As a free player, you've got a lot of competition in the mining areas. Unfortunately, mining of ores is one of those skills that only
one can be successful at on
one rock at a time, too. Meaning, if you're working on a rock and someone else comes along and starts clinking on the same rock, it's possible they may get the ore, not you.
And of course, if competition is especially high, you may find yourself running from rock to rock,
trying to get an ore or two, and having higher level miners winning out each time.
Very frustrating!
There's not much you can do about this at a low level, other than hopping worlds when there are too many "mining jerks" around, paying attention to those players who "respect your rock" and returning the respect (don't turn someone into a mining jerk who wasn't planning to be), and mining in more remote locations that are less populated.
As a free player, I've already done a bit of mining work mentioned
back here which got my mining level up to 26 and my smelting/smithing level up to 20, and gave me a nice bit of cash to get going with as well. If you haven't read that entry and especially if you're below the stats I've mentioned here, consider going back before going on with this entry.
Selecting a pickaxeThe pickaxe you can wield depends on your attack level, since the pickaxe is also considered a weapon. So, if you can wield mithril, you can use a mithril pick. If you can wield rune, you can use a rune pick. Some types of ores may require certain basic level of picks in order to mine, but in general, if the pick is a higher quality, then it mines the ores faster than a pick of lower quality on average.
However, it's really your finances that determine what pick you use if your attack level is high already. If you are able to wield a rune pick but cannot afford the 32,000 coins to buy one, then you should consider the 6400 coin addy pick or 3200 coin mithril pick and then set a specific goal to gain enough money to buy a rune pick. This type of goal-setting is highly common within Runescape, as you'll notice the more you play.
Note, right now my secondary character is using a steel pick. She could use a mith pick if she had one, but she doesn't have enough money right now, so I'm setting that as a goal, too.
Mining for experienceIf you're not interested in smelting the ores nor smithing them nor selling them in bulk, and the mining experience is what you're looking for (since coal, mithril, addy and rune ores sell very well in bulk), then mine, and dump the ores on the ground so you can mine some more.
Mining for moneyKeep a look out for those people who are mining for experience and dumping their ores. I generally find that with iron ore, one in four trips has me filling up on someone else's ores, while the rest of the time I mine my own loads of ore to bring back for smelting, smithing and selling.
My favorite non-members spot to mine iron right now is south of Falador, west of Port Sarim, near Rimmington. It's a bit of a run to get to and from the bank, but because of that fact, the competition is lessened for the ores. Also, Falador has a furnace, so I mine, smelt, and bank my bars, then repeat the process.
Mining or Smithing bonus objectsFor non-members, about the only bonus that can be found while mining is the occasional mine of precious gems - sapphires, emeralds, rubies and diamonds. These can be used as part of your crafting skills, or sold to the player market for
their crafting skills.
For members, the Ring of Forging is also available which is a useful tool - wear the ring while you're smelting iron ores, and for 140 iron ores, you won't have any fail to smelt into bars because they're "too impure"! What a great ring. Just be sure to watch for when the ring crumbles off of your finger if you've got a few of them to wear.
So for now, I'll mine, smelt, and bank my iron bars until I get to 200 iron bars or until I reach mining level 35. At that point I'll do some smithing and selling in the specialty shops so I can by that mithril pick!
