Updated for patch 4.2.

Obsidium Ore is one of the newest ores released with Cataclysm, along with Elementium and Pyrite.  Obsidium is a normal ore (unlike Pyrite which is a rare spawn out of Elementium Ore nodes).  You’ll need to have a mining skill level of 425 before you can mine this ore.  If you are trying to mine Obsidium Ore for gold you might be interested in learning better ways to make gold as in this Gold Course. Keep in mind that while Obsidium Ore will sell good on the Auction House, since it’s a new high level ore, there will probably be a higher demand for Pyrite and Elementium because they are even higher level ores.

Obsidium Ore in Mount Hyjal

Below you’ll find a mining route map for Obsidium Ore.  I like Mount Hyjal for farming Obsidium Ore because it is not underwater, other options at this level with leave you with lots of underwater farming options.  I find leveling or farming to be easier in this zone than the others partly because it doesn’t force you to swim around to collect ore.  If you decide that you don’t like this route below you are always welcome to try out Vashj’ir but remember you’ll have to mine underwater.

If you’re looking for information on Leveling your Mining see my WoW Mining Guide.

Patch 3.3.3 debuted today with minimal changes to the mining profession:

• Mining
  • Titansteel Bar: Creating this item no longer results in a cooldown. If this ability is on cooldown when the patch is applied, players must wait for the cooldown to expire naturally before it is permanently removed.

While a small change this will affect players who used Titansteel Bars to make gold on the auction house. A side note, other profession changes were minor in general with only inscription receiving a seemingly big overhaul. Here are those notes in case you are interested.

Professions

• Runed Orbs: Recipes which require this item have had their material requirements significantly reduced.
• Engineering
  • The Pet Bombling and Lil’ Smoky non-combat pets are no longer Bind-on-Pickup.
• Fishing
  • The “Monsterbelly Appetite” daily fishing quest has changed so it now takes place outside the Violet Hold in Dalaran. The quest still requires a Severed Arm and has been renamed to “Disarmed!”
• Inscription
  • Most recipes that required 2 inks now only require 1.
• Mining
  • Titansteel Bar: Creating this item no longer results in a cooldown. If this ability is on cooldown when the patch is applied, players must wait for the cooldown to expire naturally before it is permanently removed.
• Tailoring
  • Glacial Bag: Creating this item now invokes a 7-day cooldown.
  • The cooldown and location requirements have been removed from creating Moonshroud, Spellweave and Ebonweave. If any of these abilities are on cooldown when the patch is applied, players must wait for the cooldowns to expire naturally before they are permanently removed.

There is one change set to occur to Mining in patch 3.3.3.  There will no longer be a cooldown for Titansteel Bars.  This may be good news to the players who are in need of these bars because getting them will now be even easier than ever but for the players using their cooldowns to make loads of gold this news might not be so great. (continue reading…)

Updated for patch 4.2.

Saronite Ore is one of the most common ores you’ll farm in Wrath of the Lich King, mainly because people mine it while trying to find Titanium. However, Blizzard has been and is currently implementing more uses for Saronite. Saronite can be converted into Titanium now, etc, so it’s still a fairly high demand ore even though it’s mined in mass quantity everyday.

I’ll admit it can be hard to farm for even Saronite at times (Titanium is even worse ) because of all the players trying to farm it and sell it on the Auction House for a profit. If you are simply mining for gold I suggest you take a look at this Gold Course as it might be of great help to you.

You must be 400 to mine Saronite Deposit and 425 skill to mine Rich Saronite Deposit. The two zones that I’ve chosen are Sholazar Basin and Icecrown. (continue reading…)

Updated for patch 4.2.

There are two types of Adamantite Deposits you’ll find, Adamantite Deposit and Rich Adamantite Deposit. You will need to have your mining skill at 325 to mine regular Adamantite Deposit and 350 to mine Rich Adamantite Deposit.

If you are trying to use mining as a way to make gold take a look at this Gold Course which teaches you strategies to maximize the gold you make when you sell things on the Auction House.

The two zones I’ve chosen for Adamantite are Nagrand and Netherstorm.  Both of these are best done with flying mounts.

Adamantite Ore in Nagrand

The main focus of this zone is the caves which I’ve marked with V’s on the map.  I would spend most of my time travelling between them and then taking the north route to start over again.  If you wanted to you could also fly the southern edge of the zone to get back to the start. (continue reading…)