Potions Master Mod Guide: OreSight Potions, Crafting & Ore Detection
Potions Master adds a new tier of potions called OreSight that let you see specific ores through solid blocks. Grind ore materials into powders using a Pestle and Mortar, then brew them into potions that highlight Coal, Iron, Gold, Diamond, Emerald, Lapis, and Redstone veins within a 48-block radius.
Overview
Potions Master introduces a unique potion category called OreSight that gives you temporary X-ray vision for specific ore types. Each potion highlights one ore through solid blocks with a colored outline, making mining dramatically more efficient. The mod adds 7 vanilla ore potions (Coal, Iron, Redstone, Lapis, Gold, Diamond, and Emerald), with additional support for modded ores like Copper, Tin, Silver, Lead, Aluminium, Nickel, Uranium, Zinc, Osmium, Crimson Iron, Bismuth, and Platinum when those mods are installed.
The crafting process revolves around a 
Pestle and Mortar system. You grind raw materials into powders, then brew those powders into potions at a Brewing Stand. The mod also adds three functional blocks (Mortar, Sifter, and Calcinator) and fits naturally into vanilla Minecraft's potion brewing workflow. You can browse all items and recipes this mod adds using the tabs at the top of this page.
Getting Started
- 1
Craft a Pestle
The
Pestle is your essential tool for grinding materials into powders. It requires 2 Quartz and 1 Diamond in a shaped recipe. The Pestle has a max stack size of 1, but it is not consumed when crafting, so you only need to make one. It acts as a container item, meaning it stays in the Crafting Table after you use it. - 2
Grind Your First Powder
Place your
Pestle alongside the ore material you want to grind in a Crafting Table. For example, combine the Pestle with a piece of Coal to get 
Coal Powder, or with an Iron Ingot to get 
Iron Powder. Diamond and Emerald use the gem directly, Redstone uses Redstone Dust, and Lapis uses Lapis Lazuli. All powder recipes are shapeless, so slot placement doesn't matter. - 3
Brew Mundane Potions
OreSight potions require Mundane Potions as the base, not Awkward Potions like most vanilla recipes. To brew Mundane Potions, place Water Bottles in a Brewing Stand and add any of the standard mundane ingredients (such as Sugar, Glistering Melon, Spider Eye, or Redstone Dust). You'll need 3 Mundane Potions per brewing batch.
- 4
Brew Your OreSight Potion
Place your 3 Mundane Potions in the Brewing Stand's bottom slots and add the ground powder as the ingredient. For example,
Coal Powder brews into a Potion of Coal Sight, 
Diamond Powder into a Potion of Diamond Sight, and so on. Each batch produces 3 potions from 1 powder. - 5
Drink and Mine
Drink the potion and all blocks of that ore type within a 48-block radius will be highlighted with a colored outline visible through walls. The effect lasts 5 minutes (6000 ticks), giving you plenty of time to mine every visible vein. Head to Y-level 11 or below for most ores to maximize what you find.
A common mistake is trying to brew OreSight potions with Awkward Potions. These recipes specifically require Mundane Potions as the base. If your powder isn't being accepted in the Brewing Stand, check that you're using the right potion type.
The Pestle & Mortar System
The Pestle is the mod's key crafting tool. It has a stack size of 1 and functions as a container item, which means it returns to you after each crafting operation rather than being consumed. You only ever need to craft one Pestle. The recipe requires 2 Quartz and 1 Diamond arranged in a shaped pattern.
There are two ways to grind materials into powders. The first is the Crafting Table method: simply place the Pestle and your raw material (Ingot, Gem, Coal, Redstone, or Lapis Lazuli) together in any arrangement. The second method uses the Mortar block. Place the Mortar in the world, hold the raw material in your offhand and the Pestle in your main hand, then right-click the Mortar to produce the powder. Both methods yield the same result.
The Mortar Block
The Mortar is a small, placeable Stone block with a custom shape (8x5x8 pixels). Right-clicking it opens a GUI with 3 inventory slots where you can insert materials for grinding. It has a hardness of 2.0, the same as standard Stone. The Mortar provides an alternative to Crafting Table grinding and can be more convenient when processing large batches of materials since you don't need to keep opening and closing the crafting interface.
Pestle Recipe
OreSight Potions
Each OreSight potion targets a specific ore type and highlights every block of that ore within a 48-block radius around you. The ores are rendered with colored outlines visible through all solid blocks, making it trivial to locate veins you'd otherwise miss. Every OreSight effect lasts exactly 5 minutes (6000 ticks) and is classified as a beneficial effect.
The ore detection uses Forge Tags for block identification, which means it works with any mod that registers ores under the standard Forge tag system. If you have a mod like Tinkers' Construct, Silent's Mechanisms, Mystical World, or Blue Power installed, their ores will be detected by the corresponding OreSight potion as long as they use the correct tags. The mod has been specifically tested with the ATM4 modpack for compatibility.
Vanilla OreSight Potions
The 7 vanilla OreSight potions cover every mineable ore in the base game. Coal Sight highlights Coal Ore with a dark grey outline, Iron Sight uses a pale copper color, Redstone Sight shows bright red, Lapis Sight is deep blue, Gold Sight appears golden, Diamond Sight renders in cyan, and Emerald Sight glows green. Each color is distinct enough to be immediately recognizable even through dense Stone.
Modded Ore Support
Beyond vanilla, Potions Master supports OreSight potions for Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Tin, Uranium, and Zinc. Later versions (1.15.1+) also added Osmium, Crimson Iron, Bismuth, and Platinum. These modded potions only appear if a mod providing those ores is installed alongside Potions Master. The brewing process is the same: grind the corresponding Ingot with a Pestle, then brew the powder with Mundane Potions.
