Mining

Mining is the skill associated with breaking rocks.

During the first few days in Stardew Valley, the mines are closed due to some accident by Joja Corp. When it is open, mining becomes viable to the player. Each level adds +1 efficiency with the class tool (Pickaxe).

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5
Crafting Recipes:	Crafting Recipes:	Crafting Recipes:	Crafting Recipes:	Choose a profession:
		Staircase		Miner: +1 ore per vein Geologist: Chance for gems to appear in pairs

Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9	Level 10
Crafting Recipes:	Crafting Recipes:	Crafting Recipes:	Crafting Recipes:	Choose a profession:
Bomb

Tips & Tricks to efficient mining

Mining in the mines is often challenging due to the time and stamina cost required to break rocks. It's easy to forget how time passes in the mines due to not having any visual cues of the outside lighting. Things you should know however: A) Going deeper yields more ore B) Going deeper gives you better ore

Knowing this, you should know this pattern:

For every level you land on, quickly do a run around of the level to find obvious ores (Things like copper ore and quartz sticks out compared to other rocks).

Then, if you haven't found the stairwell yet, kill all enemies, as some of them will drop the ladder down (Killing enemies yield you with a stamina-free option, even if it takes some time, stamina tends to run out faster than in-game time). If all enemies are dead and you're still looking for a ladder down, start breaking rocks around until you do. If you have a lot of stone in your inventory, it might be worth it to make a staircase if you are short on stamina.

Doing this, you can quickly achieve maximum yield for least effort/Stamina.

The axe, scythe or pickaxe can be used to kill monsters in lieu of the sword, but they are weaker.