Vein Mining — a mod for quickly harvesting an entire vein in Minecraft

Vein Mining — a mod for quickly harvesting an entire vein in Minecraft  

Vein Mining is a Minecraft mod that adds an enchantment of the same name for tools. In vanilla, every block breaks on its own: to chop down a tree you have to repeat the same action a dozen times, and each vein of iron ore is mined bit by bit. This mod lets you fell an entire connected vein of identical blocks in a single motion, and the rules for selecting blocks, the activation method, and even the need for an enchantment at all can be tailored to a specific server or modpack.

How the mechanic works

When a tool has the Vein Mining enchantment, striking a block from the allowed list triggers a traversal of neighbours of the same type. The algorithm moves in a chain — from the first block to an adjacent one, then to that neighbour's neighbour — clearing everything until it hits the limit.

Neighbours are checked in a 3×3×3 cube around the source: across faces, edges, and corners alike. If you disable diagonals in the config, only the 6 face-adjacent blocks remain. In logging the difference is noticeable: trees with branches are often connected diagonally, and without this option the chain won't follow them.

The drop from the entire vein is collected at a single point — where you struck first. This solves the usual problem with long trunks: the logs don't have to be gathered from the top, everything falls at your feet.

Harvesting an oak tree with a single axe strike

Activation methods

Mining doesn't turn on automatically. By default the mechanic triggers from an ordinary strike while the character is standing at full height. Holding Shift at that moment cancels the chain — a handy vanilla safeguard for when you need to remove a single block from a vein rather than the whole thing.

If the standard logic doesn't suit you, it can be switched in the client config file:

• Activation with Shift. An ordinary strike breaks a single block, and the chain only triggers while crouching. Convenient for those bothered by the default mode in mines.

• Activation with a dedicated key. The chain triggers while a specially assigned key is held. You have to bind it yourself in Minecraft's control settings.

The "Controls" screen with the Vein Mining binding row in the key list

Which blocks are mined

By default the chain covers two sets of blocks:

• ores — via the tags #c:ores (Fabric/Quilt) and #forge:ores (Forge/NeoForge);

• wood — via the vanilla tag #minecraft:logs.

By default the mod works both as an ore miner and as a lumberjack. Stone, dirt, sand, and the rest of the blocks don't get pulled into the chain.

The list is edited in the server config file and works in one of two modes — as a whitelist (only the listed items are allowed) or as a blacklist (only the listed items are forbidden). If you'd rather not fuss with tags, in the same file you can substitute a ready-made preset instead of your own list: all blocks at once, ores only, ores together with logs, ores together with stone, or the full combination of ores, stone, and logs. 

Harvesting ore with a single pickaxe strike

Configuration

The config is split across two files. The client one (veinmining-client.toml) and the server one (veinmining-server.toml) . 

Below are the parameters that actually affect the game. 

Server parameters

Client parameters

How to obtain the enchantment

The enchantment is applied the usual way — at an enchanting table or via an anvil with an enchanted book. By default it's available both in the table itself, and in trades with villager librarians, and in loot chests in structures. 

Conclusion

Vein Mining adds automatic vein breaking. It suits anyone who wants a faster mining loop without overloading the game — from pure survival to medium-difficulty modpacks.