OreSight Potion Stats
| Duration | 5 minutes (6000 ticks) |
| Detection Radius | 48 blocks |
| Effect Type | Beneficial |
| Base Potion Required | Mundane Potion |
| Potions Per Batch | 3 (standard Brewing Stand) |
| Vanilla Ore Types | 7 (Coal, Iron, Redstone, Lapis, Gold, Diamond, Emerald) |
| Modded Ore Types | 12 (Aluminium, Copper, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Tin, Uranium, Zinc, Osmium, Crimson Iron, Bismuth, Platinum) |
You can only have one OreSight effect active at a time. Drinking a second OreSight potion while one is active will replace the current effect. Plan your mining trips around one ore type at a time, or bring multiple potions and switch between them as you clear out each ore.
OreSight Outline Colors
| Coal Sight | Iron Sight | Gold Sight | Diamond Sight | Emerald Sight | Redstone Sight | Lapis Sight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outline Color | Dark Grey | Pale Copper | Golden | Cyan | Green | Bright Red | Deep Blue |
| RGB | 82, 82, 82 | 228, 192, 170 | 212, 175, 55 | 61, 219, 227 | 0, 255, 0 | 255, 0, 0 | 10, 10, 255 |
| Input Material | Coal | Iron Ingot | Gold Ingot | Diamond | Emerald | Redstone | Lapis Lazuli |
| Duration | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min | 5 min |
Additional Blocks
Calcinator
The Calcinator is a functional block that emits particles and ambient sounds when placed. It has a 2-slot inventory, a hardness of 2.0, and uses a translucent render layer. Walking on top of a Calcinator deals 1 point of fire damage per contact, so be careful when placing it in your base. The block emits lava, smoke, and campfire particle effects at random intervals, giving it a distinctive alchemical appearance.
Sifter
The Sifter is a large, translucent block (nearly full-sized at 14x12x14 pixels) with a 2-slot inventory. Like the Mortar, it's made from Stone material with a hardness of 2.0. It provides another processing station in the mod's crafting ecosystem.
Potions Master includes a potion mixing mechanic using a Cauldron. Place a Cauldron on top of a lit Campfire, then right-click the Cauldron with any 2 potions and 1 Glowstone. Wait for the mixture to reduce, then right-click the top of the Cauldron with an empty Glass Bottle to collect the mixed potion. The resulting potion can be put back in to combine with additional effects. Right-clicking with an empty hand will clear the Cauldron's contents, so be careful not to lose your brew.
Bonus Items: Status Effect Cures
Beyond potions, Potions Master adds three consumable items that cure specific negative status effects. These items stack to 16 and provide instant relief from some of Minecraft's most annoying debuffs.
Bezoars drop from Sheep and instantly cure the Poison effect when consumed. This is a lifesaver when fighting Cave Spiders or dealing with Witch attacks. Polar Bear Gall Bladders drop from Polar Bears and remove Mining Fatigue, which is particularly useful when raiding Ocean Monuments since Elder Guardians constantly inflict this debuff. Activated Charcoal is crafted by smelting Charcoal Powder (grind Charcoal with the Pestle) in a Furnace, and consuming it removes the Wither effect. This makes Wither fights significantly more manageable since the Wither effect is otherwise difficult to cleanse.
Invisibility Improvement
Potions Master also tweaks vanilla Invisibility potions. In base Minecraft, invisible players still produce particle effects that give away their position. This mod removes those particles entirely from both regular and extended Invisibility potions, making you truly invisible. This is a subtle but significant change for PvP servers and stealth gameplay.
Modded Compatibility
Potions Master uses Forge Tags for ore detection, which means it automatically works with any mod that registers ores under the standard tagging system. The mod has been tested against the All The Mods 4 (ATM4) modpack and confirmed to work with Silent's Mechanisms, Tinkers' Mechworks, Mystical World, Blue Power, and Useful Resources. If your modpack adds Copper, Tin, Silver, Lead, or any of the other supported ore types through a different mod, OreSight potions will still detect them as long as the Forge Tags are correctly registered.
The mod is required on both client and server for multiplayer. It can be freely included in any modpack distributed through the CurseForge ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions
What base potion do OreSight potions require?
OreSight potions require Mundane Potions as the base, not Awkward Potions. Brew Water Bottles with Sugar, Glistering Melon, Spider Eye, or Redstone Dust to get Mundane Potions.
How long does an OreSight potion last?
Each OreSight potion lasts exactly 5 minutes (6000 game ticks). The detection radius extends 48 blocks in all directions from your position.
Does Potions Master work with modded ores?
Yes. The mod uses Forge Tags for ore identification, so any mod that registers ores under standard Forge Tags will be detected. Supported modded ores include Copper, Tin, Silver, Lead, Aluminium, Nickel, Uranium, Zinc, Osmium, Crimson Iron, Bismuth, and Platinum.
Is the Pestle consumed when crafting powders?
No. The Pestle is a container item that remains in the Crafting Table after each use. You only need to craft one Pestle and it will last indefinitely.
How do I mix potions using the Cauldron?
Place a Cauldron on top of a lit Campfire. Right-click the Cauldron with 2 different potions and 1 Glowstone. Wait for the mixture to reduce in size, then right-click the top of the Cauldron with an empty Glass Bottle to collect the mixed result. Be careful not to right-click with an empty hand, as that clears all contents.
Can I make Splash and Lingering versions of OreSight potions?
Yes. OreSight potions follow standard vanilla brewing rules. Add Gunpowder to create Splash variants, or brew a Splash OreSight potion with Dragon's Breath to make Lingering versions. These can be useful for giving the effect to other players in multiplayer.