What are the best places for iron to spawn in Minecraft's 1.18 update?

Whether they're crafting or building, Minecraft players won't get too far in their survival experience without iron ore and ingots. Found in the Overworld, iron ore can be mined and smelted into iron ingots.

Iron ingots are a crafting component in several different recipes, from iron tools to entire blocks made of iron. Different recipes require different amounts of iron, so it's a good idea to have as much as possible stockpiled and available.

If players know where to look for iron in their Minecraft worlds, the time taken to collect and store iron should drop dramatically, providing more time for other tasks.

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Minecraft: Top locations to find iron

Mining both underground and above ground

Raw iron can appear both underground and on the surface (Image via Mojang)

The most common means of obtaining raw iron for smelting in Minecraft involves mining the ore's blocks. These blocks can be found both underground and occasionally on the surface level in areas with a significant amount of stone.

New mountain peak biomes introduced in versions 1.18 such as jagged peak biomes also feature plenty of surface ores like iron.

Underground, iron appears to generate the most around the height level Y=16. Large veins of it can additionally be found significantly lower underground between layers Y=-8 and Y=-56.

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Looting ingots in loot chests

A loot chest's inventory featuring iron ingots (Image via Mojang)

Slightly less consistent than mining when it comes to acquiring iron, loot chests can contain both ingots and iron nuggets. Certain loot chests have a higher chance of dropping iron than others, so players should focus on certain chests that have higher drop rates. The highest-rated chests to drop iron ingots are buried treasure chests, sunken shipwreck chests, and armorer chests in villages.

For iron nuggets, players should look to loot chests in bastion remnants and shipwrecks.

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Killing/farming iron golems

Iron golems can even be healed by iron ingots (Image via Mojang)

One of the best ways to obtain iron ingots in Minecraft is through killing iron golems found in villages. Although it can seem pretty inhumane, farming iron golems can create a massive amount of iron ingots for players in a relatively short amount of time.

Since golems drop 3-5 iron ingots upon death, creating and killing them off can create even more ingots than mining and smelting ore. When made correctly, an iron golem farm can provide all the iron a player could conceivably need.