Ore in Lotro, and where to find it

There are many types of ore to be found in Lotro's Middle Earth. In this section I will discuss all the types of ore, organized by Tiers, and - of course - where to find them in the huge LOTRO world. To localize and mine ore deposits, you need the prospector crafting skill. If you are a tinker, weaponsmith, armourer or explorer, you can track and mine ores. 

Alas ... cooks, scholars, woodworkers and yeoman's cannot mine or track ores. They will see the ore deposits, but are unable to mine and process it.

 
Some important notes (nodes) for beginning  prospectors
A normal ore deposit (the location where the ore spawns is called a node) yield 1-3 ore chunks when you harvest that place. There are also rich ore deposits, and these ore nodes will yield 4-6 chunks. Ore can be found nearly everywhere in Middle Earth and the type of ore you encounter depends on a combination of a specific region and area which you are visiting. For example, you can find both copper and silver in the Shire, but they are located in different areas. So, each specific area of Middle Earth [hit the M-key and you will see the map and the name of the area you are] has its own kind of ore.  In general, the more dangerous the area, the higher the Tier of ore you will find at that place. 

Tip 1: the location of different ore tiers
Just take a look at the Bree-land map below. You will see the that you can find tier 1 (copper) and tier 2 (barrow-iron & silver) types of ore. The tier 1 ore type copper can be found in the areas of the Shire with less dangerous mobs and animals. For example, Rushock bog, Michel Delving and Tuckborough. The Bridgefields and Greenfields, however, are more dangerous for the beginning adventurer. But the rewards are better: you will find barrow iron or silver here, so the tier 2 types of ore. If you follow the river northwards, there is even a spot with Tier 3 ore: gold (or rich iron, which depends what the ore-node produce).
Each area in a region has ore of the same tier, copper and tin can therefore be found in the same area. If you are looking for ore types of a higher tier, for example barrow-iron and silver (both tier 2), you have to travel to another area in that region. So, in conclusion: if you encounter only copper (tier 1), you are in the wrong area if you are searching for silver.
  
Tip 2: you only can dig for ore which you are proficient in
If you just start your profession, you can only mine the tier 1 type of ore, which is copper.
You have to process the raw ore at a forge in a village into ingots. The more you process, the more experience you will get. After some time you will level up to tier 2. From that moment you can also mine barrow-iron ore and the rare silver-ore (tier 2 ores).

Tip 3: mine everything to get the rarer ore types
There are always 2 types of ore at a certain tier (at least until tier 6), a common one and a rare one. Their distribution is always 1:4. 
So, lets look at Bree-land. In this region barrow-iron is the common tier 2 type and silver is the rarer one. You have a 25% chance to find silver and a 75% chance to find barrow-iron. Sometimes, the only type of ore you will see is barrow-iron. Don't despair if you need silver! This distribution can be a result of chance, or an adventurer has collected all the silver. The trick to find silver is, not to travel miles and miles to locate a silver deposit, but to to collect all the ore from the nodes you encounter. So, collect also the barrow-iron! Why? Because, when a node is harvested it will respawn again after some time, and then there is chance of 25% that the node will produce silver in stead of barrow-iron. The best strategy is to circle around and collect all  the ore you find. After 10 minutes, you can return to the ore-nodes you have harvested previously, since they have respawned (on more or less the same spot). When you visit them again, there is a 25% chance that the former barrow-iron ore-node will produce silver instead. This means, at least in theory, that every barrow-iron ore node can produce silver at some moment... 
Conclusion: don't despair if you find only the common type of ore: the rare ones will respawn after some time if you harvest all the ore nodes you found in a region. Just circle around, mine all ore, come back later and start again!

The ore maps

The ore maps show the actual ore type I have found by circling and harvesting all the ore-nodes in a specific region. Rich ore deposits on the maps are marked with a thick red or blue margin (look at the Shire map). These kind of ore deposits will drop also - on an irregular basis - gems and dye products. At higher tiers (6 and higher) they also may have very rare byproducts, like a Mithril flake, a cracked Rhi sigil or a Tarnished Crest of Rohan. So, look out for the rich ore deposits and hold your breath! And remember: there is a 25% chance that a common ore type on my maps (like barrow-iron), will produce a rare ore type (like silver). The distribution of common and rarer ore types on my ore-maps are therefore for reference only.

