Taking Inventory: Copper Ingot

If you’re into fighting and combat, then the easiest way to get hold of copper ingots is to find some water and start hunting drowned. For every one of these soggy foes that you slay, there’s slightly more than a one in ten chance that you’ll get a copper ingot – with the chance rising to more than one in six with a Looting III weapon.

If you prefer to avoid trouble, then head down your mine – but not too far! Copper ore is largely found near the surface. Put some of the raw copper that you get from breaking the ore into a furnace or blast furnace, and you’ll be overflowing with ingots before long.

There are three things you can do with copper ingots at the time of writing. Put nine of them in a crafting grid, and you’ll get a block of copper that starts out orange but oxidizes into green over time. You can also craft a lightning rod with three ingots or a spyglass with two ingots and an amethyst shard.

In the real world, copper has been a vital part of human history and still plays an enormous role in today’s society. It has been mined by humans since about 8000 BC and was the first metal to be smelted (in 5000 BC), the first to be molded (in 4000 BC), the first to be alloyed (in 3500 BC) – but not the first item to be covered here on Minecraft.net (2022 AD).

Today, copper is used in all kinds of situations – in electronics for its powers as a good conductor of both heat and electricity, in alloys like bronze, cupronickel, and sterling silver, in cooking materials for its antimicrobial properties, and also in buildings for its durable, weatherproof qualities – if you see a green roof on a building, you can bet that it’s copper.

You might be surprised to learn that it’s also a vital ingredient of all living organisms. Your body contains something like two milligrams of copper for every kilogram of body weight – primarily stored in the liver, muscle, and bone, and used to regulate metabolic processes and the proper functioning of organs. It’s available in plenty of foods though, so you don’t need to munch down on it – keep a balanced diet and you’ll be fine.

Back in Minecraft, you definitely don’t need to eat any copper to stay alive. But you will need it if you want to avoid a lightning strike or build a spyglass. So head out and get yourself some ingots!