Mining Minecraft · Playtest · Ores
I counted diamonds in 1,024 chunks. Did Y=−59 win?
You drop into deepslate with an iron pick and a height number from a guide: Y=−59. I tested that advice in Java across 1,024 chunks in four new worlds. About 24 diamond ore blocks sat in each chunk, and a short tunnel held more ore than just Y=−59 and Y=−58.
Ore per chunk
~24
Diamond ore blocks in a typical chunk, across 1,024 chunks in this Java test.
Short tunnel vs Y=−59 and −58
~2.4×
Ore from height −54 to −50 compared with −59 and −58 in this count.
A short tunnel held more ore than just Y=−59 and Y=−58
You are deep underground, and the stone has turned dark. That dark stone is deepslate. Your debug screen (the F3 overlay) shows a height number, called Y. Guides say the best height is Y=−59.
I wanted to know whether that one height was really the whole story. I tested it in Java 1.21.8, in four new worlds. In each world I loaded a 16-by-16 square of chunks (16-by-16 block columns of the map) and counted every diamond ore block from the bottom of the world up to Y=16.
Across 1,024 chunks I found about 24 diamond ore blocks per chunk. Y=−59 and Y=−58 together held about 4.7% of that ore. A short tunnel from Y=−54 to −50 held about 11%, about 2.4× as much as those two heights put together.
In these worlds the busiest height was Y=−53 (644 blocks), not −59. Y=−59 still ranked third, and Y=−58 ranked tenth. Those famous heights were still rich, but they were not the only rich heights.
Diamond ore blocks by Y (measured)
Real count from 1,024 Java chunks. Height Y=−64 to 16. Not an illustration.
| Band | Ore blocks | How much of the ore |
|---|---|---|
| Y=−59 and −58 | 1,172 | 4.7% |
| Short tunnel (Y=−54 to −50) | 2,840 | 11.4% |
| Deep band (Y=−64 to −48) | 8,175 | 32.9% |
| All ore in Y=−64…16 | 24,821 | 100% |
The short tunnel is five blocks high. Y=−59 and −58 are two heights. At one height, −59 is still elite in these worlds. As a dig plan, a short tunnel gathered more ore than mining only at −59 and −58.
Diamond on a cave wall was rare
About 3 in 100 diamond ore blocks sat next to open air, water, or lava when I saved the world. That is how often diamond was sitting next to a hole you could walk into.
See also
The numbers (full count)
Optional deep dive. The answer above stands without this table.
World seeds: 42, 8012026, −13371337, 20260814.
Chunks 0…15 near spawn in each world. Height band Y=−64 to 16.
Mean ore per chunk = 24,821 ÷ 1,024 ≈ 24.24 (surface ~24). Dig-strip ore 2,840 ÷ Y=−59 and −58 ore 1,172 ≈ 2.42 (surface ~2.4×). Next to open air: 719 of 24,821 ≈ 2.9%.
How I calculated it
I counted diamond ore sitting in finished Java worlds.
Vanilla Java 1.21.8. Four world seeds. In each world I loaded a 16×16 square of chunks near spawn, saved the world, and counted diamond ore from Y=−64 to 16. Exact totals sit under the numbers.
Sources
- This Java count (1,024 chunks, four seeds, 2026-08-14). How I run these tests: How I test Minecraft in Java worlds.
- Mojang Studios. Java Edition 1.21.8 dedicated server.
- Minecraft Wiki. Diamond Ore · Natural generation (batch rules; busiest heights Y=−58 / −59). Companion FAQ: Is Y=11 still where diamonds live?