An overview for the starter 

In the table below you will find all the ore types which you can find in Lotro's Middle Earth. They are organized in Tiers. Tiers are a kind of processing levels, to be acquired by processing ore into ingots, which you can do at a forge (like a smithy). You will notice that each tier can be found in specific regions of specific areas. So, copper can be found in all of the starter areas, but for ancient iron you have to venture forth into the more dangerous areas. Btw: the rare types of ore (25% of the ore-nodes) are marked red in the table below:

  Ore Types

Tier	Ore Type	Locations
1	Copper	Ered Luin Shire Bree-land: low level areas (east)
2	Barrow-iron Silver	Ered Luin: Rath Teraig Shire (northeast part) Bree-land (west & north part) Lone-lands (west part) North Downs: directly east of the Greenway, Annundir
3	Rich Iron Gold	Lone-lands (central & east part) North Downs: central, west and east part Evendim (east part) Bree-land: NE tip at Nen Harn)
4	Dwarf-iron Platinum	Angmar  (west part) Evendim (west part) Lone-lands: Harloeg, Agamaur Misty Mountains (west part) Trollshaws
5	Ancient Iron Ancient Silver	Angmar (east part) Eregion (north part) Forochel (best place for ancient iron & silver!) Misty Mountains (east part)
6	Khazâd-skarn * (Khazâd-copper) (Khazâd-iron) (Khazâd-gold)	Enedwaith Eregion (south part) Lothlórien Mirkwood Moria – all regions
7	Calenard Skarn	Dunland Gap of Rohan Isengard Nan Curunír The Great River
8	Riddermark Skarn	East Rohan: East Wall, Eaves of Fangorn, Entwash Vale, Norcrofts, Sutcrofts, The Wold, Wildermore
9	Eorlingas Skarn	West Rohan: Broadacres, Eastfold, Helmsdeep, Kingstead, Stonedeans, Westfold

  Ore types in red are the rare ore types

  * Khazâd-skarn: 2 chunks can be processed at a Forge into:

   1 Khazâd-copper ingot, or

   1 Khazâd-iron ingot, or

   1 Khazâd-gold ingot

  Byproducts

Tier	Ore Type	Rare byproduct	Dye byproduct	Gems
1	Copper		Copper Salts Sienna	Agathe Amethyst
2	Barrow-iron		Umber	Bloodstone
	Silver			Opal
3	Rich Iron	Ruby shard		Ruby
	Gold	Sapphire shard		Sapphire
4	Dwarf-iron Platinum	Adamant shard		Adamant
5	Ancient Iron	Ancient Nickel Ore	Ancient Iron Oxides	Beryl
	Ancient Silver	Moonstone
6	Khazâd-skarn	Mithril Flake	Lime	Aquamarine Dawn rose
7	Calenard Skarn	High-grade Skarn Cracked Rhi Helvarch Sigil		Green Garnet
8	Riddermark Skarn	High-grade Riddermark Tarnished Crest of Rohan		Red Agate
9	Eorlingas Skarn	High-grade Eorlingas Skarn Emerald Shard		Emerald

  Byproducts in red are the very rare ones (most wanted and therefore valuable!)

While mining ore deposits, there is a chance that you will find also a byproduct, like some base materials for making dyes or precious stones like agates, opals and sapphires. The best chance to find such byproducts will give you the rich ore deposits, or in the case or rich iron, the bountiful deposits. In the table below you will find an overview of the most wanted byproducts per tier and ore type.  
Note: I haven't added byproduct-stuff that enhance crafting, like wetstones, brimstones and rock-salts. 

Where to find ore in Lotro

Below you find the main section of my article. Here you will find all the ore maps. Read the text carefully and you will have a general idea where to find all these different kind of ores.

Final tips

• Ore nodes are not random, they spawn near the same places. So use the maps!
• Remember to mine every ore node of the same level. After harvesting everything, it can respawn different types of ore of that level. So at tier 4 it can be platinum or dwarf-iron, at tier 5 ancient iron or ancient silver, etc.

ORE IN THE SHIRE
Well, after some months I thought: lets start with the ore job! I started in the Shire, because it is an easy starter area to look for copper, barrow-iron and silver. Although the map is not 100% complete, it gives you a pretty good idea where to look for these ore types and even for ... gold!

