A copper node’s crooked green-brown outcrop is only a promise. The real mass hides below—a rough sphere of ore, often larger than a longship, anchored deep in the earth. Digging under, not hacking the surface, turns that promise into a cascade of copper, and the moment the last support breaks delivers a satisfaction surface mining never touches.
The Shape of the Deposit – How Copper Hides Its Mass
The visible crown is merely the tip of a hitbox that can span 8 to 10 meters across. Most of the ore hides underground, frequently clipping into unbreakable stone ridges or sloping ground that swallows entire sections. To find the true edges, dig a perimeter trench. Start a few meters out from the rock and cut straight down until you hit the pale, unyielding dirt line—the world’s floor. Work around the node, widening the trench until the curved underside floats free like a dark boulder on earthen stalks. Seeing that full shape tells you where to place your cart, how many support pillars to leave, and how deep to dig before undermining.
Tools for the Task – Antler vs. Bronze Pickaxe
Two pickaxes matter, and they set different rhythms. The antler pickaxe, forged from Eikthyr’s shed crown, repairs at a simple workbench—no metal, no forge. The bronze pickaxe hits harder but needs a forge, tying you to a base or a temporary smelting camp.
| Pickaxe | Repair Station | Hits to Break Copper Ore (approx.) | Stamina per Swing | Swing Speed | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antler Pickaxe | Workbench (level 1) | 6–7 | 15 | Moderate | 2.0 |
| Bronze Pickaxe | Forge (level 1) | 4–5 | 10 | Slightly faster | 2.0 |
| Bronze Pickaxe (Upgraded) | Forge (level 2+) | 3–4 | 10 | Slightly faster | 2.0 |
For early scouting, the antler pickaxe shines. Plop down a workbench, repair in seconds, and keep digging—its lower stamina drain lets you maintain a steady pace even though it takes more hits per chunk. Once you’ve found a dense cluster of nodes and plan to extract every scrap, swap to bronze. Fewer hits mean less time exposed to greydwarf raids, and the slightly faster swing adds up over a hundred chunks. Upgrading the bronze pickaxe shaves one hit per ore piece, but the forge cost makes it worthwhile only after you’re swimming in copper. Keep cooked meat and mushrooms on hand; a pickaxe is still a weapon, and a troll doesn’t care what you’re holding.
Repairing on Site
Place a lean-to workbench right next to your trench—ten wood, a roof piece, and two walls keep the rain off and let you repair an antler pickaxe without leaving the pit. For a bronze pickaxe, the simplest approach is portal materials: 10 greydwarf eyes, 20 fine wood, and 2 surtling cores. Drop a portal to your forge base, step through to repair, and step back. Without cores, build a temporary forge nearby—4 stone, 4 coal, 6 copper, and a workbench. On-site repair saves you from night-time sprints through the Black Forest, the difference between a clean dig and a corpse run.
Step-by-Step Excavation – Digging a Perimeter and Undermining
- Clear the site. Clear a wide circle—at least 15 meters—by felling trees, smashing rocks, and uprooting bushes. This removes snags for your cart later. Remove stumps with a pickaxe or axe; a stub will catch a cart wheel.
- Level the approach. Use the hoe to smooth a gentle slope from the dig site toward your cart route. Avoid starting the trench on a downward slope, where rain or nearby water can flood the pit and hide the dirt line.
- Dig the perimeter trench. Starting uphill, cut a vertical shaft down beside the copper outcrop until you hit the dirt line—the pale, hard floor that clinks differently under a pickaxe. This is the node’s lower boundary. Work around the entire deposit, widening the trench to about two meters, until the curved underside is fully exposed.
- Carve under the node. Switch to undermining. Remove earth beneath the outer edges of the copper, working inward. The node will begin to float, suspended like a dark moon on the earthen columns you leave behind.
- Leave support pillars. Keep at least two or three pillars of ground attached to the underside. They prevent a premature collapse while you finish the perimeter and ready your cart.
- Check for floating fragments. If you accidentally undermine a small section, a chunk may break off early. Clean it up and continue; the main mass will still pop when the last pillar breaks.
- Prepare for the pop. Park your cart close, but not directly underneath. Stand on a safe ledge above the trench or on solid ground outside. Break the remaining pillars one by one, starting with the outermost. When the last connection snaps, the node fractures into a shower of ore and stone. Collect everything before the greydwarfs notice the noise.
Support Pillars – The Art of Leaving Earth Behind
A support pillar is a column of ground left connected to the node’s underside. One pillar in the centre rarely suffices—copper nodes are heavy, and the game’s physics bases stability on contact area. Too little ground connection and the node crumbles piecemeal, scattering ore instead of popping cleanly.
For a medium node, two or three pillars placed equidistant near the edges are enough. As you dig away the rest of the earth, the node floats on those stalks—a surreal sight in the dim forest light. Then comes the payoff. Stand on a safe ledge, break the last pillar, and listen for the deep crack as the sphere shatters into a cascade of ore. Keep your distance; the collapsing hitbox can crush you.
When the Ground Fights Back
Some nodes spawn fused with unbreakable stone. Dig down as far as the stone allows, then carve the accessible copper from the sides; the node won’t pop whole, but you’ll harvest most of it. If a node sits in deep water, the trench floods and hides the dirt line. Build a small platform and mine from above, or find a drier node nearby. The Black Forest rarely gives up its copper without a fight.
Cart Paths and the Clean Haul
A popped node leaves a crater of loose ore, and that’s where the cart earns its place. Before you break the last pillar, carve a smooth, gentle path from the trench to your nearest shoreline or base. Use the hoe to flatten bumps and the pickaxe to remove jutting rocks—clear it like a road. A loaded cart snags on the smallest root, so every obstacle matters. Park the cart just outside the pit, load it in one go, and haul your treasure home. The whole process—digging the perimeter, leaving pillars, popping the node, and carting the ore—turns copper mining from a tedious chore into a methodical ritual. Standing at the edge of that empty crater, pickaxe in hand, you’ll understand why the Black Forest’s copper is best taken from below.
