When choosing a place to mine, look for an area where the mobs are at least 7 levels below you, or where the mobs are non-aggressive or can be avoided. Competition for nodes should be low at the times you want to mine and travel time to the AH should be reasonable.
Supply and Demand
Crafting is constantly changing in LOTRO and with it supply and demand. The launch of Free-to-Play is a big game-changer that promises lots of opportunity and competition. The market will vary wildly between established and new servers, so keep assess your server carefully.Demand Factors
For prospectors, there is real opportunity at every tier. This is why prospecting is great for characters at every level. Ore almost always sells for more than ingots, so limit your smelting to just enough to unlock the next tier. Avoid refining, except for tier one bronze ingots and special orders.
- Gems and precious ores (copper, silver, gold, platinum, ancient silver, khazad-copper and khazad-gold) are used by jewelers. Most jewelers skill up by polishing gems, making hope tokens and making guild recipes.
- Sturdy metals (bronze, barrow-iron, rich iron, dwarf-iron, ancient iron, khazad-bronze and khazad-iron) are used by metalsmiths and weaponsmiths. Woodworkers use some components made by metalsmiths and weaponsmiths.
- The demand curve follows the crafting mastery curve: more combines are needed for each crafting tier as you progress.
- For crafters trying to increase their reputation with their crafting guild, ore and ingots are used in guild recipes starting at Tier 3.
- Mithril-infused Khazad-Gold and Mithril-infused Khazad-steel ingots are used in some level 60 and level 65 crafted legendary item recipes.
Tier | Ore | Gems | Supply | Demand | Opportunity |
1 | Copper/Tin | Agate/Amethyst | Medium | Medium | Tin is always in short supply and Bronze ingots usually sell well. Price check the rest (gems, dye mats and crafting items). |
2 | Barrow-iron/Silver | Bloodstone/Opal | Medium | Medium | Silver and gems should sell well. Price check the rest. |
3 | Rich Iron/Gold | Sapphire/Ruby | Medium | Medium | Ore and rubies should sell OK. Price check the rest. |
4 | Dwarf-iron/Platinum | Adamant | Medium | Medium | Ore should sell well. Price check the rest. |
5 | Ancient Iron/Ancient Silver | Beryl | Medium | Medium | Ancient silver is in demand for making +5 hope tokens and should sell well. Price check the rest. |
6a | Khazad-copper/Khazad-tin | Aquamarine | Low | High | Khazad-copper is in demand for making +5 hope tokens and should sell very well. Price check the rest |
6b | Khazad-iron/Khazad-gold | Dawn-rose | High | Low | Plentiful supply has made this a soft market for now. Price check before you post. |
The Other Stuff
Beyond ore and gems, be sure to price check the other stuff you get while mining. Dye materials and crafting items can sell well some days and not others. Vendor what isn't in demand on the Auction House or the Trade channel.Where to Mine Copper and Tin (Tier 1)
The Shire offers good Tier 1 mining throughout the zone (except for Greenfields, that's tier 2). In Bree-land, Chetwood and the Midgewater Marsh are solid choices. For elves and dwarves, mining in Ered Luin isn't very good. Consider a move to the Shire or Bree-land.Where to Mine Barrow-iron and Silver (Tier 2)
In Bree-land, the Bree-fields and Barrow Downs are solid choices. Lone-lands and North Downs both have tier 2 ore nodes in their western halves, but surrounded by higher level mobs. You'll get good mining in while leveling through these areas.Where to Mine Rich Iron and Gold (Tier 3)
The Kingsfell area of the North Downs has great tier 3 ore node density. In Evendim, the Parth Anduil area between Tinnudir and Ost Forod is also node rich, but the mobs are a bit higher level. You'll find plenty of nodes in eastern Lone-lands while leveling there.Where to Mine Dwarf-iron and Platinum (Tier 4)
For tier 4 ore nodes, western Trollshaws is quite good, starting just across the bridge from Lone-lands. The Ram Duath area of Angmar, just inside the zone from Esteldin is decent, but a small area. The west shore of the lake in Evendim is also good, especially with the fast boat route to cut down on travel time. Finally, tier 4 ore is all through western Angmar. You'll pick up plenty while leveling through Angmar.Where to Mine Ancient Iron and Ancient Silver (Tier 5)
You can mine tier 5 ore at a lower level in Forochel, though the nodes can be pretty spread out. High Pass in Misty Mountains, has good density, but it's a trek to get there. Some miners set their milestone there and use a house or racial port to get back and forth to the AH. If you are high enough level, the best place for tier 5 ore is Eregion, especially around High Hollin and Echad Eregion.Where to Mine Khazad-copper and Khazad-tin (Tier 6a)
Khazad-copper is in great demand now, so expect a lot of competition when mining for it. The best place for Khazad-copper and Khazad-tin is the Nan Sirannon area of Eregion, both north and south of the river. The Durin's Crossing area of Durin's Way can be good during off hours. Silvertine Lodes and Redhorn Lodes also have Khazad-copper, but the nodes are more spread out.Where to Mine Khazad-iron and Khazad-gold (Tier 6b)
Khazad-iron and Khazad-gold are plentiful in the Golden Wood area of Lothlorien and in Mirkwood. Although khazad-iron and khazad-gold don't sell that well, many people mine it with hopes of getting a mithril flake. Worth trying when leveling in these areas.Node Spawns
Ore nodes (actually all resource nodes) spawn in fixed places. For a given area there is a max number of resource nodes that can be spawned at once. Mining nodes will be some portion of all the possible resource nodes. As you work over an area, the resources nodes will respawn, but not necessarily as ore. Eventually an area that is usually rich in ore will have no ore nodes spawned - food or wood nodes are everywhere.When this happens, you have two choices. First, if everyone leaves the area, it will reset (takes maybe 10 minutes). This only works if you are the only person there. The second choice is to harvest all the other nodes you can. The downside to this approach is as you try to improve the area, your competition could be snapping up the ore nodes as they spawn. Best to go elsewhere and try back later.