Motherlode Mine | OSRS Index

Motherlode Mine


Released		24 April 2014 (Update)
Members		Yes
Floors		2
Location		Dwarven Mine (Asgarnia)
League region		Asgarnia✓
Inhabitants		Humans, Dwarves
Teleports		Skills necklace (Mining Guild)
Music		Pick & Shovel

Map

Advanced data

Type		dungeon

The Motherlode Mine is a Members-only low-intensity Mining training area located in the Dwarven Mine. No level is required to access it, but 30 Mining (not boostable) is required to mine in the area. The activity involves mining ore veins for pay dirt, depositing the pay dirt into a hopper to clean it, then collecting cleaned ores as well as golden nuggets from the sack after a short delay.

The mine consists of two levels, with the upper level requiring 57 Mining (not boostable) and a one time payment of 100 golden nuggets to access. The hopper on this level also requires an additional 50 nuggets to use.

Golden nuggets can also be exchanged for a variety of other rewards from Prospector Percy, including the Prospector set, gem bag and coal bag.

Transportation

There are several ways to access the mine. It is strongly recommended to bring a pickaxe to enter the mine and for further passage, as opposed to relying on other players and miners to remove the rockfalls that block the area.

The quickest way to reach the mine is to teleport outside the gate leading to the Mining Guild with a Skills necklace, which will put you just south-west of the mine entrance. 60 Mining is not required to enter with this method.
Players can also enter the Dwarven Mine via the house in north-eastern Falador, east of the Falador Party Room. Taking the stairs will put players just north of a cave entrance to the mine.
Players with 60 Mining can enter the Mining Guild directly and run east until they see a cave entrance.
Finally, players can enter the Dwarven Mine via the camp south of Ice Mountain, and walk south-east to the northern entrance.

Mechanics

Mining ore veins

Ore veins are scattered throughout both levels of the mine, and may be mined with any pickaxe yielding 60 Mining experience each. After the first pay-dirt has been mined by any player, a 23-27 second timer will start, after which the vein will be depleted. This timer is increased to 36-40 on the upper level. The double ore bonus of the Varrock armour does not affect pay-dirt.

The veins also have a chance to give uncut gems for no experience. Wearing an amulet of glory will increase the chance of giving an uncut gem. As each gem mined decreases the experience rate per inventory, this is not recommended if looking to maximise experience rates. If you wish to keep the gems, you may consider using a gem bag to store them.

Clue geodes cannot be obtained from ore veins.

{"type":"scatter","options":{"tooltips":{"intersect":false,"format":"skillingSuccess"},"datasetsPerGroup":3,"aspectRatio":1.35,"title":{"display":true,"font":{"size":18},"text":"Pay-dirt mining chance","position":"top"},"scales":{"y":{"ticks":{"stepSize":0.1,"format":"percent"},"scaleLabel":{"display":true,"labelString":"Success rate"}},"x":{"ticks":{"stepSize":1},"scaleLabel":{"display":true,"labelString":"Mining Level"}}},"maintainAspectRatio":false,"fill":false},"minWidth":"300px","resizable":true,"width":"min(540px, 100vw - 32px)","isChartObj":true,"height":"400px","isFinished":true,"minHeight":"300px","data":{"datasets":[{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Pay-dirt  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.2890625,"x":30}],"pointStyleImg":"Pay-dirt.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(151,198,222,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(166,206,227,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(166,206,227,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(151,198,222,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"brown"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Pay-dirt  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.2890625,"x":30},{"y":0.29296875,"x":31},{"y":0.29296875,"x":32},{"y":0.296875,"x":33},{"y":0.296875,"x":34},{"y":0.30078125,"x":35},{"y":0.30078125,"x":36},{"y":0.3046875,"x":37},{"y":0.3046875,"x":38},{"y":0.3046875,"x":39},{"y":0.30859375,"x":40},{"y":0.30859375,"x":41},{"y":0.3125,"x":42},{"y":0.3125,"x":43},{"y":0.31640625,"x":44},{"y":0.31640625,"x":45},{"y":0.3203125,"x":46},{"y":0.3203125,"x":47},{"y":0.32421875,"x":48},{"y":0.32421875,"x":49},{"y":0.328125,"x":50},{"y":0.328125,"x":51},{"y":0.328125,"x":52},{"y":0.33203125,"x":53},{"y":0.33203125,"x":54},{"y":0.3359375,"x":55},{"y":0.3359375,"x":56},{"y":0.33984375,"x":57},{"y":0.33984375,"x":58},{"y":0.34375,"x":59},{"y":0.34375,"x":60},{"y":0.34765625,"x":61},{"y":0.34765625,"x":62},{"y":0.34765625,"x":63},{"y":0.3515625,"x":64},{"y":0.3515625,"x":65},{"y":0.35546875,"x":66},{"y":0.35546875,"x":67},{"y":0.359375,"x":68},{"y":0.359375,"x":69},{"y":0.36328125,"x":70},{"y":0.36328125,"x":71},{"y":0.3671875,"x":72},{"y":0.3671875,"x":73},{"y":0.37109375,"x":74},{"y":0.37109375,"x":75},{"y":0.37109375,"x":76},{"y":0.375,"x":77},{"y":0.375,"x":78},{"y":0.37890625,"x":79},{"y":0.37890625,"x":80},{"y":0.3828125,"x":81},{"y":0.3828125,"x":82},{"y":0.38671875,"x":83},{"y":0.38671875,"x":84},{"y":0.390625,"x":85},{"y":0.390625,"x":86},{"y":0.390625,"x":87},{"y":0.39453125,"x":88},{"y":0.39453125,"x":89},{"y":0.3984375,"x":90},{"y":0.3984375,"x":91},{"y":0.40234375,"x":92},{"y":0.40234375,"x":93},{"y":0.40625,"x":94},{"y":0.40625,"x":95},{"y":0.41015625,"x":96},{"y":0.41015625,"x":97},{"y":0.4140625,"x":98},{"y":0.4140625,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(29,114,171,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(31,120,180,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(31,120,180,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(29,114,171,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"brown"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(169,219,124,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.4140625,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(169,219,124,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(178,223,138,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(178,223,138,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"brown"}]}}

