Which is the rarest ore in Minecraft?

Ores in Minecraft are some of the most valuable resources, and mainly what tools and armor are made out of, so many players may wonder which ore is the rarest?

As of version 1.16, there are 11 different ores in Minecraft. In the past, ores could only be found in stone in the overworld, but Minecraft has broadened those requirements and allowed ores to spawn in the Nether.

There are tons of different uses for ores, including crafting tools, armor, weapons, and more. Also, a few ores such as emeralds and lapis lazuli cannot be crafted into tools.

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The rarest ore in Minecraft

Emerald ore

Image via Minecraft

As of Minecraft version 1.16, emerald ore is the rarest ore in Minecraft, despite tons of newer ores being added.

Emerald ore is thirty times more rare than diamonds, and they only spawn in one-block veins, meaning players cannot find multiple emeralds grouped together, unlike other ores.

The interesting thing about emerald ore is how different it is from its diamond counterpart. Diamonds can be crafted into weapons and armor, but emeralds cannot, despite being more rare. The main use of emeralds is to trade with villagers, not to craft items.

Coming across emeralds is not technically rare, but finding them while mining is. It is quite easy to find a villager who is willing to trade for an emerald, and emeralds can be found in loot chests, which makes the gem seem less rare than it actually is.

Nether ores

Image via Minecraft

With the new addition of Netherite, a runner-up to the rarest ore in Minecraft would be ancient debris, which can be made into Netherite.

Ancient debris can only be found in the Nether, and it is quite hard to come by. It only spawns between level 8 and 22.