How to Smelt Minecraft Ore into Ingot - For Dummies

In Minecraft, smelting is similar to crafting but requires a furnace rather than a crafting table. To smelt ore in your furnace, you must have a fuel source. Early in the game, here are the most common fuel sources: wooden planks, previously crafted wooden tools, or weapons that have been replaced with stone items. The other major source of fuel is coal, which is easily mined, or charcoal.

Smelting an iron ingot

Iron ore is one of the most often used ingredients in crafting quality weapons, tools, buckets, flint, steel, and shears. It’s easily mined but must be smelted into an ingot before it can be crafted.

To smelt, place iron ore in the top of the furnace and a fuel source in the bottom, to yield an iron ingot.

Making gold ingots

Gold ore can be mined with an iron or diamond pickaxe (just hold the pickaxe and then hold down the mouse button to start mining). Gold ore is then smelted like iron into ingots. Gold ingots can further be crafted into nuggets.

Ingots are necessary to make golden apples, powered rails, and clocks. To smelt, place gold ore in the top of the furnace and fuel in bottom to yield one gold ingot.

Burning charcoal

Charcoal is similar to coal but is smelted from wood, making it easy to create on your first night playing the game. This allows you to create a torch. Though slightly time-consuming, smelting charcoal from any wooden items yields a more efficient fuel than burning wood directly. To smelt, place any wood in the top of the furnace and any fuel in the bottom (commonly, another wood source).