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Mining strategies
The optimum mining strategie I like to call 'Box Out' in which you mine out a 5 x 5 'Box' at level 10 and mine out tunnels staggered every other block, as shown below. Mine 20 blocks in each tunnel then progress onto the next one. I guaruantee you will find diamonds within 20 minuites. This system can be used at different levels, depending on the ores/minerals you are looking for. As you can see, at level 10 I have already found iron and redstone.
The next method I like to call the 'Hole in the wall' which is where you can cover alot of ground in a short amount of time. It allows you not miss a block of possible dimaond ore and requires minimal blocks mined. This picture shows how to do it:
The 'Hole in the Wall'
This table shows the optimum levels for each ores to be found and the levels of lava and water