduce wasted stamina and make deep-floor runs much more realistic.
Copper
Basic or early Pickaxe is enough
Iron
Upgraded Pickaxe strongly recommended
Gold
Higher-tier Pickaxe required or recommended
Meteor Iron
High-tier Pickaxe required
Smelting
Raw Ore Usually Is Not the Final Material
Mining and metal progression are tied to furnace processing, not just raw inventory counts.
Current guides document ore moving through a Furnace or Smelter chain such as Copper Ore into Copper Ingot, Iron Ore into Iron or Steel-tier ingots, Gold Ore into Gold Ingot and Meteor Iron into Meteor Iron Ingot.
Coal or Charcoal is used as fuel, so while farming metal, it is also worth grabbing Coal where practical instead of tunnel-visioning only on one ore type.
Gems
The Quarry Is Not Only for Metal Ore
Deeper runs can also pay off through gemstone value, not just tool-upgrade metals.
Current released-game data documents multiple gems and mineral collectibles, with more valuable finds generally improving as you go deeper. That said, this page keeps metal-floor routing as the primary focus because that is the stronger current search intent.
Silver
Be Careful With “Silver” Terminology
This page should not create a fake Silver Ore row.
A Steam player note mentions farming “Silver and Gold” around 70F, but the current verified Japanese-version ore lists checked for this page do not show a standard Silver Ore row alongside Copper, Iron, Gold and Meteor Iron.
Until the English localization or direct current-build verification confirms a standard Silver ore material, the safer wording is that Silver is not currently confirmed as a standard ore name here.
Troubleshooting
Why Your Mining Runs Feel Inefficient
Most Quarry frustration comes from route planning and target confusion, not from bad luck alone.
I keep clearing random floors and get poor ore
That usually means you are mining for progression and farming at the same time. Split those runs apart and start from the closest useful checkpoint.
I found Gold before 101F, so why not farm there?
Appearance floor and best farming floor are not the same thing. The page uses recommended farming floors, not the earliest possible appearance floor, as the primary target.
I am looking for Silver Ore
Current verified Japanese-version ore lists do not show a standard Silver Ore row alongside Copper, Iron, Gold and Meteor Iron, so this page does not invent one.
I keep starting from 1F every trip
That is one of the biggest stamina drains in the Quarry. Unlock each 10-floor checkpoint and use the minecart to skip directly to your target range.
My deep runs feel too slow
Upgrade the Pickaxe early. Stronger Pickaxes reduce wasted hits, improve deep-floor efficiency and make target-mineral farming much more realistic.
I mined ore but still cannot craft upgrades
Raw ore often needs Furnace or Smelter processing first, and some recipes use multiple ore plus Coal or Charcoal as fuel.
FAQ
Mining Questions
These are the short answers most players need when they are blocked by ore depth or checkpoint planning.
Current released-game guide data recommends 21F for Copper, 61F for Iron, 101F for Gold and 111F for Meteor Iron, with deeper appearance ranges starting earlier for some ores.
If Copper is your only goal, start around 21F after unlocking the 20F checkpoint. You do not need to waste a whole day pushing deep if you only need early ore.
Iron begins appearing around 40F, but 61F is currently the stronger focused farming recommendation when you need larger quantities.
Gold begins appearing around 80F, but current best-floor advice recommends 101F for dedicated Gold farming.
Meteor Iron is a late-depth resource, currently best targeted around 111F after you unlock the deep checkpoints and bring a high-tier Pickaxe.
Every 10 floors unlocks a minecart shortcut, letting you return directly to that depth on future runs instead of starting from 1F every time.
No. Progression runs should prioritize finding the next descent hole quickly, while farming runs should target ore veins near the checkpoint closest to the mineral you want.
Current sources support broad guidance rather than an exact confirmed matrix: Copper is fine with an early Pickaxe, Iron wants an upgraded one, Gold wants a higher-tier one and Meteor Iron needs a high-tier Pickaxe.
No standard Silver Ore row is currently confirmed in the released-game Japanese ore lists checked for this guide, so the page does not treat Silver as a standard verified ore name yet.
Yes. Current released-game data documents multiple gem and mineral collectibles, and deeper floors generally improve the value of what can appear.
Verification
What Is Confirmed and What Still Needs Caution?
The depth structure is clear, but exact ore-spawn behavior should still be described carefully.
The stable parts are strong: Copper is shallow, Iron begins around 40F, Gold begins around 80F, Meteor Iron is late-depth, every 10 floors unlock a checkpoint and focused farming floors can differ from first-appearance floors.
The parts still worth careful wording are exact vein RNG, a complete confirmed Pickaxe gate matrix for every ore and whether English localization later formalizes a standard Silver material name.
Sources checked
- Released-game Japanese Quarry and ore guides
- AppMedia recommended mineral-floor data
- Gamecap mining and smelting guides
- Steam Community player notes on Copper, Iron, Gold and Meteor Iron depth ranges
Next Steps
Mine for the Material You Need, Not for Depth Alone
Once checkpoints are unlocked, the Quarry becomes a routing problem. The best run is the one that starts near your target mineral and ends before your stamina turns inefficient.
Written by: Village in the Shade Guide Editorial Team
Last updated: August 27, 2026
Sources: Official publisher and storefront pages, released-game research and linked source notes.