Updated for patch 4.2.

Pyrite Ore is the highest level ore you can mine for in World of Warcraft, as of the release of the Cataclysm expansion. Pyrite is a rare node spawn of Elementium Ore, therefore you’ll find it in places that you would normally find Elementium. You must have a mining skill level of 525 in order to mine Pyrite, so you’ll have to be completely leveled up before you can start farming this ore. Pyrite is a good way for miners to make gold, but I recommend that if you are serious about your gold making you take a look at this Gold Course for the best techniques.

Pyrite Ore in Deepholm

Deepholm is the first zone in this guide. You need to be level 82 to enter this zone, so if this doesn’t work you can try out Twilight Highlands. For easy mining, I simply recommend that you level up until you can reach this zone and farm here at 82 instead of trying out Twilight Highlands at a low level.

Pyrite Ore in Twilight Highlands

You’ll find Pyrite in Twilight Highlands and you don’t need to be level 82 to enter the zone; however, the zone is levels 84-85 so if you aren’t that high of a level you’ll most likely have a difficult time mining if you get jumped by mobs. Keep this in mind before you set off to this zone.

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

Updated for patch 4.2.

Elementium Ore is one of the newest ore introduced to World of Warcraft with the Cataclysm expansion.  You’ll need to have your mining skill level at 475 or higher to begin mining for this ore.  You will find Elementium in Elementium Veins and Rich Elementium Veins (these require your mining to be at least 500).  While you are mining for Elementium you’ll come across rare node spawns of Pyrite (you can mine this at 525). If you are mining Elementium to make gold please take a look at this Gold Course to ensure you know the proper strategies to make gold.

Elementium Ore in Deepholm

Deepholm is, in my opinion, the best place to farm for Elementium Ore. The zone is pretty much full of veins and if you stick to the basic route shown on the map below you shouldn’t have problems finding any, unless their are a lot of other players out there farming it too. There is one catch to farming for Elementium Ore in Deepholm (or leveling in Deepholm) and that is that you need to be at least level 82 to be able to get to the zone. It’s because of this that I’ve included another zone you can try out if you aren’t high enough yet.

Elementium Ore in Twilight Highlands

Twilight Highlands is another zone that you can farm for Elementium Ore in. This zone levels 84-85 so if you do skip farming in Deepholm because you aren’t level 82 yet, be aware that if you have to fight mobs while farming it will be difficult. Other than that, there isn’t much you need to know about this zone.

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

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.

Updated for patch 4.2.

Iron Ore is a great Ore to mine because you can sell it in the Auction House for a lot of gold.  I’ve seen some people have some pretty good market dominance with Iron Ore on a few of the servers I’ve been on making it sell for as much as 30 gold a stack, more than Saronite typically does. If you are mining for gold you might have surprisingly good success with mining for Iron. If you feel like you need more tips or tricks on how to make more gold take a look at this Gold Guide. Iron Ore requires a mining skill level of 125.

For the Iron Ore routes I’ve chosen three, Feralas, Western Plaguelands, and The Cape of Stranglethorn.

Iron Ore in Feralas

This is likely the best spot for farming Iron Ore since the shattering of Azeroth.

Iron Ore in Western Plaguelands

Western Plaguelands is another good zone to farm for Iron Ore in.  All you need to do here is run a big loop of the zone, avoiding the northern section.

Iron Ore in The Cape of Stranglethorn

The Cape of Stranglethorn will provide you with some good Iron Ore farming. Just follow the route on the map below.

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

Updated for patch 4.2.

Cobalt Ore is the entry level ore that is mined in Wrath of the Lich King.  It requires 350 skill to mine normal Cobalt Deposits and 375 to mine Rich Cobalt Deposits.  It can be found in the entry level zones of Northrend, such as, Grizzly Hills, Zul’Drak, Howling Fjord, Borean Tundra, and Dragonblight.

If you are looking for ways to make more gold take a look at this Gold Course.

The best place to farm Cobalt is probably in Zul’Drak if you have a flying mount but all the zones work fine, it’s really a preference on which cobalt routes you like the best and how crowded the zones are on your server.

Rich Cobalt Nodes will primarily spawn in the higher level zones like Zul’Drak just so you are aware.  The lower level the zone the less Rich Cobalt Nodes you will see. (continue reading…)