Realistic Deposits

Realistic Deposits

Find a deposit worth building a mine around

I wanted finding ore to feel like discovering somewhere worth coming back to: a place for a mining camp, a railway and a long term project.

Realistic Deposits adds rare iron districts, layered coalfields, diamond pipes, gold veins and lapis lenses, as well as diamond- and gold-bearing river gravel. They each have their own shape and geological setting, so mining coal feels different from following iron or searching for diamonds.

The 0.5.0.110021 Lapis alpha is for Minecraft 1.10.2 on Forge and requires MMD OreSpawn. Mineralogy is optional.

Iron districts: follow the formation

Iron deposits stretch for hundreds of blocks through long, folded formations, with branching sections and smaller neighbouring bodies. They bend, thin and shift across faults rather than forming one enormous solid lump.

A rich section can lead into a thinner stretch, or disappear across a break before continuing nearby. Finding the formation is only the start; working out where it goes is part of mining it.

These are deposits you can develop over time, leaving plenty of reason to build proper tunnels and transport links.

Coalfields: several seams, one geological story

Real coal commonly occurs in seams within sedimentary rock sequences. Realistic Deposits uses that idea to create broad coalfields containing several thin beds separated by rock.

The beds share gentle folds and fault offsets. They can thin towards their edges, and bands of rock can split a thicker seam into smaller ones. Following one bed should feel like working through a coalfield, not clearing a cloud of scattered blocks.

With Mineralogy's physical strata enabled, suitable shale, siltstone, sandstone and conglomerate provide the hosts. Without them, vanilla stone stands in for the surrounding sedimentary rocks. Today's surface biome does not have to be a swamp.

Coal still uses normal Minecraft harvesting and Fortune. There are no new coal grades or processing chains to learn.

Diamond pipes: a different kind of deep mine

Natural diamonds form deep underground and can be carried towards the surface by magmas that form kimberlite and lamproite pipes. The diamonds are passengers, not something created by the eruption. GIA explains the geology here.

Our diamond districts contain one to three irregular, steep bodies, with broader upper sections and narrower roots. Diamonds occur in patches rather than solid columns, and occasional shallow finds are possible.

The default placement favours ancient, stable continental regions in OreSpawn's geology. Pipes cut across the surrounding rock rather than following its layers.

No kimberlite or lamproite blocks are added in this version. The pipe's shape is represented by ore within the existing stone.

River placers: diamonds and gold closer to the surface

Erosion can release diamonds from their original rock and leave them in river sediments. These secondary deposits are called placers. That connection between pipes and rivers is the inspiration for our diamond-bearing gravel.

Small pockets can occur beneath suitable rivers near a planned productive pipe district. Not every river contains them, but finding a pocket can be a clue to a nearby source.

Mining a diamond-bearing block leaves ordinary gravel, with a 1-in-16 chance of also dropping a diamond. The ordinary gravel won't produce more diamonds if you place it again.

Gold has a similar link between river and bedrock. Underground, goldfields have steep veins that narrow and branch, with rich pockets separated by lean stretches. In nearby river sediments, mining gold-bearing gravel leaves spent gravel and has a 1-in-4 chance of dropping a gold nugget.

Fortune increases successful drops from both kinds of rich gravel, and Silk Touch preserves the rich block. There's no panning machine or extra processing recipe.

Lapis lenses: look for the rich pockets

Lapis is a smaller discovery than an iron district or a goldfield. The ore forms compact lenses that thin towards their edges and open into richer pockets. Where there's room for a safe entrance, short abandoned workings can lead you into the lens without digging out most of it for you.

With Mineralogy's physical strata enabled, lenses fit into natural marble. If there isn't a suitable marble layer, the site is skipped. Without those strata, the lenses use natural vanilla stone variants instead. The mod doesn't add marble or change the surrounding terrain to make a deposit fit.

The ore is ordinary Minecraft lapis ore, with the usual drops, Fortune and Silk Touch. There are no new lapis grades or processing steps. See the lapis guide for more on where lenses form and how to configure them.

Abandoned workings: a way into the deposit

New defaults attempt abandoned workings at each iron formation, coalfield, individual diamond pipe, goldfield and lapis district where the site is safe.

Look for timber-framed entrances leading into winding stair runs, turning landings and short underground galleries. Supports, broken rails, cobwebs and fallen rock give them an abandoned feel.

The workings open up only a small part of a deposit. Most of the mining is still yours to do, and they contain no added loot or spawners.

Some sites are left alone because of water, structures or unsuitable terrain. River placers do not receive shafts or surface diggings.

With or without Mineralogy

OreSpawn is the only required mod dependency. Without Mineralogy, the deposits use suitable vanilla hosts.

Mineralogy adds more context: coal beds can follow appropriate sedimentary rocks, diamond pipes cut through the natural rock sequence, and lapis lenses fit into natural marble. Realistic Deposits does not turn on terrain replacement or invent surrounding strata.

Built-in deposits currently cover iron, coal, diamonds, gold and lapis. Wider ready-made catalogues for Base Metals, Modern Metals and Base Minerals are still future work, not requirements.

Choose how much ordinary ore remains

The fresh defaults keep 15% ordinary background generation for iron, coal, diamonds, gold and lapis, so you can still find smaller supplies while searching for a major deposit.

Pack authors can choose a different balance:

• Additive: keep ordinary generation and add the large deposits.
• Hybrid: retain a configurable background supply.
• Replacement: make the large deposits the main source.

JSON definitions control resources, hosts, rarity and shapes, including custom deposits using modded ores.

Getting started and updating worlds

Install the matching versions of:

• Minecraft 1.10.2, Java 8 and Forge 12.18.3.2511 or a compatible newer Forge 12 build;
• MMD OreSpawn 4.1.5.110021 or a newer compatible 4.x release for 1.10.2;
• Realistic Deposits.

Start a new world to try the fresh defaults. Existing worlds keep their captured OreSpawn settings. Updating does not automatically add new deposit rules, rewrite explored terrain or rebuild saved mine layouts.

Existing configuration files are preserved too. Back up important worlds before updating to an alpha or beta.

The source and guides explain the settings. If something looks wrong, please report it here, ideally with your seed, coordinates, mod versions and relevant settings.

This is geology adapted for Minecraft, with more deposits and integrations still to come. For now, there's already a good reason to pack supplies, follow a seam and build a mine.