Mine layout

Rocks fall on certain tiles around the mine; these rockfalls block access to veins or other areas of the mine, and will deal 1-4 damage to any players on the tile. Removing them requires a pickaxe and rewards 10 Mining experience each. Runite Minor and the other miners may occasionally remove these rockfalls, though they usually just mine pay-dirt. Box traps and other traps placed on the ground may be laid to temporarily prevent rockfalls from blocking a path, until the trap collapses.

Near Prospector Percy is a bank chest that can be accessed without any requirements, though this cannot be used to bank pay-dirt (see the cleaning pay-dirt section below). There is also a dark tunnel next to it, an Agility shortcut (requires 54 Agility and completion of the medium Falador Diary) that connects the east side of the mine to the centre. There is a similar tunnel to the south which does not require diary completion.

Upper level

Unlocking the upper level of the mine requires base 57 Mining, and a one-time fee of 100 golden nuggets paid to Prospector Percy. It can be accessed from a ladder north of the bank chest.

The upper level consists of 64 ore veins clustered closer together than on the lower level. These ore veins deplete at a much slower rate, depleting after 36-40 seconds instead of the usual 23-27 seconds.

Cleaning pay-dirt

Pay-dirt cannot be banked (though it can be dropped), and may be cleaned in order to gain bonus experience and collect various ores and golden nuggets.

Cleaning pay-dirt involves depositing it into a hopper. A hopper can be found on each level, both easily accessible from the upper level. The hopper on the upper level is much closer to the ore veins, and allows players to deposit pay-dirt without needing to use the ladder to return to the lower level. The player must unlock this hopper with 50 golden nuggets by speaking to Prospector Percy, while the hopper on the lower level is free.

Once deposited, pay-dirt will make its way towards the sack to the south, taking 8 seconds, at which point players will receive bonus experience. This process requires the water to be flowing (see the Water circuit section below). The sack can then be searched to collect various ores and golden nuggets. Bonus experience will increase with higher mining levels, as higher-tier ores are cleaned. The average bonus experience per pay dirt cleaned varies with Mining level; being 16.84 at level 85 and 21.9 at level 99.

Each ore has a level requirement equal to the Mining requirement for that rock; players with 50 Mining, for example, will not receive mithril, adamantite, or runite ore. Using boosts will allow players to receive ores they usually can't obtain.

	Level required	Bonus experience	GE Price
Coal	30	15	146
Golden nugget	30	0	Untradeable
Gold ore	40	15	144
Mithril ore	55	30	151
Adamantite ore	70	45	540
Runite ore	85	75	10,225

The HUD displaying the amount of pay-dirt in the sack.

When the sack holds 108 pay-dirt (or 189 if the sack has been upgraded), a game message in the chatbox will state Some ore is ready to be collected from the sack. It's getting full., and players will no longer be able to mine pay-dirt or deposit pay-dirt into the hopper until the sack is emptied below 108 (or 189 if the sack has been upgraded).

Water circuit

A player using a hammer to fix a waterwheel.

At the centre of the mine is a water circuit that connects the hoppers to a sack.

This water flow can be interrupted when the struts that support the two large water wheels occasionally break. When both are broken, any pay-dirt that was making its way to the sack will be frozen in place. You may still deposit pay-dirt into the hopper when the water flow is interrupted, but it will not make its way to the sack until the struts have been repaired.

Repairing the struts requires the use of a hammer (or Imcando hammer), which may be found in three of the crates surrounding the machine (the other three contain bronze pickaxes). This process is world specific, not player specific; meaning the struts will break at the same time for everyone, and repairing it will fix it for everyone.

The progress of your pay-dirt will be saved upon logging out or hopping worlds. While you may choose to hop worlds to find one where the struts are not broken, this may take more time than simply repairing them, and may be considered bad etiquette by other players.

