YUNG's Better Mineshafts (NeoForge)

Overview

YUNG's Better Mineshafts replaces every vanilla Abandoned Mineshaft in your world with a completely redesigned structure system. Instead of the repetitive grid of wooden tunnels you're used to, the mod generates sprawling networks built around a large central Main Shaft with branching Small Tunnels that twist, turn, climb staircases, and pass through multi-level intersections. The result feels like a real abandoned mine rather than a randomly assembled hallway.

The mod adds 13 biome-specific variants that change the building materials, decorations, and atmosphere of each mineshaft to match the surrounding terrain. A Desert mineshaft is built from Sandstone, an Ice mineshaft from Packed Ice and Blue Ice, and a rare Mushroom mineshaft is constructed entirely from Mushroom Blocks. Beyond aesthetics, you'll find Abandoned Workstations with Furnaces and Crafting Tables, secret Workstation Cellars guarded by Cave Spider Spawners, rare Abandoned Miners' Outposts with Zombie Villager Spawners, and Ore Deposits tucked away at the ends of tunnels. You can browse all items and configuration details using the tabs on this page.

Mineshaft Structure

Every Better Mineshaft is built from a set of modular pieces that connect together differently each time. Understanding these pieces helps you navigate efficiently and find all the loot.

Main Shaft (Big Tunnel)

The Main Shaft is the wide central corridor that serves as the backbone of the structure. It can chain up to 3 segments deep, creating a long central highway. Along its length you'll encounter Chest Minecarts (1% spawn rate per position), TNT Minecarts (0.25% spawn rate), Lanterns (0.67% spawn rate), and Cobwebs (15% spawn rate). The Main Shaft spawns Workstation side rooms at a 2.5% rate per eligible position, and Small Tunnel branches at a 7% rate.

Small Tunnels

Small Tunnels are the narrower branching passages. Each tunnel is a chain of up to 9 pieces (configurable) that can include straight sections, turns, staircases, and two types of layered intersections. The 4-way Layered Intersection features multiple levels connected by ladders, while the 5-way version adds an additional branching path. Small Tunnels contain Torch decorations (2% spawn rate), their own Chest Minecarts (0.125% spawn rate), and TNT Minecarts (0.25% spawn rate). At the end of a completed chain, you'll find either an Ore Deposit or an Abandoned Miners' Outpost.

Abandoned Workstations

These side rooms branch off the Main Shaft and represent the work areas of the miners who once operated the mine. Each Workstation contains up to two Furnaces stocked with Coal, a chance of a Crafting Table, and sometimes a Barrel filled with Mineshaft loot. Iron Bar supports occasionally prop up the ceiling, adding to the atmosphere. There is a 25% chance that a Workstation has a Cellar underneath, accessible via a Trapdoor and Ladder.

Workstation Cellars

Hidden beneath some Workstations, Cellars are dangerous rooms containing a Cave Spider Spawner surrounded by dense Cobwebs. They always contain at least one Chest with Mineshaft loot, with a 50% chance of a second Chest. Come prepared with a Sword and Shears if you plan to clear these out.

Special Discoveries

Ore Deposits

Found at the end of Small Tunnel chains, Ore Deposits are 5x5x4 pockets of Cobblestone embedded with a specific ore type. The outer shell is 90% Cobblestone, the inner core has a 65% chance of the selected ore, and there's a 15% chance of ore scattered throughout the outer shell as well. This makes each deposit a worthwhile stop, especially if you find the rarer ores.

Abandoned Miners' Outpost

With only a 2% spawn chance at the end of a Small Tunnel (instead of an Ore Deposit), the Abandoned Miners' Outpost is the rarest room in a Better Mineshaft. This 7x7 room is built from Stone, Cobblestone, and Stone Bricks, enclosed by walls and topped with a Slab ceiling. Inside you'll find an Iron Door entrance, two Black Beds, an Anvil, a Barrel with Mineshaft loot, a Redstone Torch, and a Stone Button. The room also contains a Zombie Villager Spawner embedded in the floor, along with Cobwebs throughout. One of three workstations spawns randomly: a Smithing Table, a Crafting Table, or a Blast Furnace.

The Outpost tells the story of a miner who was trapped and eventually turned. It is worth clearing because the Zombie Villagers can be cured into regular Villagers for trading, and the Anvil and workstations are free to take.

Biome Variants

The mod defines 13 distinct mineshaft variants, each tied to specific biomes. The variant determines the building materials, support structures, floor composition, and decorative elements. Some variants have high replacement rates (meaning nearly all blocks get replaced with the themed materials), while others keep more of the default stone mixed in for a partially-collapsed look.

The remaining variants round out biome coverage. The Spruce variant uses Spruce Planks and Fences in Taiga biomes. Snowy Spruce goes further in snowy Taiga biomes, mixing Snow Blocks and Packed Ice into the Spruce framework with a 100% Snow decoration chance. Acacia uses Acacia Planks and Stripped Acacia Log legs in Savanna biomes. Red Desert mirrors the Desert variant but uses Red Sandstone and Red Sand, spawning in Badlands plateau areas. Overgrown replaces 70% of its blocks with Spruce Leaves and has heavy vine coverage (50%) and Gravel piles (80%), creating a mineshaft being reclaimed by nature. Lush uses Oak Planks heavily replaced by Moss Blocks (75%) with special Lush Cave decorations like Glow Berries, Azalea, and Dripleaf. Finally, Dripstone uses Oak Planks mixed with Stone Bricks and features Dripstone decorations like Pointed Dripstone and Dripstone Blocks growing from ceilings and floors.

Configuration

The mod generates a configuration file at bettermineshafts-neoforge-1_21.toml in your config folder after the first launch. Every setting requires a world restart to take effect.

General Settings

The "Disable Vanilla Mineshafts" toggle (default: true) prevents vanilla Mineshafts from generating alongside the modded ones. Minimum Y-coordinate defaults to -55 and Maximum Y-coordinate defaults to 30, controlling the vertical range where mineshafts can spawn. If you want mineshafts to generate deeper into the Deepslate layer or higher toward the surface, adjust these values.

Ore Deposit Settings

You can toggle Ore Deposits on or off entirely, and adjust the spawn weight of each ore type. The default weights must add up to 100: Cobblestone 50, Coal 20, Iron 9, Redstone 7, Gold 7, Lapis 3, Emerald 3, Diamond 1. If you want Diamond deposits to appear more often, increase the Diamond value and decrease another ore's value to keep the total at 100.

Spawn Rate Settings

Nearly every structural element has an adjustable spawn rate. Workstation rooms default to 2.5%, Workstation Cellars to 25% (when a Workstation exists), Small Tunnel branches to 7%, and Abandoned Miners' Outposts to 2%. You can also control the Small Shaft Piece Chain Length (default: 9), which determines how many pieces each Small Tunnel contains before terminating. Increasing this value creates longer, more complex tunnel networks, while decreasing it makes for shorter, simpler branches.

Compatibility

YUNG's Better Mineshafts is designed to be fully compatible with other worldgen mods. It works alongside YUNG's Better Strongholds, YUNG's Better Dungeons, YUNG's Extras, and YUNG's Bridges without conflicts. Since the mod replaces the vanilla Mineshaft structure type entirely, it should also be compatible with any mod that adds new biomes, as long as those biomes are tagged into the appropriate biome categories. The mod requires YUNG's API as a dependency, which handles shared utilities across all YUNG's mods.