Mining clarification

[Stoffzor]

To my understanding, you have to mine through layers in order to get to the potential mineral. And at the wiki it says that you can sometimes find stone in the early layers. But i have used the stone as an indicator when to move on. Could anyone just simply clarify what indicates the lack of minerals in a tile, so that i could get a proper system up and running while searching caves. Also any other tips and tricks is appreciated.
ty

[Gaskin]

Metal nodes work just like any other nodes (clay, water, soil). World has few layers, for example caves are in layer -1, metals are randomly generated with maps. the space thats left after that is filled with stones(caves are generated radomly like rivers - at the end.). You can use rustroot extract to see if minerals are one layer UNDER you. And thats pretty much all about mining.

[Stoffzor]

Alright, ty. One thing i have noticed though is that sometimes a tile wall breaks up and creates a small entry, so i can go "deeper" does this mean anything? Should i keep going deeper in a straight line even though the first tile did not drop any minerals. Or does the node always start in the beginning of a tile wall.
ty

[FatBob]

if the wall have ore you will get ore from the first one. if its make a hole thats mean nothing except you can mine it and go deeper
be careful don't mine without support.. use zigzag minning...

[Stoffzor]

Tyvm!

Now, how about prospecting, i have read the guide by Sevenless, but to my understanding it only tells you basicly where to dig a mine hole? How do i use it in a cave? Note that im trying to avoid having to make a mine hole and just use the cave that i have claimed.
ty

[TeckXKnight]

Prospecting tells you where and what kind of ore is below you. So if you prospect above your cave, on the surface, you can find ore and what kind it is in the walls of your cave without digging.

[Stoffzor]

So i basicly walk above my cave and where i find minerals using prospect i try to map against the actual cave below?
ty, seems resonable, altough is it certain that the mineral found from prospecting will be available through the cave, or is it possible i cant reach it and have to dig or make a minehole anyway? Im just trying to get as much info as i can before i waste my hard earned rustroots.

[Mashadar]

Ore veins are placed independently from cave passageways, so it's pure coincidence when one of them intersects a cave.
So yes, it's quite possible you'll have some additional digging to do. However, you can restrict yourself to prospecting on tiles that are directly next to a cave wall on the layer below.

[TeckXKnight]

If you have ranging and can micro manage a bit, then make an alt and have them turn criminal acts on to leave tons of trespassing scents on your property. Gather the scents and track the alt as they navigate the cave for you, prospecting along where the alt goes. This way you can follow the cave tunnels reliably.

[Stoffzor]

That was very smart.. ty i will definatly try that. But im starting to realize that a mine hole is inevitable ...
ty