The Volcanic mine is a great little game hidden on Fossil Island that is a fun way to earn points and ore with your party. However, you need to be fully prepared for the conditions in the mine and the challenge that awaits. Here is a quick run-through of where to find the mine, how to play the game, and the gear and inventory needed to succeed. 

Where To Find The Volcanic Mine

The Volcanic Mine is a minigame located inside the volcano on Fossil Island. The entrance lies on the northeast corner and is guarded by Petrified Pete. He will let you pass to mine inside for a fee of 30 numulites and is responsible for your rewards should you succeed or fail. 

Requirements

50+ mining, although it is recommended to get to 70 to use better gear and tools like the crystal pick axe. The better your level, the easier it will be to earn better rewards.

You also need 150 Kudos and to have completed other tasks on the island.

This includes completing the Bone Voyage quest, building the museum camp, and claiming your fossils from Peter on the shore. 

Prospector outfit is recommended.

High prayer level is recommended.

What Gear Should You Use In The Volcanic Mine?

Recommended Gear

The best recommendation for gear is to go in with the full prospector kit to improve your mining exp. This includes adding a hitpoint cape(or the best cape for you), Elysian Spirit Shield(or the best one available), and an Elven Signet Ring if using a crystal pickaxe. The Crystal pickaxe is great for this task if you can get hold of that.

Players without the prospector gear should go for their best prayer gear, such as the Ring of Gods, Devout Boots, Holy Wraps, and Falador Shield. Proselyte gear helps, as does the Hitpoints Cape. 

Get as high prayer as possible with the prospector outfit. If you are using a crystal pickaxe, it is preferred to use the elven signet. Ring of Gods works too.

Inventory Setup

As for your inventory, try and go in with 12-16 food, including monkfish or better when starting out. After getting used to the minigame, wines are a cheap and good option for food. A prayer potion will help those below a 91 prayer level or a 31 prayer bonus. Also recommended are a crystal pickaxe, a stamina potion, a teleport-to-house tablet, and a volcanic mine teleport. 

How To Play The Volcanic Mine Minigame

This is a fun but challenging 10-minute minigame. You have 30 seconds to organize the group once in the mine. Spread out to cover more ground and make the most of your time. A rumble will signify the game has begun, then start mining. You get ten minutes until the eruption. You die if you don’t get out in those 10 minutes. 

The ultimate goal during those ten minutes is to mine boulders for ore and rewards. A large bolder in the lava channel breaks into smaller pieces and flows through the stream. Follow it and mine it at any opportunity where it stops. The smaller it gets, the more points you earn. There are also more boulders for larger groups. There is another in the west for parties greater than 10 and another in the east for those over 20. You can go in with as many as 50 people. 

Mining lets you gain ore fragments from the boulder. Players at level 50 mining can find iron, silver, coal, and gold. However, those at 55 can get mithril, those at 70 can find adamantite, and those at 85 can get runite ore. There is a points scale for each, with iron the most minimal at 1 point and 5xp and runite up at 70 points and 150xp.

Stay Safe While Mining For Ore

The challenge of this minigame comes from the environment as much as the mining itself. For a start, this volcanic cave is a pressure cooker ready to explore. You need to keep the pressure at a nice 40-60% to minimize the risk of eruptions. There are different roles in the Volcanic mine, which can be viewed on the map below.

You will learn as you do the minigame what each means role means; having teammates who have played before is helpful.

If you get B-check/C-fix, it’s a combined role. One person will do the B-check, and another will do the C-fix.

If you get A role, run towards A chamber, vent A, etc.

You can do this by blocking the gas chamber with a rock to increase the pressure or mining away to decrease it. Increased stability means fewer quakes and better mining for the best results. 0% stability means early eruption and certain death. 

On top of this, you also have to deal with lava flows and lava beasts. You can harden the lava using water from the heatproof vessel to make it safe to stand on. Also, the effect only lasts 90 seconds, so watch for the orange glow to avoid extensive damage. Meanwhile, the lava beasts will launch fireballs at you. Using prayer to protect from missiles should help to reduce damage significantly. Be aware that there are 35 uses per game. 

Life And Death In The Volcanic Mine

This minigame is full of dangers, and there is a high chance that you will die if you are prepared. This peril level makes it so fun as a team game. You can earn a lot if you cooperate easily and have the right strategy. If you mess up with the eruptions and timing, that’s it. 

You get your rewards and 100 additional points for a job well done. Most of the ore goes to Petrified Pete, who rewards you with your mining experience points. However, other elements like calcite, pyrophosphate, fossils and numulite are kept. You win the game if you can work together and get those smaller boulders down the lava streams while maintaining pressure. 

Unfortunately, death results in a loss of progress. Petrified Pete takes all the lost items and offers to sell them back to you for 150 numulites. Be aware that this offer also vanishes if players die before being able to retrieve them. This is why it is so important to get out on time. It is recommended to head back to the rope exit with at least 30 seconds left on the clock. It is better to get out alive with some ore and rewards than wait too long and lose it all. 

Volcanic Mine Rewards

If you are an ironman, the best reward is usually volcanic ash for farming. For regular accounts, the best reward is the runite ore which gives 13 GP/point, as you can see in the picture below:

Work Together To Make The Most Of The Volcanic Mine

The volcanic mine game is challenging but rewarding for those with the right tools and strategy. Take the time to level up, get the right gear, and work together to mine the boulders and stabilize the chamber for the best results. You will learn just by playing the minigame, so don’t worry about not knowing every detail.