Repairing the struts grants Smithing experience equal to 1.5 times the player's Smithing level, which will be rewarded on successfully fixing the strut. Chance of repairing improves with a higher level, with a base chance of 12% to repair each tick at level 1 Smithing, increasing to a 27% chance each tick at level 99.^[1]

Ore rates

The ore received from pay-dirt is based on the player's Mining level, with better ores becoming more common at higher levels. The table below shows the chance of ores at each level:

{"type":"scatter","options":{"tooltips":{"intersect":false,"format":"skillingSuccess"},"datasetsPerGroup":3,"aspectRatio":1.35,"title":{"display":true,"font":{"size":18},"text":"Motherlode Mine ore chance","position":"top"},"scales":{"y":{"ticks":{"stepSize":0.1,"format":"percent"},"scaleLabel":{"display":true,"labelString":"Success rate"}},"x":{"ticks":{"stepSize":1},"scaleLabel":{"display":true,"labelString":"Mining level"}}},"maintainAspectRatio":false,"fill":false},"minWidth":"300px","resizable":true,"width":"min(540px, 100vw - 32px)","isChartObj":true,"height":"400px","isFinished":true,"minHeight":"300px","data":{"datasets":[{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Golden nugget  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.03125,"x":30}],"pointStyleImg":"Golden nugget.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(151,198,222,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(166,206,227,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(166,206,227,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(151,198,222,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"gold"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Golden nugget  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.03125,"x":30},{"y":0.03125,"x":31},{"y":0.03125,"x":32},{"y":0.03125,"x":33},{"y":0.03125,"x":34},{"y":0.03125,"x":35},{"y":0.03125,"x":36},{"y":0.03125,"x":37},{"y":0.03125,"x":38},{"y":0.03125,"x":39},{"y":0.03125,"x":40},{"y":0.03125,"x":41},{"y":0.03125,"x":42},{"y":0.03125,"x":43},{"y":0.03125,"x":44},{"y":0.03125,"x":45},{"y":0.03125,"x":46},{"y":0.03125,"x":47},{"y":0.03125,"x":48},{"y":0.03125,"x":49},{"y":0.03125,"x":50},{"y":0.03125,"x":51},{"y":0.03125,"x":52},{"y":0.03125,"x":53},{"y":0.03125,"x":54},{"y":0.03125,"x":55},{"y":0.03125,"x":56},{"y":0.03125,"x":57},{"y":0.03125,"x":58},{"y":0.03125,"x":59},{"y":0.03125,"x":60},{"y":0.03125,"x":61},{"y":0.03125,"x":62},{"y":0.03125,"x":63},{"y":0.03125,"x":64},{"y":0.03125,"x":65},{"y":0.03125,"x":66},{"y":0.03125,"x":67},{"y":0.03125,"x":68},{"y":0.03125,"x":69},{"y":0.03125,"x":70},{"y":0.03125,"x":71},{"y":0.03125,"x":72},{"y":0.03125,"x":73},{"y":0.03125,"x":74},{"y":0.03125,"x":75},{"y":0.03125,"x":76},{"y":0.03125,"x":77},{"y":0.03125,"x":78},{"y":0.03125,"x":79},{"y":0.03125,"x":80},{"y":0.03125,"x":81},{"y":0.03125,"x":82},{"y":0.03125,"x":83},{"y":0.03125,"x":84},{"y":0.03125,"x":85},{"y":0.03125,"x":86},{"y":0.03125,"x":87},{"y":0.03125,"x":88},{"y":0.03125,"x":89},{"y":0.03125,"x":90},{"y":0.03125,"x":91},{"y":0.03125,"x":92},{"y":0.03125,"x":93},{"y":0.03125,"x":94},{"y":0.03125,"x":95},{"y":0.03125,"x":96},{"y":0.03125,"x":97},{"y":0.03125,"x":98},{"y":0.03125,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(29,114,171,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(31,120,180,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(31,120,180,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(29,114,171,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"gold"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(169,219,124,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.03125,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(169,219,124,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(178,223,138,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(178,223,138,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"gold"},{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Runite ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.007568359375,"x":85}],"pointStyleImg":"Runite ore.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(48,152,42,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(51,160,44,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(51,160,44,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(48,152,42,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"steelblue"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Runite ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.007568359375,"x":85},{"y":0.0113525390625,"x":86},{"y":0.0113525390625,"x":87},{"y":0.0113525390625,"x":88},{"y":0.0113525390625,"x":89},{"y":0.01513671875,"x":90},{"y":0.01513671875,"x":91},{"y":0.01513671875,"x":92},{"y":0.01513671875,"x":93},{"y":0.0189208984375,"x":94},{"y":0.0189208984375,"x":95},{"y":0.0189208984375,"x":96},{"y":0.0189208984375,"x":97},{"y":0.022705078125,"x":98},{"y":0.022705078125,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(250,135,134,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(251,154,153,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(251,154,153,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(250,135,134,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"steelblue"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(216,25,27,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.022705078125,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(216,25,27,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(227,26,28,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(227,26,28,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"steelblue"},{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Adamantite ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.037841796875,"x":70}],"pointStyleImg":"Adamantite ore.