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 Java playtest: I counted diamond ore sitting in finished worlds. It is not a reprint of spawn tables.
A lot of digging advice just says mine at −59. In these worlds, a short tunnel a few blocks higher held more total ore than Y=−59 and Y=−58 put together.
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.
Deep deepslate still pays, and in my 1,024-chunk Java test, mining a short tunnel around the deep heights beat treating −59 and −58 as the whole answer. For the usual height advice, see the diamond Y FAQ.
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%.
Java 1.21.8 only. Four worlds. Chunks 0…15 near spawn. Ore next to open air is how the finished world looked. This is not “every Minecraft world forever.” Full counts are 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?
