Comparison of Different methods of Mining

Going to compare some different approaches to mining.

Note the following were are determined at lvl 70 mining. While the conclusions will probably hold for many other levels I recommend you also time you methods to see what works best for your particulatr character.

Overall Conclusion:

- Mining the traditional ores is a joke for XP, around 10k an hour at level 70 mining.
- You should not mine the highest ores that your level allows for. Mining XP per hour decreases for the higher level ores (until you are many many levels above the initial requirement).
- You should only mine steel, mith and addy if you want the bars for money making or smithing.
-The best ways to level mining are gold (still makes money) and granite (power mining and dropping).

FYI I had timed methods before. I can 100% guarantee you that the June mining update slowed mining down (by about 50%). Given how slow it is already this is a total joke.

Addy Bars - Grand Tree

Location: Grand Tree (must complete Grand tree quest for access)
Making: Addy (and mith when addy had not respawned)
Method: Super heating

Was mining addy and coal and superheating the bars on the spot. Whenever the addy ran out I mined mith ore to go with the coal. Grand Tree is a nice spot as it is normally pretty quiet.

It took 35mins 40 seconds to complete 1 entire run. (Start bank, fill inventory with completed bars and return to bank).

In that time I made 15 addy bars and 6 mith bars and had 4 coal left over

Grossed up to an hourly rate this yielded 8.2k Mining and 3.3k smithing XP (you get XP for smithing). Absolutely pathetic.

Mith Bars - Mining Guild

Location: Mining Guild (lvl 60 mining to access)
Making: Mith Bars
Method: Super heating

Was mining mith and coal and superheating the bars on the spot. Mining guild has 5 mith rocks and tonnes of coal. Generally a good site although can be busy with other players.

It took 21mins 40 dead to complete 1 entire run. (Start bank, fill inventory with completed bars and return to bank).

In that time I made 24 mith bars wth 2 coal left over (I went with 6 mith already in Inventory)

Grossed up to an hourly rate this yielded 9.3k Mining and 5.4k smithing XP (you get XP for smithing). Better than making addy bars but still pathetic.

Mith is better than addy because the added addy XP does not offset the significantly longer mining time.

Steel Bars - Ardy

Location: Mine East of Ardy
Making: Steel Bars
Method: Super heating

Was mining iron and coal and superheating the bars on the spot. Ardy is quite close to a bank has plenty of coal and 2 spots with 3 iron rocks that can be hit standing in the same spot

It took 11 mins 53 secons to complete 1 entire run. (Start bank, fill inventory with completed bars and return to bank).

In that time I made 24 steel bars wth 2 coal left over.

Grossed up to an hourly rate this yielded 11.8k Mining and 6.6k smithing XP (you get XP for superheating). A repeating theme - the lower the bars the better the XP, steel beating addy and mith. That is just plain not right.

Better than mith and addy because the added XP for the higher ores does not offset the significantly longer mining time.

To come:

Gold Bars
Have heard this is about 20k an hour

Granite
Have heard this is about 40k an hour

nice guide it is very useful