Please note: if you're not a miner, please stop reading now and go level one to 450. I find mining to be one of the most profitable professions available in the game and compliments many crafting professions. If you are a miner, read these tips to help increase your gold per hour. Also, apologies for length. (I've always wanted to say that, but not necessarily in this particular context if you catch my drift. Heh.).
1. Always clear the node, unless you're a bad or want to get ganked.
Never, ever leave items in a node. Some people tap the node, just take the ore, and move on. This is bad (not to mention frustrating for the miners who come after you, effectively making you look like a jerk). One time I was mining in Badlands and this kid was leaving nothing but rocks in the node. So, I got on general chat and politely asked whoever was mining to fully clear their nodes. Some kid spoke up and said no... then continued to inform me how he was now leaving rocks in the nodes on purpose, so I logged my toon of the opposing faction and camped him into oblivion. When I finally got back on my mining toon, he whispered me and apologized.
Even the stones that appear worthless at first glance are needed by blacksmiths, jewelcrafters, and engineers. A few stacks of stones can net you some decent gold, so don't overlook these like McCampy did. On one of my servers, I remember power leveling engineering and needing solid stones. There was only one guy selling them and he was killing it at 20g/stack. Some people would rather pay that 20g than go out for a few minutes to get a stack of stones. I'll say it again - always clear the node or you're literally leaving gold on the table. And nobody wants that. Except thieving goblins.... who steal gold... off tables.
In conclusion, if you want to make the most gold you possibly can, don't leave anything behind, and don't piss off the other miners.
2. To Smelt or Not to Smelt - that is the question.
Now, before you sell, there is one key thing alot of miners casually overlook. The market price of both ore and bars. Yes, it had to be said because I still see miners not bothering to do this one simple thing. Before you smelt your ore and cackle like a madman all the way to the Auction House with a trail of awesomeness in your wake, check out the going price of ore AND bars before you smelt.
On some days, the ore sells for more and other days the bars sell for more. It's all about supply and demand and it's never the same from day to day. Remember - ore is mostly valuable to jewelcrafters and alts looking to powerlevel by smelting whereas bars are valuable to alot of the crafting professions. Watch the market and check before you smelt - you'll be a few gold richer.
3. Sell on weekends (and Give Your Bank Alts Funny Names).
This is the probably the most important part of making money as a miner (or any profession for that matter). Just because you spent the last 5 hours riding around Azeroth and mining nodes on your pimp ride, doesn't mean you have to sell all your product at once.
I know it's tempting to unload all your phat lootz on the Auction House the second you get back into a city, but don't. Put it in the bank and relax you sly devil. During the week, prices will be a lot lower than weekends. The logic behind this is simple. More people play the game on the weekends. That's the only secret.
The other day I went out and farmed 6 stacks of thorium ore (see my next tip). The going price for thorium bars was 45g/stack. I waited until Saturday morning and checked again. The going price was 75g/stack. I unloaded my 6 stacks and every single one sold within hours. So, get yourself a bank alt and have him store your ores/bars until the weekend. I normally make 20-30% more gold this way. I also recommend giving your bank alt a funny name. It won't help you make gold, but it's hilarious.
4. Thorium is the most valuable ore.
Thorium is one of the best ores to farm and definitely the most valuable. A lot of people are probably thinking, "Well, what about titanium ore?" (Yes, this will be briefly true for the first few weeks after patch 3.2 hits, but more about that later). Well, titanium nodes are a random spawn and never a sure fire thing. Usually if I'm out mining for a couple hours in Northrend, I may see 1 or 2 titanium nodes. The time-to-money ratio clearly favors thorium all the way.
Thorium ore or bars *always* sell for two reasons:
#1- Nobody ever wants to farm it because it's located in out of the way areas that don't allow flying mounts or paladins. Okay, I was lying about the paladin part, but that wouldn't that be cool? The fact it's located in isolated areas makes it extremely valuable; Never underestimate the lazyness of others.
#2 - It's used in liberal (dare I say excessive?) amounts for crafting professions and is always in-demand by people powerleveling their crafts.
But, where do you find Thorium? Ah, glad you asked! The best place to farm thorium is Silithus. Do a loop around the outer edges of the zone, making sure to swing into the 3 main cave systems. These caves are a thorium miner's paradise. After Silithus, I recommend Winterspring. Head south from Everlook and mine until your hearts content. Eastern Plaguelands is another good spot loaded with thorium but it is highly farmed during peak hours, so I usually only mine there late at night or early in the morning when nobody else is on.
5. "Mine" the Auction House.
Did you know you can use your mining skill to make gold without ever leaving a city? This is a little method I use to make a few quick gold when I don't have alot of time. Let's say for example copper ore is selling for 5g/stack and copper bars are selling for 10g/stack. Simply buy the ore, smelt it, and relist the bars. You've just made a tidy little profit without leaving the city. It's not sneaky, it's smart.
There are alot of players who really have no business sense that use the AH on a daily basis, so this little tip will work from time-to-time. If they didn't bother to check the market prices (see tip #2), then it's their loss and your gain. As the saying goes, a fool and his gold are soon parted. Hopefully, that gold will be lining your pockets.
6. Titansteel Cooldown.
You are allowed to smelt 1 titansteel bar every 20 hours (requires 3x titanium bars and 1x each of eternal earth/fire/shadow) . If you don't have the mats available to smelt your own titansteel for the day, sell your cooldown. Do NOT let it go to waste. Advertise in trade chat that you're selling your cooldown and chances are you will get buyers. I've had people pay me up to 50g just to smelt them a bar with their own mats. It takes 2 seconds and you lost nothing because you weren't going to use your cooldown that day anyway. So, even if you don't want to smelt your own titansteel you can pocket an extra 350g+ per week just selling your cooldown. Don't overlook this incredibly simple way to make some easy gold.
7. Mining an Instance.
I was debating whether or not to include this tip, but decided to anyway. Many instances have mining nodes. This is especially true in Outland in the Auchindoun dungeons. If you are level 80, you can probably solo any instance in Outland with ease (If you can't, get some better gear). Go in, mine the nodes, reset and go again. While you're in there, don't forget to loot everything off the mobs you kill and sell it. While mining in an instance isn't the best way to amass huge quantities of ore, it's still a fun way to make some extra gold, mine at the same time, and maybe snag up achievements that you missed.
8. Saronite is Easy Mode
Saronite is to Sholazar Basin what ganking is to Hillsbrad foothills. It's that good. Hit up the basin, and do a few loops around the outer edge there. This should take no more than 20 or 30 minutes and you could easily have 5 stacks (100 pieces to the slow among you) of ore. If you know a Jewelcrafter or are one yourself, prospect it. Otherwise, sell it or bank it until later.
If you get really ambitious, you could always head west into Icecrown and do a few circuits of that zone too. The reason I try to avoid mining in Icecrown is because the nodes have this peculiar way of spawning right in the middle of a group of elite mobs or at a weird angle on top of some rock that is impossible to land on. If you're like me and would just rather fly in circles while watching TV, then Sholazar is the place for you.
So, there you have it. 8 easy tips for making some extra bank with your mining.
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