How to find and use Copper in Minecraft
Minecraft gets regular updates and most updates are rolled out homogeneously across all platforms that it runs on. That said, some updates only make it to certain platforms, and versions.
The updates often introduce new blocks and additional functions to existing blocks.
Copper in Minecraft
Copper was introduced in Minecraft 1.17. It is available on both the Bedrock/Windows 10 version and the Java version. It is the first new ore to be added to the game since Nether Quartz in 2013.
In Minecraft Copper;
- Occurs naturally
- Has two variants: copper and deepslate copper which is a rare version of it
- Can be mined with a stone pickaxe or higher
Occurrence
Copper can be mined at Y levels 0 – 96 however, it is most often found on y level 48. For an excellent look at how Copper occurs, check out the visualisation by OMGcraft – Minecraft Tips & Tutorials on YouTube.
You can normally find Copper near iron ore and it is about as common. It occurs in veins of 6 or more, depending on the version of Minecraft you’re running.
If you mine it with an iron pickaxe, you will get more copper ore per block than if you were to mine it with a stone axe.
Usage
Copper is new which means there aren’t that many uses of it as yet however, it can craft a very important item; a spyglass (telescope).
Craft spyglass with Copper in Minecraft
In order to craft a Spyglass with copper in Minecraft, you need;
- An amethyst shard (amethyst clusters occur deep inside caves in the overworld and can be mined with an iron pickaxe or higher)
- Two copper ores
- Fuel (wood, coal, etc)
- A furnace
- A crafting table
- Smelt two copper ores into copper ingots in the furnace.
- On the crafting table, place the amethyst shard in the second cell of the first row.
- Place a copper ingot in the second cell of the second row and in the second cell of the third row.
- A spyglass will be crafted.
Conclusion
Copper can also be used to craft a lightning rod which can divert lightning. It may or may not be as useful as a spyglass but it exists. Copper is somewhat unique in that a block of it will oxidize and change color if left outside. You can coat it with wax to prevent oxidation. The block is fairly new so while it doesn’t craft a lot of things, it may eventually become more important down the line. It’s not likely to become armor material but may be used to create charged boots or even magnetic fields.