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(253,183,93,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(253,191,111,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(253,191,111,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(253,183,93,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"seagreen"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Adamantite ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.037841796875,"x":70},{"y":0.0416259765625,"x":71},{"y":0.04541015625,"x":72},{"y":0.052978515625,"x":73},{"y":0.0567626953125,"x":74},{"y":0.0643310546875,"x":75},{"y":0.068115234375,"x":76},{"y":0.07568359375,"x":77},{"y":0.0794677734375,"x":78},{"y":0.083251953125,"x":79},{"y":0.0908203125,"x":80},{"y":0.0946044921875,"x":81},{"y":0.1021728515625,"x":82},{"y":0.10595703125,"x":83},{"y":0.113525390625,"x":84},{"y":0.1163930892944336,"x":85},{"y":0.1196746826171875,"x":86},{"y":0.12715435028076172,"x":87},{"y":0.13089418411254883,"x":88},{"y":0.13837385177612305,"x":89},{"y":0.14155197143554688,"x":90},{"y":0.1490020751953125,"x":91},{"y":0.1527271270751953,"x":92},{"y":0.15645217895507812,"x":93},{"y":0.1632518768310547,"x":94},{"y":0.1669621467590332,"x":95},{"y":0.17438268661499023,"x":96},{"y":0.17809295654296875,"x":97},{"y":0.18477439880371094,"x":98},{"y":0.18846988677978516,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(242,121,0,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(255,127,0,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(255,127,0,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(242,121,0,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"seagreen"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(193,165,207,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.18846988677978516,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(193,165,207,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(202,178,214,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(202,178,214,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"seagreen"},{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Mithril ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.158935546875,"x":55}],"pointStyleImg":"Mithril ore.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(101,58,146,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(106,61,154,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(106,61,154,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(101,58,146,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"slateblue"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Mithril ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.158935546875,"x":55},{"y":0.1627197265625,"x":56},{"y":0.16650390625,"x":57},{"y":0.1702880859375,"x":58},{"y":0.1778564453125,"x":59},{"y":0.181640625,"x":60},{"y":0.1854248046875,"x":61},{"y":0.189208984375,"x":62},{"y":0.1929931640625,"x":63},{"y":0.19677734375,"x":64},{"y":0.2005615234375,"x":65},{"y":0.204345703125,"x":66},{"y":0.2081298828125,"x":67},{"y":0.2156982421875,"x":68},{"y":0.219482421875,"x":69},{"y":0.21454524993896484,"x":70},{"y":0.21729469299316406,"x":71},{"y":0.2200145721435547,"x":72},{"y":0.2217884063720703,"x":73},{"y":0.22443437576293945,"x":74},{"y":0.226104736328125,"x":75},{"y":0.22867679595947266,"x":76},{"y":0.2337322235107422,"x":77},{"y":0.23621559143066406,"x":78},{"y":0.23866939544677734,"x":79},{"y":0.24005889892578125,"x":80},{"y":0.24243879318237305,"x":81},{"y":0.24372482299804688,"x":82},{"y":0.2460308074951172,"x":83},{"y":0.24721336364746094,"x":84},{"y":0.24749664589762688,"x":85},{"y":0.2519713044166565,"x":86},{"y":0.25296469777822495,"x":87},{"y":0.2550537455826998,"x":88},{"y":0.2559448778629303,"x":89},{"y":0.2569412738084793,"x":90},{"y":0.2577270269393921,"x":91},{"y":0.25966230779886246,"x":92},{"y":0.26156848669052124,"x":93},{"y":0.2611682191491127,"x":94},{"y":0.26605244167149067,"x":95},{"y":0.2665597051382065,"x":96},{"y":0.2682988941669464,"x":97},{"y":0.26763416826725006,"x":98},{"y":0.26929425075650215,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(210,237,146,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(217,240,163,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(217,240,163,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(210,237,146,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"slateblue"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(163,217,128,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.26929425075650215,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(163,217,128,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(173,221,142,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(173,221,142,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"slateblue"},{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Gold ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.1021728515625,"x":40}],"pointStyleImg":"Gold ore.