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Coal – Wiki Guide

240 views ❘ February 2, 2023

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft coal with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, coal is an item that you would normally find and gather in the game. However, you can also make coal with a crafting table as well as a furnace or a blast furnace. Coal can be used as a fuel in a furnace to smelt/cook 8 items (1 coal will burn in a furnace for 80 seconds).

Let’s explore how to add a coal to your inventory.

Where to find Coal in Creative Mode

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

Here is where you can find coal in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.8 – 1.11	Materials
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.12 – 1.19	Miscellaneous
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.19.3	Ingredients

Platform is the platform that applies.

Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers where the item can be found in the menu location listed (we have tested and confirmed this version number).

Creative Menu Location is the location of the item in the Creative Inventory menu.

How to mine Coal in Survival Mode

In Minecraft, you can add a coal to your inventory by mining coal ore. So, let’s get started!

1. Find Coal Ore

First, let’s explore where to find coal ore. In Minecraft, coal ore is easy to find and is found in large deposits. You can usually find coal ore between 4 and 15 blocks below the ground.

In this example, we are going to dig into a mountain to find coal ore.

This is what a block of coal ore looks like:

2. Hold a Pickaxe

To mine for coal, you need to dig up the coal ore with a pickaxe. Select one of these pickaxes in your hotbar:

How to make a Diamond Pickaxe
How to make a Golden Pickaxe
How to make a Iron Pickaxe
How to make a Stone Pickaxe
How to make a Wooden Pickaxe
How to make a Netherite Pickaxe

Other tools will not dig up the coal ore and let you add it to your inventory.

In this example, we are going to use a diamond pickaxe to dig up the coal ore.

3. Mine the Coal Ore

The game control to mine the coal ore depends on the version of Minecraft:

For Java Edition (PC/Mac), left click and hold on the coal ore.
For Pocket Edition (PE), you tap and hold on the coal ore.
For Xbox 360 and Xbox One, press and hold the RT button on the Xbox controller.
For PS3 and PS4, press and hold the R2 button on the PS controller.
For Wii U, press and hold the ZR button on the gamepad.
For Nintendo Switch, press and hold the ZR button on the controller.
For Windows 10 Edition, left click and hold on the coal ore.
For Education Edition, left click and hold on the coal ore.

You will need to continue to dig until the block breaks and a coal finally appears. The coal will float on the ground.

4. Pick up the Coal

Make sure you pick up the coal before it disappears.

Once you pick up the coal, it will appear in your hotbar.

Coal is a very useful item and should be kept in your inventory to be used later.

How to craft Coal in Survival Mode

1. Open the Crafting Menu

First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3×3 crafting grid that looks like this:

2. Add Items to make Coal

In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3×3 crafting grid. To make coal, place 1 block of coal in the 3×3 crafting grid.

When making coal, it is important that the block of coal is placed in the exact pattern as the image below. In the first row, there should be 1 block of coal in the first box. This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for coal.

Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, 9 coal will appear in the box to the right.

3. Move the Coal to Inventory

Once you have crafted coal, you need to move the new items to your inventory.

Congratulations, you have made coal in Minecraft!

How to smelt Coal in Survival Mode

You can craft coal in Survival Mode using either a furnace or blast furnace.

1. Open the Furnace Menu

First, open your furnace so that you have the Furnace menu that looks like this:

2. Add Fuel to the Furnace

Next, you need to add fuel to the bottom fuel box in the furnace. In this tutorial, we are going to use oak planks as our fuel.

TIP: Read our tutorial called How to Add Fuel to a Furnace if you aren’t sure what items can be used as fuel, the length of time each fuel will burn, or how many items each fuel can smelt/cook.

3. Add Items to make Coal

Next, place the coal ore in the top box of the furnace. You should see the flames smelting the coal ore.

Once the coal ore has been smelted in the furnace, the coal will appear in the box to the right.

4. Move the Coal to Inventory

Now that you have made coal in your furnace, you need to move the new item to your inventory.

Congratulations, you have made coal in a furnace!