Prospecting says I'm nearing ore, but how do I mine it?

[Shihoudani]

Me and a few friends discovered what we think is an ore supply. Prospecting says 24% of copper is use-able in a cave... but how exactly do we mine? It says you need an axe or pick axe when I use the mine skill, so I got a stone axe... but nothing happens when I click on the cave walls. o.O

[Zamte]

That means that there is a mine somewhere in the cave. You need to continue walking around, using prospecting, until you find it. As you get closer (assuming you're going the right direction) the percentage will get higher. Once it's at 100%, the character should run over and start building the mine. You will need to then go get the items to actually build the mine hole. It's going to be quite a task finding and using the mine down in that cave as it's several hundred tiles away from the spot you prospected, and caves wind around, and are rather dark.

I suggest carrying a boat with you, preferrably with two chests in it, and them and your inventory full of branches, and mark your way in with fires every half screen or so. If you do this all the way to the mine (it will likely take multiple trips even with the boat and chests) then you will have a path to follow back to the mine whenever you go via torches.

[Shihoudani]

I'll do just that! So then that means somewhere inside the mine, there is a positive on ore? I just have to search long enough inside to find it?

Also it's very puzzling. The highest reading is right in the front entrance of the cave... going deeper shows it going further away... but at least from the entrance there is only one direction, which is away from the ore... so do you think that means inside the cave there is a path that wraps around and goes back past it?

[burgingham]

All caves in an area are on the same level, so it might be that the mine is actually in a cave nearby and not in the one you are prospecting.

[Riou1231]

Or just use Pacho's client and turn on the nightvision, heck that's what I always do.

[burgingham]

Uhm that has nothing to do with his problem or with what I desribed.

[Riou1231]

Zamte said that it would be extremely hard to find the mine inside since caves wind around and it's very dark in them including in mines. So I suggested the OP use Pacho's client which has nightvision therefore he would not need a chain of fires or a torch to see.

[Sarge]

All caves in an area are on the same level, so it might be that the mine is actually in a cave nearby and not in the one you are prospecting.

At a 24% reading, this is almost guarenteed.

Try trace the direction and keep searching until you 'run out of cave' to find the genral direction in which the reading increases. Then go look for another cave entrance relatively nearby and keep prospecting. Keep a block of wood in your inventory, since when you get very close to the mine hole (reading >97%) your toon will walk towards the mine hole and smack a construction sign into the ground at the mine hole position. A mine hole takes 100 blocks of wood and that's what the 1 block of wood is for, so you can mark the position via the construction sign, and then go get heaps of wood to complete building.

Finding a mine in a cave is almost always a bitch, so best of luck.

[Shihoudani]

Thank you everyone, you've been a lot of help. I'm still searching but now I have one more question, can a cave be in a part of cliff side that isn't visible? Such as you have sides you can see, then other times you have cliff sides that face away so it's impossible to view. Can a cave be in one of those?

[Thijssnl]

No.
Caves face southeast or southwest
(East or South if you use 2d terms ;P)