Complete Guide to Pandaria Mining
Pandaria Mining is arguably one of the cornerstones of the WoW economy. Ore from this expansion is used as a material for making several popular mounts, including the insanely useful Sky Golem mount that allows you to gather herbs while mounted. Because of this, Pandaria Mining is always an easy way to make some solid gold because there’s always a high demand for the ore.
Where Is The Pandaria Mining Trainer?
When players get to Pandaria, it can be difficult to find the Pandaria Mining trainer. There are actually three Pandaria Mining Trainers — one in Paw’don Village for the Alliance, one in Honeydew Village for the Horde, and one in the Greenstone Quarry that will teach Pandaria Mining to both factions.
Alliance Pandaria Mining Trainer Location
The Alliance Pandaria Mining trainer, Rockseeker Guo, is located in Paw’don Village in The Jade Forest, at the coordinates 44.97, 85.9. Rockseeker Guo will only teach Alliance players Pandaria Mining skills.
Horde Pandaria Mining Trainer Location
The Horde Pandaria Mining trainer, Stonebreaker Ruian, is located in Honeydew village in The Jade Forest, at the coordinates 27.82, 14.83. Stonebreaker Ruian will only teach Horde players Pandaria Mining skills.
Neutral Pandaria Mining Trainer Location
The Neutral Pandaria Mining trainer, Smeltmaster Ashpaw, is located in Greenstone Quarry in The Jade Forest, at the coordinates 46.07, 29.4. Smeltmaster Ashpaw will teach both Alliance and Horde characters Pandaria Mining skills.
Pandaria Mining Skills
The Pandaria Mining trainers will teach you in both Mining and Smelting skills for Pandarian ores. You’ll be able to buy every skill except for Smelt Trillium without increasing your skill level. You’ll have to come back at max level to be able to train Smelt Trillium.
| Skill | Skill Level | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Mining | 0 | 10c |
| Pandaria Mining | 1 | 40g |
| Smelt Ghost Iron | 1 | 6g |
| Smelt Trillium | 75 | 6g |
Pandaria Ore
There are four types of ore you can mine with the Pandaria Mining skill.
- Ghost Iron Ore
- Kyparite
- Black Trillium Ore
- White Trillium Ore
You’ll find ore nodes throughout Pandaria. When you mine them, you’ll be able to collect the ore. There are also rich ore nodes, which will give you a larger amount of that type of ore when mined. The rich version of an ore node will look larger than the standard versions.
Ghost Iron Ore
Ghost Iron Ore is the most common ore in Pandaria. It is always in high demand despite the fact that it’s old content because of the many things that require it in order to be crafted. The majority of Ghost Iron Ore economy is funneled into making Sky Golem mounts. Ghost Iron Bars are turned into Jard’s Peculiar Energy Source by players with the Pandaria engineering skill, which are needed to craft the Sky Golem.
Kyparite
Kyparite can only be farmed in Townlong Steppes and the Dread Wastes in Pandaria. It’s used in fewer things than Ghost Iron Ore, Black Trillium Ore, and White Trillium Ore, so it usually goes for a lower price than the other ores. It is used in the Depleted-Kyparium Rocket mount, so it does have one larger-ticket item that can be crafted with this, but it usually isn’t the target if you’re farming Pandaria Ore for gold.
Black Trillium Ore and White Trillium Ore
Black Trillium Ore and White Trillium Ore nodes are a rare spawn of Ghost Iron Ore nodes. They are the hardest ore to find and usually go for much higher prices than the other types of Pandaria ore on the Auction House. Black Trillium Ore and White Trillium Ore are used to make Trillium Bars, which are needed to make Living Steel for the Sky Golem mount, so they’re always in high demand.
Pandaria Smelting
There are two smelting recipes offered by the Pandaria Mining Trainers. Smelt Ghost Iron will turn two Ghost Iron Ore into one Ghost Iron Bar. Smelt Trillium will turn two Black Trillium Ore and two White Trillium Ore into one Trillum Bar.
| Pandaria Smelting Skill | Required Materials | Skill Level |
|---|---|---|
| Smelt Ghost Iron | 2 Ghost Iron Ore | 1 |
| Smelt Trillium | 2 Black Trillium Ore, 2 White Trillium Ore | 75 |
Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick
The Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick is a unique item you can get to give you +10 Mining Skill and gives you a small chance to find a Pandaria gemstone when mining in Pandaria. It does not need to be equipped to give these bonuses, which is great because you can keep your weapons equipped. The Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick is also Blizzard Account Bound, which means that you can mail it to any of your alts, regardless of their faction.
How to Get the Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick
The Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick can be found in the cave at the Greenstone Quarry. The entrance is at the coordinates 46.01, 29.06 in The Jade Forest.
The Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick will spawn at random spots throughout the cave, embedded in the rocks. Carefully search the entire cave until you find the pick, and then click on it to loot it.
If you can’t find the pick, there’s a good chance someone else got to it before you did. Like treasure chests, the pick has a spawn timer associated with it. Your best bet is to come back later that day or tomorrow and try again.
Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick Bonus Gem Rate
The main reason to get the Ancient Pandaren Mining Pick is the bonus gemstones you can get when mining in Pandaria. The rate at which you get gems, however, is really low. In 10 hours of testing, I found that it was a less than 2% chance of getting a gem when mining an ore node in Pandaria.
While you won’t get gems often, it is a nice bonus to have. You are able to find both uncommon and rare Pandaria gems using this method. The gem you receive from the bonus is random.
Mist-Piercing Goggles
Mist-Piercing Goggles are another really useful item to get if you’re planning on doing Pandaria mining. This item allows you to see additional mining nodes and herbs while in Pandaria. They don’t need to be equipped in order to provide the benefit.
The Mist-Piercing Goggles are crafted by engineers and can be purchased on the auction house, so be sure to pick up a pair if you’re planning on doing some mining.
Pandaria Mining Leveling Guide – The Fastest Way To Level Pandaria Mining 1-75
The fastest way to level Pandaria Mining is by mining ore nodes in the Dread Wastes. You can level Pandaria Mining from 1-75 in about 30 minutes in this zone.
The Dread Wastes offers a mix of Ghost Iron and Kyparite nodes that will allow you to level up faster than going to Valley of the Four Winds, which is the most popular spot to farm Ghost Iron Ore. Kyparite guarantees one skill point per node, whereas Ghost Iron Ore will only give you 1 skill point per node for the first 25 levels. After that, you’ll gradually need more and more Ghost Iron Ore nodes per skill point.
I recommend focusing on the Ghost Iron Ore nodes in the zone first in order to get the easy skill points at lower skill levels. Do a full lap around the perimeter of the Dread Wastes along with a sweep of The Briny Muck and Zan’vess. Next, you’ll want to loop back to the center to mine the ring of Kyparite nodes in the Northeastern area of the zone. Once you’ve looped around there, head back down towards The Briny Muck and Zan’vess to check on the Kyparite Nodes on the island there. If you aren’t Pandaria Mining skill level 75 at that point, doing one more lap of the Kyparite on the Northeastern region of the zone should get you there.
Along with leveling up your Pandaria Mining skill, this will also net you quite a bit of ore. I ended up with 294 Ghost Iron Ore, 91 Kyparite, and 4 Black Trillium Ore from leveling my Pandaria Mining skill up to 75 in the Dread Wastes. The amount you get will of course vary, but you should get a decent amount to start using for crafting with other professions or to sell on the Auction House.