Gold in the Shire?? Oh yes, I found it in the upper eastern part of the shire, at the border of Evendim. It's still the Shire and the gold spot is located east of the Greenfields, directly at the shore of the Brandywine River.

But lets go back to copper (nb: in the 'old days' there was also tin ore, but this ore is now completely replaced by copper. You can buy tin at a vendor now). The safest places to look for copper is around Waymeet, east of Michel Delving and north of Tuckbborough. Around the letter place pretty much copper can be found. Just circle the fields and harvest your most wanted ore. After a while the copper-nodes respawn and you can harvest a rich bounty of ore in a short time

Somewhat more dangerous, at least at a low level, is the Rushock Bog. Especially in the north, east of Needlehole there is a settlement of nasty Dourhands dwarves.
 
Barrow-iron can be found in the Greenfields and the Bridgefields. These places are also good for silver. Silver is a rare ore in Middle Earth, and be sure to circle these areas 2 or 3 times, and harvesting the Barrow-iron too (see tip 3 above: barrow-iron nodes can also produce silver ore after a respawn). The map shows you at least where most of the silver deposits can be found. Be aware: for a low level these tier 2 ore areas are a bit dangerous...

If you look closely north of Scary, you see two 'twin' barrow-iron and silver locations. Actually these are the same nodes, and after a respawn they can produce a random ore type: barrow-iron or silver. In theory all the nodes from tier 2 to 6 are 'flip-flop' nodes in Middle Earth. So all my ore-maps are only an example from what I have found during my ore pickings.

Have fun with the Shire  and don't hesitate to eat some apples, taters or honey, there is plenty of it around..

Ore in the Shire: copper, barrow-iron and silver, and even some gold!

ORE IN ERED LUIN
Suppose you were born as an elf or dwarf. There is a big chance that you have grown up in the starter areas of Ered Luin. And suppose you have chosen the prospector skill too. Well, maybe you can remember - as a starter - that you had a hard time to collect some copper. This ore type is a bit scarce in Ered Luin, definitely more scarce than in  the Shire and in Bree-land. Probably the dwarves have collected a lot of surface ore, and most of the ores is now restricted in their distribution to the mines underground. Anyway, if you want to mine some copper, the best area can be found around Celondim. In the other areas of Ered Luin copper is somewhat scarcer. If you can have some competition of other prospectors, you will have a hard time to collect some decent stacks.

For barrow-iron and silver you have to go to the goblin infested Rath Teraig, and also in this area the ore is pretty rare. I only found one silver deposit, and if you are in dire need of silver its better to go to Breeland or the Shire.

Anyway, if you need lots of ore, Ered Luin is not the place to be. Its better to travel to Bree or the areas around Michel Delving. To reach these places you can go to the stable master in Celondim or near Thorin's Gate and take a ride to these places. If you are level, between 6 and 10, than these areas are also very easy for leveling fast. Of course, if you are an elf or dwarf, you can als stay at the place of your own kind.

Note: in the old keep of Sarnur (near Noglond, see map below), two tier 5 ore types can be found: ancient silver and ancient iron. Unfortunately this keep is crawling with lots of dangerous trolls and therefore only a lvl 50+ area. If you are looking for ancient silver and ancient iron, the best place to go is Forochel (lvl 42-50 area).

Ore in Ered-Luin: copper, barrow-iron and silver. Note: not the best region for ore!

ORE IN BREE-LAND
Bree-land is a huge region, I think one of the biggest in the game. You can spend hours looking for ore in all the different areas. Although a starter are, Bree-land is a fantastic region to explore. Even for high levels there is still some fun in the deep barrows of the Southern Barrow-downs.

Speaking of the Barrow-downs: this is the geological type area for barrow-iron! And of course you can find quite a lot here. For a low level this area is a bit dangerous, especially the Southern Barrow-downs. If you want some easy pickings of barrow-iron, go to the Southern Bree-fields, or just scavage the road between Bree and Buckland, towards the Shire. Along that road there are several safe places to mine some barrow-iron and even some silver.

Silver was once upon a time, around 2007, a rare ore type in Middle earth, but its definitely more common now. Its widely distributed in the Brandy Hills, the Barrow-downs and the Southern end Eastern Bree-Fields, Just look on the map and pick a good area to hunt for silver. Remember to loot the barrow-iron too, since these nodes can spawn silver after some time!

