How to Find Diamonds in Minecraft PE

Co-authored by Zac Churchill

Last Updated: January 31, 2023

Diamonds are used to craft the very best weapons and equipment in Minecraft, and they're also one of the hardest things to find. Diamonds are incredibly rare, and require dedication and patience to find. To maximize your chances of mining diamonds in Minecraft PE, See Step 1 below.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Preparing to Mine

1
Craft an Iron Pickaxe, Shovel, water bucket, and Sword. You will need an iron pickaxe to mine the diamonds, since stone, wooden, and golden pickaxes will not work.^{[1]
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Research source} You will need a shovel to mine any sand or dirt. You'll also need a sword to defend yourself from any potential hostile mobs. A water bucket might save you if you catch on fire or fall in lava.
- In order to create these tools, you will need 6 iron ingots and 5 sticks.
2
Gather some food. Diamonds are found in the lowest levels of worlds, so the journey will be a long one. You'll want to ensure that you have enough provisions to able to stay and mine for a good amount of time without dying of hunger.^{[2]
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3
Bring some torches. You will need these to light your way, to avoid falling into any deep ravines and to prevent any hostile mobs from spawning.^{[3]
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Bring a water bucket. A water bucket is mandatory especially if you're at diamond level, where lava is located. You will need a water bucket to turn all that lava to obsidian.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Finding Diamonds

1
Be a Good Miner in Minecraft. Find a good cave system until you hit y-level 11. This is the best layer for finding all types of ores in Minecraft. Diamond ore is typically found in layers 1-15, with the highest concentration around layer 10 - 12.
2
Continue to dig down if you don't reach y-level 11. Dig a 2 x 2 spiral staircase until you reach y-level 11. If you're cave is at y-level 11, you should first explore it for diamonds, as there is a better chance for finding them there. If you can't find any, you should strip mine.
- Never, ever dig straight down, as you don't know what is underneath those blocks. You might fall into a dungeon or a pool of lava.
3
Start your mine. Once you're at y-level 11, start your mine. Dig your strip mines 2 blocks tall, and 2 blocks away from each other, and around 30 blocks long. This will give you the best chance to find diamonds.
- It is recommended that you create a chest somewhere in your mine so that you have a place to store excess ore and cobblestone as you build the mine.^{[4]
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4
Keep digging. Diamonds are one of the rarest things in the game to find, ^{[5]
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Research source} and occur in less than 1% of the blocks in the lower levels. Finding diamonds is more of a game of luck than anything else, and patience is the most important thing to have when mining for them.
- If you are lazy and don't want to do this much work, set off some TNT or craft the Wither. It's best to go into Creative Mode before setting of any explosives. Also, using explosives can shorten your time mining, but you might destroy some valuable ores like gold ore or the diamond ore you came for.(The Wither destroys any blocks in its way.)
- Diamond tools are important in Minecraft because they allow the player to mine materials like obsidian and Ancient Debris.^{[6]
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- Obsidian allows the player to create a portal to the nether dimension. Ancient Debris provides nephrite scraps that can be crafted into Netherite ingots.^{[7]
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- These ingots can create Netherite tools and armor. When combined with the diamond version of the tool or piece of armor in a smithing table, they create the most durable and efficient tools and armor in the game.^{[8]
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- A player must have diamonds to create an enchanting table, which allows the player to add upgrades to their tools and armor.^{[9]
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Community Q&A

Question

Why are diamonds so important, anyway? What kind of tools can you make out of them?

Community Answer

They make the strongest and most powerful lasting tools in vanilla MC. You get get more if you enchant your iron pickaxe with fortune.
Question

I go to layer four and do a straight mine?

Community Answer

Layers four through 16 are where most of any ore spawn. So mine a 4x4 straight, make sure when you are going down not to dig straight down, that's a cardinal rule in all Minecraft versions.
Question

In what surroundings are the chances of finding diamonds highest?

Community Answer

You usually find them around level 8 (eight blocks above bedrock), so try looking there. They also commonly are found in very deep caves or around lava. As for a specific biome, any place can be good for you to start mining for diamonds.