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(109,193,110,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(120,198,121,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(120,198,121,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(109,193,110,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"goldenrod"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Gold ore  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.1021728515625,"x":40},{"y":0.1097412109375,"x":41},{"y":0.113525390625,"x":42},{"y":0.12109375,"x":43},{"y":0.128662109375,"x":44},{"y":0.13623046875,"x":45},{"y":0.1400146484375,"x":46},{"y":0.1475830078125,"x":47},{"y":0.1551513671875,"x":48},{"y":0.158935546875,"x":49},{"y":0.16650390625,"x":50},{"y":0.174072265625,"x":51},{"y":0.1778564453125,"x":52},{"y":0.1854248046875,"x":53},{"y":0.1929931640625,"x":54},{"y":0.16449356079101562,"x":55},{"y":0.17002201080322266,"x":56},{"y":0.1754913330078125,"x":57},{"y":0.18090152740478516,"x":58},{"y":0.18227624893188477,"x":59},{"y":0.18755340576171875,"x":60},{"y":0.19277143478393555,"x":61},{"y":0.19488525390625,"x":62},{"y":0.19999980926513672,"x":63},{"y":0.20505523681640625,"x":64},{"y":0.20705080032348633,"x":65},{"y":0.21200275421142578,"x":66},{"y":0.21689558029174805,"x":67},{"y":0.21767902374267578,"x":68},{"y":0.22243881225585938,"x":69},{"y":0.2182668372988701,"x":70},{"y":0.22182166576385498,"x":71},{"y":0.22253651171922684,"x":72},{"y":0.22500232607126236,"x":73},{"y":0.228289058431983,"x":74},{"y":0.22787117958068848,"x":75},{"y":0.23098555207252502,"x":76},{"y":0.23179717361927032,"x":77},{"y":0.2321447804570198,"x":78},{"y":0.234980721026659,"x":79},{"y":0.236709862947464,"x":80},{"y":0.23935762234032154,"x":81},{"y":0.23843565583229065,"x":82},{"y":0.2409227192401886,"x":83},{"y":0.24225448071956635,"x":84},{"y":0.24031666507653426,"x":85},{"y":0.2402496279682964,"x":86},{"y":0.24128433663281612,"x":87},{"y":0.2410802709928248,"x":88},{"y":0.2419478923548013,"x":89},{"y":0.24286501575261354,"x":90},{"y":0.24139809468761086,"x":91},{"y":0.2431278997391928,"x":92},{"y":0.24478256260044873,"x":93},{"y":0.24423309243866242,"x":94},{"y":0.2422568030306138,"x":95},{"y":0.2425163226434961,"x":96},{"y":0.24385241838172078,"x":97},{"y":0.24103337636915967,"x":98},{"y":0.24223304535553325,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(62,162,88,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(65,171,93,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(65,171,93,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(62,162,88,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"goldenrod"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(33,125,64,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.24223304535553325,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(33,125,64,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(35,132,67,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(35,132,67,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"goldenrod"},{"fill":false,"borderCapStyle":"round","label":"Coal  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.96875,"x":30}],"pointStyleImg":"Coal.png","hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(0,99,52,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(0,104,55,0.3)","borderDash":[5,5],"borderColor":"rgba(0,104,55,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(0,99,52,1)","pointRadius":0,"clip":5,"baseColor":"black"},{"pointRadius":0,"label":"Coal  ","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.96875,"x":30},{"y":0.96875,"x":31},{"y":0.96875,"x":32},{"y":0.96875,"x":33},{"y":0.96875,"x":34},{"y":0.96875,"x":35},{"y":0.96875,"x":36},{"y":0.96875,"x":37},{"y":0.96875,"x":38},{"y":0.96875,"x":39},{"y":0.8665771484375,"x":40},{"y":0.8590087890625,"x":41},{"y":0.855224609375,"x":42},{"y":0.84765625,"x":43},{"y":0.840087890625,"x":44},{"y":0.83251953125,"x":45},{"y":0.8287353515625,"x":46},{"y":0.8211669921875,"x":47},{"y":0.8135986328125,"x":48},{"y":0.809814453125,"x":49},{"y":0.80224609375,"x":50},{"y":0.794677734375,"x":51},{"y":0.7908935546875,"x":52},{"y":0.7833251953125,"x":53},{"y":0.7757568359375,"x":54},{"y":0.6453208923339844,"x":55},{"y":0.6360082626342773,"x":56},{"y":0.6267547607421875,"x":57},{"y":0.6175603866577148,"x":58},{"y":0.6086173057556152,"x":59},{"y":0.5995559692382812,"x":60},{"y":0.5905537605285645,"x":61},{"y":0.58465576171875,"x":62},{"y":0.5757570266723633,"x":63},{"y":0.5669174194335938,"x":64},{"y":0.5611376762390137,"x":65},{"y":0.5524015426635742,"x":66},{"y":0.543724536895752,"x":67},{"y":0.5353727340698242,"x":68},{"y":0.5268287658691406,"x":69},{"y":0.49809611588716507,"x":70},{"y":0.48800766468048096,"x":71},{"y":0.4807887598872185,"x":72},{"y":0.46898075193166733,"x":73},{"y":0.45926387049257755,"x":74},{"y":0.4504430294036865,"x":75},{"y":0.4409724175930023,"x":76},{"y":0.4275370091199875,"x":77},{"y":0.42092185467481613,"x":78},{"y":0.41184793040156364,"x":79},{"y":0.40116092562675476,"x":80},{"y":0.3923490922898054,"x":81},{"y":0.3844166696071625,"x":82},{"y":0.3758394420146942,"x":83},{"y":0.3657567650079727,"x":84},{"y":0.35697524035640527,"x":85},{"y":0.3455018459353596,"x":86},{"y":0.3359940762456972,"x":87},{"y":0.3303692602494266,"x":88},{"y":0.32113083894364536,"x":89},{"y":0.31225502025336027,"x":90},{"y":0.30548608442768455,"x":91},{"y":0.29809594663674943,"x":92},{"y":0.2908100530039519,"x":93},{"y":0.2811759131436702,"x":94},{"y":0.2745577101013623,"x":95},{"y":0.2663703871658072,"x":96},{"y":0.25958483247086406,"x":97},{"y":0.25260297843487933,"x":98},{"y":0.24604773898317944,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(0,66,39,0.5)","backgroundColor":"rgba(0,69,41,0.3)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(0,69,41,1)","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(0,66,39,1)","borderCapStyle":"round","clip":5,"baseColor":"black"},{"borderCapStyle":"round","hoverBorderColor":"rgba(254,222,125,1)","showLine":true,"data":[{"y":0.24604773898317944,"x":99}],"fill":false,"hoverBackgroundColor":"rgba(254,222,125,0.5)","borderDash":[],"borderColor":"rgba(254,227,145,1)","backgroundColor":"rgba(254,227,145,0.3)","pointRadius":5,"clip":5,"baseColor":"black"}]}}

