Minecraft wiki entry for Your_first_10_minutes, associated text: If you decide to start making a mine, there are many methods to dig for resources. While a safe method would be simply to dig a large room, lighting it up as you dig while looking for ores, a more profitable (and risky) decision would be to look for a cave and start spelunking. If you decide to find and explore caves, a sword, food, enough wood (20 to 30 logs) and a light source (presumably torches) are absolute necessities. If you come across any ore other than coal, or iron, get an iron pickaxe before you mine it, as using an inferior pickaxe will not only take longer to mine it, it will break the ore without dropping the resource. You will need ladders and a crafting table, just in case you find a good cave and decide to stay underground for long.