NetherOres Mod Wiki

NetherOres, originally created by PowerCrystals and later maintained by TeamCoFH, is a high-risk, high-reward mining mod. It adds Nether-based variants of almost every major Overworld ore, including vanilla resources and those from popular mods like Thermal Expansion, IndustrialCraft 2, and Thaumcraft.

While these ores provide significantly higher yields than their surface counterparts—typically doubling the output—they come with two major hazards: they are chemically unstable and prone to exploding when mined, and the local Zombie Pigmen view the extraction of these resources as a hostile act.

On May 25, 2019, minor updates were released for the CoFH ecosystem (CoFH Core, CoFH World, and the Thermal Series) which provide the underlying framework for NetherOres in 1.7.10, ensuring continued stability and bugfixes for the mod's integration with the Thermal Series.

Mining in the Nether is no longer a simple task. NetherOres introduces several mechanics designed to balance the abundance of resources found in the dimension.

Ore Instability and Explosions

Every time a player mines a Nether Ore, there is a random chance that the block (or a nearby ore block) will trigger an explosion.

• Warning Sign: If an explosion is triggered, the player will hear the distinct 'hiss' of a primed TNT fuse.
• Chain Reactions: If one ore block explodes, it can trigger a chain reaction in adjacent Nether Ores, potentially leveling a large area and killing the player instantly.
• Environmental Triggers: Ores can also be detonated by external explosions, such as Ghast fireballs or Creeper blasts.

Zombie Pigman Aggression

By default, mining any Nether Ore will cause all Zombie Pigmen in a large radius to become instantly aggressive toward the player.

• Stealth Mining: Using a Silk Touch enchantment can sometimes prevent this aggression (depending on configuration), as the ore is removed intact without 'disturbing' the Nether's essence.
• Quartz Integration: While Nether Quartz is a vanilla block, this mod includes a configuration option to make it behave like a Nether Ore, meaning mining Quartz will also anger Pigmen and cause explosions.

Hellfish Infestation

Similar to Silverfish in the Overworld, the Nether contains Hellfish. These creatures hide inside blocks that look identical to Netherrack. Breaking a Hellfish block will release the creature, which can then call upon other nearby Hellfish to swarm the player.

The mod adds one primary mob to the Nether to increase the danger of subterranean exploration.

Hellfish

Hellfish are the Nether's equivalent to Silverfish. They are smaller, redder, and significantly more dangerous due to their environment.

Behavioral Notes:

• Hellfish are completely immune to fire and lava damage.
• They have a smaller hitbox than standard mobs, making them difficult to hit in the cramped tunnels of the Nether.
• When one Hellfish is attacked, it can alert other Hellfish hidden in nearby Netherrack to emerge and join the fight.

Nether Ores appear as standard ore textures embedded in a Netherrack background. Unlike Overworld ores, they always drop the ore block itself when mined, regardless of the tool used (unless the tool is incapable of mining that tier).

Vanilla Variants

• Nether Coal Ore
• Nether Diamond Ore
• Nether Emerald Ore
• Nether Gold Ore
• Nether Iron Ore
• Nether Lapis Lazuli Ore
• Nether Redstone Ore

Modded Variants

If the corresponding mods are installed, NetherOres will generate:

• Thermal Expansion: Copper, Tin, Silver, Lead, Ferrous (Nickel), Platinum (Shiny), Mana Infused (Mithril).
• IndustrialCraft 2: Uranium.
• Applied Energistics 2: Certus Quartz.
• Thaumcraft: Amber, Cinnabar.
• Other: Osmium, Sulfur, Saltpeter, Magnesium, Titanium, Rutile, Tungsten, Steel.

The primary benefit of Nether Ores is their high yield. They are intended to be processed through multiple steps to maximize output.

Smelting

Smelting a Nether Ore in a standard furnace will yield two of the corresponding Overworld ore blocks. These Overworld blocks can then be smelted again or processed in machines for further gains.

Grinding (Macerator / Pulverizer)

Processing Nether Ores directly in a machine like the Pulverizer (Thermal Expansion) or Macerator (IC2) is even more efficient, typically yielding four to five dusts per Nether Ore.

NetherOres is highly configurable, allowing server owners to balance the risk and reward to their liking. The config file is located at config/powercrystals/netherores/common.cfg.

Key Configuration Options

Per-Ore Settings

Users can also toggle the generation of specific ores, change their spawn rates (cluster size and count per chunk), and adjust the mining level required to harvest them.