Copper is a bit restricted in Bree-land, but you can find loads of it in and around the Midgewater Marsh. Other places for copper can be found south of Staddle, in the Shetwood South and the Shetwood North. The Far Chetwood, however is an ideal place for barrow-iron and silver. You can find quite a lot of silver in this are, just circle between the Far Chetwood and the Eastern Breefields. Remember: loot all ypes of ore here, since a node of barrow-iron can also produce silver (if its is looted of course). These flip-flop nodes have a two-colored symbol on the map

I even found some Rich iron and Gold in Breeland. Just travel to the shores of the big lake Nen Harn, in the upper north-east corner of Bree-land. I just found one silver node, but maybe if you loot some Rich iron and circle around, some nodes will produce Gold too. The other place to look for some Rich iron, are the Southern Barrow-downs. I just found a maximum of three nodes here, but maybe some can produce also barrow-iron. Who knows? Its even reported that these nodes can produce some gold too, but I personally checked it twice and found only Rich-iron.

Ore in Bree-land: lots of copper, barrow-iron and silver. Even some gold and rich iron...

ORE IN THE LONE-LANDS
East of Bree-land are the Lone-Lands and they bear a homage to their name. Its a dull brown and desolated land, with some scattered ruins infested by goblins, orcs and half-orcs. Ore is not common here and there are no ore nodes close to each other, like in Bree-land. Although on the map some ore locations seems to be adjacent, its actually the position of one ore-node, which can respawn at another position after it is mined. Most of the ore locations produce two types of ore, barrow-iron or silver (western half of the map) and rich iron or gold (eastern half). Silver and gold are relatively rare ore types, they respawn  - compared to barrow-iron and rich iron - on a ratio (roughly) of 1:4.

Barrow-iron and silver is found in the western part of the Lone-lands. East of Weathertop you can find gold and rich-iron. If you are in dire need of these ore types, its better to dig for it in other regions since ore is scarce in the Lone-lands. For barrow-iron and silver I advise Bree-land, its more common there and for low level prospectors much safer. For rich iron and gold, the Northdowns is definitely the best region, but a little more dangerous then the Lone-Lands.

Far more dangerous are the areas with dwarf-iron and platinum. These Tier 4 ore types are quite rare in the Lone-lands and can only be found in the very dangerous areas of Agamaur (full of wights) and Harloeg (full of trolls). Both are a bit of a pain if you are of the same level as the monsters which dwell there. If so, you can better look for platinum and dwarf-iron along the road from the Last Bridge towards the Ford of Bruinen (go to the road and head east for the Trollshaws). 

Have fun in the Lone-lands!

Ore is relatively scarce in the Lone-lands. West of Weathertop you find barrow-iron and silver.

East of Weathertop is the domain of Rich iron and gold. Dwarf iron and platinum are restricted to the very dangerous areas of Agamaur and Harloeg.

ORE IN THE NORTH DOWNS
The North Downs is the best region for rich iron and gold. Both ore types (tier 3) have a relatively high density in this region and can be fount nearly everywhere. Only the old ruins of Fornost are devoid of ore. For a low level adventurer 9level 30-33) the 'safest' region to look for rich iron and gold, is the area east of Annundir and west of Esteldin. If you don't like orcs, the grassy hills north of the road to Esteldin are definitely the best choice. Nan Amlug East, Dol Dinen, Meluinen and the Fields of Fornost are a bit more dangeous, but in the end very good spots to look for ore too!

Silver and barrow-iron can be found in the North Downs too, but only in the areas north and northeast of Trestlebridge. Compared to Bree-land the density of these ore types is relatively low, while the animals and angry mobs are much more dangerous! So, if you are in dire need of silver or barrow-iron, its best to turn back and visit Bree-land.

For rich iron and gold, the North Downs is the best region to look for these ore type. It can be found nearly everywhere, except in the ruins of Fornost. Silver and barrow-iron can be found in the area north and northeast of Trestlebridge.

ORE IN EVENDIM
Did you ever go to Evendim? No? Ah... its such a wonderful and beautiful place! And, if you are looking for ore, its probably one of the richest places in Eriador. I always like it to venture in Evendim. The skies are  sapphire blue, the grass is emerald green and the beautiful Elven ruins are ivory white.