Ores are determined when the pay-dirt is mined, not when cleaning.^[2] Thus, players wishing to boost should do so while mining, not before cleaning. Pay-dirt rolls for each ore in descending order, starting from the top tier you're eligible to get.^[3] With the Falador Elite diary, the success chance to receive an ore is increased by ~1%.^[4] The number of percentage points added to the rate is ~1% for runite ore; ~2% for adamantite ore; and ~1% for mithril ore.^[5]

The number of golden nuggets received is limited to 3 per batch of pay-dirt deposited into the hopper. While this limit doesn't cause issues during normal gameplay, seasonal events with boosted rates can cause golden nuggets to be deleted. To avoid this, players can deposit half of their pay-dirt at a time by dropping the other half before depositing.

Money making

The following money making guide is available for Motherlode Mine:

Method	Hourly profit	Skills
Motherlode Mine	258,009	85+

Rewards

Golden nuggets can be obtained by searching the sack after cleaning pay-dirt, with each pay-dirt having a 3.13% chance of being a nugget, regardless of a player's Mining level. This means that, on average, a player should receive a golden nugget every 32 pay-dirts cleaned.

Golden nuggets stack, and will be collected all at once when searching the sack. Once obtained, they can be spent by speaking to Prospector Percy, to spend at either his shop, or for various upgrades inside the Motherlode Mine.

Prospector Percy's Nugget Shop

Sells at: 100.0% • Buys at: 80.0% • Change per: 0.0%
	Number in stock	Restock time	Price sold at	Price bought at	Exp boost	Boost per nugget
Prospector helmet	100	0.6s (1t)	40	32	0.4%	0.010%/
Prospector jacket	100	0.6s (1t)	60	48	0.8%	0.013%/
Prospector legs	100	0.6s (1t)	50	40	0.6%	0.012%/
Prospector boots	100	0.6s (1t)	30	24	0.2%	0.007%/
Coal bag	1	0.6s (1t)	100	80	N/A	N/A
Gem bag	1	0.6s (1t)	100	80	N/A	N/A
Soft clay pack	1000	0.6s (1t)	10	8	N/A	N/A
Bag full of gems	100	0.6s (1t)	40	32	N/A	N/A

Motherlode Mine Upgrades

In addition to the rewards in Prospector Percy's shop, players can speak to Prospector Percy for the following upgrades inside the Motherlode Mine:

Upgrade
Upper floor^[a]	100
Super Hopper	50
Pay-dirt sack upgrade^[b]	200
Total	350

^ With 57 Mining
^ Allows the pay-dirt sack to hold up to 189 pay-dirt, up from 108

Buying one of every unique item and upgrade (without selling back any of the prospector outfit) would cost a total of 730 golden nuggets.

Reward order

The Prospector helmet is required for a hard Falador Diary task. Players looking to complete the diary may consider purchasing the helmet first. If planning to do more Motherlode Mine in the future, it may be worth selling the helmet back for 32 nuggets (loss of 8) after completing the task in order to unlock the upper floor upgrades first. The helmet cannot be sold if purchased through the Volcanic Mine activity.

The upper floor and hopper unlocks should be prioritised if players plan to do more Motherlode Mine, as these provide the most efficient Mining experience with less attention required.

Outfit pieces should then be obtained in order of what has the highest bonus per nugget; jacket, legs, helmet, then boots. The Varrock armour 4 may be used in place of a prospectors jacket when the elite Varrock Diary is completed.

The coal bag is mainly used for Blast Furnace smithing, where it greatly affects XP and GP rates for any bars requiring coal. See Blast Furnace/Strategies for a detailed overview.

Purchasing the gem bag along with an equipped and charged amulet of glory will maximise gem collection without affecting experience rates.

The sack capacity upgrade may be purchased last, as the increased experience rates from an additional three deposits per inventory will be negligible compared to the upper level and prospector kit, and 200 golden nuggets is significantly more expensive.

Players who wish to unlock the upper level will, on average, need to mine from level 30 to level 68, in order to receive enough golden nuggets for the full outfit and the upper level fee. On average, players will need to mine 17,519 pay-dirt to unlock the upper level, upgraded bag, and complete Prospector's kit.

Experience and efficiency

The experience and profit rates of Motherlode Mine can vary greatly based on level, the tier of pickaxe used, the amount of other players mining, and whether the upper floor is used.

Compared to other methods, Motherlode Mine requires significantly lower effort, while still offering moderate experience and profit. Mining iron ore or granite provides significantly higher experience rates at the cost of being more click-intensive and offering no profit, as items are dropped when mining.

Due to the ore vein timer starting after the first ore is mined, mining veins on low population worlds that are not in use by other players will provide more consistent timings and require less effort; though it also means that the struts are less likely to be repaired by another player, which can be especially inconvenient when using the hopper on the upper level of the mine.

To maximise the capacity of the sack, players should have an inventory with only 1 space occupied by a hammer or gem/coal bag with an Imcando hammer (off-hand) equipped. This setup will result with 4 trips (7 trips with the upgraded sack) with a full inventory of pay-dirt before having to empty the sack.

