Veinminer lets you mine an entire ore vein instantly by holding one key. Here's how it works, how to configure it, and how it compares to OreExcavator.

The Problem It Solves

You find a diamond vein. Eight blocks, spread across a cave wall. Vanilla Minecraft wants you to mine each one individually eight swings, eight times moving your character, eight times watching the same animation play out.

Veinminer skips all of that. Hold the activation key, break one block in a connected vein, and the entire vein mines itself in a single action. What takes thirty seconds takes two.

How It Actually Works

Veinminer detects connected blocks of the same type and mines them all simultaneously when you hold the activation key while breaking the first block. A few things worth knowing:

It respects your tool. Veinminer only activates when you're holding the correct tool for the block a pickaxe for ores, an axe for logs, a shovel for dirt and gravel. Using the wrong tool does nothing.

It uses durability. Mining twenty connected blocks costs twenty times the durability not one swing's worth. Factor this in if you're using unenchanted tools on large veins.

It has a block limit. By default Veinminer won't chain-mine more than 64 blocks at once. This prevents accidentally strip-mining half a mountain and keeps server performance stable.

Fortune and Silk Touch work normally. Whatever enchantment is on your tool applies to every block mined in the chain. A Fortune III pickaxe on a 10-block diamond vein is as good as it sounds.

How to Use It

Installation is the same as any Fabric or Forge mod drop the .jar into your mods folder and launch.

Once in-game, hold Sneak (Shift by default) while breaking a block to activate Veinminer. That's the default keybind no configuration required to start using it.

To change the activation key, open Options → Controls and look for the Veinminer section. Most players switch it to a dedicated key to avoid conflicts with other sneak-activated mechanics.

Veinminer vs OreExcavator — Which One Should You Use?

These two mods do essentially the same thing and the question comes up constantly. The difference is subtle but real.

	Veinminer	OreExcavator
Mod loaders	Fabric, Forge	Fabric, Forge, NeoForge
Config options	Moderate	More extensive
Per-tool whitelists	✅	✅
Shape excavation	❌	✅ (cube, sphere)
Performance	Lightweight	Slightly heavier
Active development	✅	✅

OreExcavator has more features it can excavate in shapes beyond just connected same-type blocks, which makes it useful for clearing areas, not just mining veins. Veinminer is simpler and more focused. If you specifically want ore vein mining and nothing else, Veinminer is the cleaner choice. If you want a full excavation tool, OreExcavator is worth the extra complexity.

Is It Cheating?

On singleplayer that's entirely up to you. Veinminer doesn't give you items you couldn't get otherwise, it just removes the repetition. Many players consider it a quality-of-life mod in the same category as JEI or a minimap rather than a cheat.

On multiplayer servers, check the server rules before installing. Some servers explicitly allow it, some explicitly ban it, and many simply don't mention it. When in doubt, ask a moderator Veinminer activates visibly and server admins can see the mining pattern in logs.

Configuration Worth Knowing

Veinminer's config file gives you control over a few things that matter:

Block limit raise or lower the maximum chain length. Lowering it to 32 or so is a reasonable balance for servers.

Tool whitelist: specify exactly which tools trigger Veinminer. Useful if you want it active only for pickaxes and not axes or shovels.

Activation key: change from Sneak to any key. Players who crouch frequently for other reasons often move this to something like G or V to avoid accidental activation.

FAQ

Does Veinminer work on trees? Yes — holding the activation key while chopping a log will fell the entire connected tree, leaves included depending on your config. Pairs well with an axe enchanted with Fortune for more saplings.

Why isn't Veinminer activating? Most common causes: wrong tool for the block type, block not in Veinminer's whitelist, or activation key conflict with another mod. Check your controls settings and make sure the tool in your hand matches the block you're breaking.

Does it work with modded ores? Generally yes. Veinminer works with any block by type — modded ores added by Create, Thermal Expansion, or other tech mods are all chainable as long as they're connected.

Will it drain my tool instantly? On a large vein, yes — durability cost scales with blocks mined. Keep a backup tool or use Unbreaking III to extend tool life when farming large veins.

#game-mechanics

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