Complete map of the ore deposits in Evendim. Rich Iron and Dwarf Iron are rather
abundant in this area, and even gold can be found rather regularly.
Platinum is rather scarce, and can be found mainly in the western part of Evendim.

For the ore prospector, Evendim has to distinct subareas. East of the lake, you will find a lot of Rich Iron and rather regularly even Gold deposits. The richest area for gold and rich iron is Parth Adual and the surroundings around Ost Forod. If these areas are too dangerous for you, you can look east of Bullroarers Sward, along the shores of the Branduine River. Like in real life, you will find on a regularly basis some old deposits along the river bank.

On the Island of Tinundir and Rantost there is no ore, but east of Rantost I found a curious treasure cache. There are 12 of such caches to be found, but they don't contain any scholar things. And ... you have to be level 90 to open them. Nevertheless, I made a node where I found these treasures. You never know when this become handy!

The western part of Evendim is interesting for tier 4 deposits of Dwarf Iron and Platinum. Dwarf iron is rather abundant and you can find it as soon as you pass the huge King's Statue at High King's Crossing, south of Tinundir. All the Dwarf Iron deposits are in located in the more dangerous areas of Evendim, so beware if you are low level. I found the deposits along the west coast of Lake Evendim rather easy to mine; the same holds true for the Dwarf iron locations Southeast of Annuminas.

Platinum is rather rare in Evendim, at least more rare than gold, what is to be expected. If you see one, dont hesitate to mine the deposit. It is a valuable noble metal, that will sell excellent at the Auction Halls.

ORE IN FOROCHEL
North of Evendim lies the area of Forochel. It is an icy and grim world, which you will love - like me - or .... hate! I like the lights and loneliness of Forochel. Around sunset or dawn, the light is beautiful, especially above the northern ice sea and above the river south of Länsi-mâ. The northern lights, when the has set, are spectacular! Zooming green hazes and beams of ionized light, high in the atmosphere. Wonderful. 

Annoying mist and fog
Beware of the mist and fog, because they seem ever during in Forochel. Even hiding in a tent, drink some coffee, sleep a bit and eat some moose meat, doesn't help. Sometimes, the mist seems to be there for ages. If you don't like the mist, the only way to get rid of it is to log out and log in. Just try it when the mist depresses your mind too much.

Strange places
Another wonderful thing are the places and regions, Jä-kuru, Pynti-peldot and Sûri-Kylä. The names of these places sound strange... The language has nothing to do with elves or dwarves, but with man. Suomi man, to be precisely. If you know the meaning of the suomi-language, all the names are not so strange anymore. Here are some rough translations of the places in Evendim:
âtalvi-mûri = winter land
Itä-ma = eastern Mâ
Jä-kuru = the ice gorge Jä
kauppa kohta = trading place
kuru-leiri = camp Kuru
länsi-mâ = west Mâ
pynti peldot = fishing settlement
sûri-kylä = village Sûri

A tip against the cold
In some places, like in the huge ice canyon at Jä-kuru there are hot steam springs. Stay some time in the steam, and you will get a 1 hour buff against the cold. Such can be very handy if you are level 40-45.

Treasure caches
Like in many other regions, there are treasure caches to be found for the level 90+ adventurers. There can be even a bonus in it, but the main fame is to find them for the treasure chest deed. It is a nice deed and a good excuse to visit beutiful Forochel again (like me)

Go to icy and mysterious Forochel. Ancient Iron and Silver are plenty there!

Ore 
Ok, the ore. That's where we came for, isn't it? Forochel is the place to be for ancient silver and ancient iron. They are both tier 5 ore types, and the best level to harvest them is from level 40 onwards. Ancient iron is common in some areas; ancient silver is not so common, but it is not rare either in Forochel. In some places the ancient iron and silver ore deposits can be found in huge quantities, and they are much easier to mine than in the Misty Mountains. So, if you are a prospector and you are looking for these ore types, Forochel is the place to be!