Players can expect the following XP rates, assuming the following unlocks:

Upper level is unlocked at level 57 Mining.
Dragon pickaxe is used from level 61 Mining.
Prospector's outfit is worn.
The upper floor Super Hopper is unlocked.

Experience and profit per hour
Level	Xp/hour	Profit
30	13,000	30,533.00
40	26,000	35,452.00
50	33,000	51,713.00
61	45,000	68,423.00
70	48,000	89,837.00
80	52,000	113,459.00
90	59,000	256,952.00
99	64,000	376,324.00

The following table compares experience rates with other methods, with the highest rates bolded:

Level	Iron ore	3-tick Granite	Motherlode Mine	Blast Mine
31	55,344	N/A	15,500	N/A
41	62,863	N/A	26,100	N/A
61	81,529	108,512	45,000	48,000
75	84,000	116,677	50,000	76,200
85	84,000	121,999	54,000	86,766
99	87,818	134,409	64,000	101,600

However, Volcanic Mine always offers the highest experience rates behind 3-tick granite mining.

Changes

Date	Changes
15 May 2024 (Update)	Players are warned when mining ore veins with a full sack at the Motherlode Mine.
8 May 2024 (Update)	Veins on the lower floor now last between 23-27 seconds. Veins on the upper floor now last between 36-40 seconds. Coal now provides experience when harvested from pay dirt. The hopper now has an upper cap of 108 pay dirt, replacing the previous deposit functionality. For 50 golden nuggets you can now unlock the Super Hopper, which allows you to deposit from upstairs. The Mining level required to unlock the upper level has been decreased from 72 to 57. The hard Falador Diary task now only requires the prospector helmet rather than the full outfit. A warning has been added when the player's sack and 'about to be cleaned dirt' is more than the sack capacity. The interface that displays how much room is left in your sack has been updated.
15 March 2023 (Update \| poll)	Adjusted the respawn rate of veins on the upper and lower levels. Added more veins to the southern area of the Mine. Added a Level 54 Agility shortcut between the Bank and the southern part of the mine.
1 March 2023 (Update)	The delay when depositing pay-dirt into the hopper has been removed.
13 July 2022 (Update)	The upstairs ore veins no longer need to be completely depleted to start their respawn timer.
Date unknown	The Medium Falador Diary no longer provides any increased chance of receiving higher ores when cleaning pay dirt.^[6]
31 October 2019 (Update)	The clickzone of the top of the ladder in Motherlode Mine has been improved.
9 March 2017 (Update)	The Motherlode Mine has had its timer lengthened in the upper area.
23 February 2017 (Update \| poll)	For the price of 200 Nuggets, you can now double the capacity of the pay-dirt sack in Motherlode Mine by speaking to Prospector Percy. The HUD shown while in the Motherlode mine now displays how much Pay-dirt is in the Pay-dirt Sack. The Ore veins found on the upper level of the Motherlode Mine now disappear a random period of time after they are first mined, rather than depleting faster if multiple people are mining them.
30 April 2015 (Update)	Pets now follow you up and down the Motherlode Mine's ladder.
23 April 2015 (Update)	The Motherlode Mine's ladder has had its click-zone changed to help players click the correct end of it.
9 April 2015 (Update \| poll)	An expansion of the Motherlode Mine with a brand new upstairs area can be accessed by players with over 72 mining that have paid Percy a one-time fee of 100 nuggets.
5 March 2015 (Update \| poll)	There is now a shortcut in the Motherlode Mine that you can use at level 54 Agility if you have completed the Falador Medium Diary. There is now a slightly increased chance at receiving higher ores when cleaning pay-dirt if you have completed the Falador Medium Diary and a further increased chance if you have completed the Falador Elite Diary.
1 May 2014 (Update)	Dwarves no longer deplete pay-dirt veins and when a vein is depleted the "empty rock" sound will play to all the adjacent players. The rate at which ore respawns has also been increased slightly.

Trivia

Some falling rocks wearing party hats during Christmas.

The rockfalls share the same model as the pet rock when they fall from the ceiling. As a result, the falling rocks wear party hats during Christmas.
When a player climbs up the ladder, the player character does not actually move up a plane in the game; rather, the terrain on the upper level is simply raised up from the ground on the plane the player character is standing on, so the player will be able to see other players and NPCs on both levels. This is similar to the mechanics in Castle Wars.
There are several popular culture and community references within the Motherlode Mine:
- On the western side of the mine, there is an NPC named Runite Minor, who is named after the designer of the Motherlode Mine and winner of the 2014 Player Designed Content competition.
- In the middle of Prospector Percy's machine, there is a baby mole with the examine text "Mooooooooooooole", a reference to a scene from the film Austin Powers in Goldmember.
- Prospector Percy's appearance and examine text are references to the character Stinky Pete from Toy Story 2.
- The miner in the north-eastern corner of the mine has examine text that reads "Secretly, he'd like to rescue princesses and eat mushrooms", a reference to the Mario video game franchise as the miners share a similar appearance to its titular character.
- A miner in the south-western corner reveals that "he became a miner after his agoraphobia stopped him doing Sailing", a reference to the Sailing skill.
- A miner along the east wall's examine text reads "He could have been a great ballet dancer if they'd let him try." This is a reference to the film Billy Elliot, about a father's expectations for his son to be a miner, and not to follow his dreams of being a dancer.
- A miner on the eastern side has the examine text "professional miners don't actually whistle while they work" which is a reference to Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
- The name Motherlode Mine itself may be an homage to "MotherLoad" - a popular Flash game involving mining seams of ore, released the same year as RuneScape 2.
The machine Prospector Percy built to wash the pay-dirt is a cheap knockoff of the machine used in the Lovakengj blast mine. According to the operators, the design is a secret, and those who try to copy it would "never get it quite right" and "their machine would break down all the time", referencing the fact that the struts on the water wheel often break.
If all the ores are collected from 85 to 99 Mining at Motherlode Mine, it will average out to 6,344,981 Smithing experience.
The In-game levelling guide erroneously claims level 30 mining is required for access, it is only required to mine the paydirt and the area can be accessed at level 1 (allowing you to train smithing on the struts without a mining level)

