Efficient Mining in Luanti
I'm writing this to explain how I mine efficiently, and also because I don't see much talk about this method. By "efficient mining" I mean a pattern of mining that results in the most ore extraction in a given volume of rock with as little removal of rock as practicable. In other words, what is the minimum amount of rock that can be removed to gain access to all of the ores? Below is a grid view from the side that shows a pattern of mining that accomplishes the task of exposing all blocks in a given area. The view is from the side looking into the tunnels. The tunnels are 1x2 and can be of any length. They are spaced every fourth block horizontally. Every two blocks down vertically, the tunnels are offset horizontally by two blocks. This pattern can go on indefinitely in all directions. As long as it is maintained it will expose every block for mining without stripping out all of the rock. Besides minimizing my cobble stocks, I also like using it because it leaves be...