As soon as you enter the starting area, near the trading post Kauppa kohta, you will find many ancient silver and ancient iron ore deposits west of the ice-lake (see the map). 
After leaving the Kauppa Kotha area, you will enter a gigantic ice-gorge, with half-way a tunnel with some hot springs. There are no ore deposits in the ice gorge and the reason is obvious: they are all buried beneath the ice! The ore will appear again as soon as you leave the gorge and enter the neighborhood of the fishing settlement Pynti-Peldot.

North of Pynti-Peldot the ore deposits are rather rare. Around Jä-rannit and the Ironspan they are even vanished. Probably they are all excavated by the Angmarin, and used for whatever evil or sinister purpose they have in mind. In the environment of Sûri-Kulä, near the end of the world, I found some scattered deposits. But it is a long ride for only 6 ore-locations.

If you want to mine regular quantities of ore, I can advise you to travel to the old dwarven fortress Zigilgund. As you can see on the map, the ore is literally everywhere around that place. I found most of the ancient silver ore deposits east and north of Zigilgund, but that is probably pure coincidence. As I have stated in the introduction, they spawn randomly after an Ancient Iron deposit is mined. So you never know exactly where these Ancient Silver ore deposits are located. Nevertheless, I traveled the surroundings near Zigilgund on two different days, and the silver ore locations seems to be on roughly the same locations as I have presented on my map.

Around Kuru-leiri and the western and southern coastline of the ice sea, the density of the ore locations is substantially lower. But unlike Jä-rannit, on the east-coast of the ice sea, you will find them at regular intervals.

So, here ends the long awaited description of the ore locations in Forochel. Next time I will travel to Trollshaws and Misty Mountains for dwarven and platinum ore and new locations of Ancient Iron and Silver. Happy Mining my beloved Lotro-adventurers!



ORE IN ANGMAR
I finally made an ore exploration journey to Angmar. This dark and forbidden region was renowned for dwarf iron and platinum and there were some rumors about ancient silver and ancient iron too.Compared to Evendim and Forochel, where the same types of ore can be found, Angmar is not a happy or beautiful place to search for ore deposits. It is an depressing area with many dark foes. Creatures like orks, goblins, trolls, angmarin, spectres, wights, wolves and wargs are nearly everywhere. I didn't like it at all!

In the west, Angmar is full of dwarf iron and platinum. Like Evendim there are plenty Tier 4 ore locations in the west. If you travel to the crater and hot spring area of Malenhad - one of the few not so creepy places in Angmar - you will finally enter the east part of Angmar, where Ancient Silver and Ancient Iron can be found. The border lies in the center of Malenhad, separating it in a west part and an east part. I have marked this border with a red dotted line on the map. This west-east border is guarded by evil statues, which looks like standing devils. Low mid-level adventurers (lvl 40) could risk some serious evil damage when passing these guarding stones. So be aware and use a hope token. How to pass them safely, is for you to found out...

Ore in Angmar. As you can see in the map, ore is not distributed in an evenly matter in this region.

When  you enter the eastern part of Angmar, the ore locations are scattered. You find just a few east of Duvuinen and around Mor Maudhûl (see the map). Some more ore locations are to be found in the north, in and around the spider infested region of Himbar. Around Carn Dûm, Imlad Balchorth and Barad Gularan there are no ore deposits to be found. Possibly they are all exploited by the Angmarin forces, for making weapons of war in the evil fortress of Carn Dûm.

Is it worth to travel to Angmar for tier 4 and tier 5 ore deposits? Hmmmmm. If you like evil places, it may be interesting to visit this dark and foreboding area. At least for dwarf iron and platinum. If you are in need of ancient silver and ancient iron ore, grim black Angmar is definitely not the best place to be. I would suggest icy white Evendim, that far region in the north. Well, it is up to you. Just compare the maps and make your own decision.

COMING SOON

I still haven't complete all the ore maps in Eregion... I expect to work on them in 2017.

Next time ... in Elannah's blog:

Dwarf iron and Platinum ore

• Trollshaws is definitely a good region for dwarf-iron and platinum. Platinum is always scattered, in a 1 vs 4 distribution (platinum vs. dwarf-iron). So, at Tier 4 platinum is the rare ore type and dwarf-iron is the common one.
• In the Misty Mountains (west side) there is some dwarf iron and platinum too. If you travel more east in these lands, you will find the tier 5 ore types ancient iron (common) and ancient silver (rare).
• And ... always look in the comments of our dear readers for even better places.