References

^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 5 April 2022. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Mod Ash: "Yes, it's based on Smithing. 12% at level 1, 27% at level 99 for each roll."
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2019. Mod Ash: "When it is mined. It'd stay as runite even if your level drops before you clean it."
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 13 June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 27 January 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Mod Ash: "About 1% more likely to get runite, 2% more likely to get adamant and 1% more likely to get mithril, roughly. Those increases are *added* to the existing percentage chance of getting the ore."
^ Jagex. Mod Ash's Twitter account. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Mod Ash: "There's just one buff to pay-dirt, and it's for the elite diary only. This matches what the diary master says if asked."

Motherlode Mine

Items

Objects

Prospector Percy's
Nugget Shop

Currency	Golden nugget
Prospector kit	Prospector helmet Prospector jacket Prospector legs Prospector boots
Other items	Coal bag Gem bag Soft clay pack Bag full of gems

NPCs

v t e Dwarven Mine
Inhabitants	Black Guard Boot Cart conductor Drogo dwarf Dwarf (Dwarven shopping store) Engineering assistant Engineer Guard Hammerspike Stoutbeard Hura Nurmof Nulodion Rolad
Monsters	Dwarf gang member Dwarf King Scorpion Scorpion
Scenery	Mine cart
Shops	Crossbow Shop Drogo's Mining Emporium. Dwarven shopping store Nurmof's Pickaxe Shop.
Related	Blackhole Mining Guild Motherlode Mine

v t e Mines
Asgarnia	Crafting Guild mine West Falador mine Heroes' Guild mine Rimmington mine
Dwarven mines	Dondakan's mine Dwarven Mine Keldagrim north-east mine Keldagrim south-west mine Mining Guild Motherlode Mine
Fremennik Province	Central Fremennik Isles mine East Fremennik Isles mine West Fremennik Isles mine Jatizso mine Keldagrim entrance mine Lunar Isle mine Miscellania mine Miscellania and Etceteria Dungeon mine Rellekka mine
Great Kourend	Blast mine Dense essence mine Hosidius mine Lovakengj mine Lovakite mine Piscarilius mine Shayzien mine Sulphur mine
Kandarin	Ardougne Sewers mine Battlefield mine Coal Trucks Fight Arena mine Grand Tree mine Legends' Guild mine Piscatoris mine Port Khazard mine South-east Ardougne mine Witchaven mine
Karamja	North Brimhaven mine South Brimhaven mine Karamja Jungle mine Karamja Volcano mine North Mor Ul Rek mine South Mor Ul Rek mine Shilo Village mine
Kebos Lowlands	Kebos Lowlands mine Mount Karuulm mine
Kharidian Desert	Al Kharid mine Bandit Camp quarry Citharede Abbey mine Desert Mining Camp Nardah mine Necropolis mine Ruins of Ullek mine Ruins of Unkah mine Uzer mine
Misthalin	Barbarian Village mine Dorgesh-Kaan mine Edgeville Dungeon mine East Lumbridge Swamp mine West Lumbridge Swamp mine Limestone Mine Tutorial Island mine South-east Varrock mine South-west Varrock mine
Morytania	Abandoned Mine Daeyalt essence mine Meiyerditch mine Sisterhood Sanctuary mine
Tirannwn	Arandar mine Isafdar mine Mourner Tunnels mine Mynydd mine Trahaearn mine
Varlamore	Avium Savannah crevice Ralos' Rise mine Stonecutter Outpost East Tlati Rainforest mine North Tlati Rainforest mine South-west Tlati Rainforest mine
Wilderness	Bandit Camp mine Frozen Waste Plateau Lava Maze Dungeon mine Lava Maze runite mine Pirates' Hideout mine South Wilderness mine South-west Wilderness mine Resource Area
Other	Corsair Cove Resource Area Evil Chicken's Lair mine Fossil Island mine Ghorrock Dungeon mine Isle of Souls mine Myths' Guild mine North Crandor mine Rune essence mine Salt Mine Scar essence mine South Crandor mine The Stranglewood mine The Node mine Verdant Valley Wyrmscraig mine

Source site	Old School RuneScape Wiki
Canonical source	Motherlode Mine
Content license	CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
License status	declared
Picture	Motherlode Mine · file details