Need to build a sprinkler to water your plants automatically or a bee house to make honey? You need iron ores! But, the big question is how to find iron ore in Stardew Valley? The valley’s vast, so you’ll have many options to get your hands on this precious ore.
You can choose to buy iron ores, but that might be difficult when you have limited gold at the start of the game. So, your best chance is to find it in the mines as you progress through the levels. You have to be at it every day, however, or else it’s going to take you a while to get you to iron ore.
Now, there are other sources of iron ore as well: fishing treasure chests, geodes, garbage cans, and monster loots. Let’s get to each of them, and see how you can find iron ore in abundance in Stardew Valley:
Go to the Mines of Stardew Valley
Now, the most common way to get iron ore in Stardew Valley is to go to the mines, between levels 40 – 79.
The mines are north of the map, just below the mountains. You can open up the map by tapping M. Next, you have to cross Demetrius’s home, or the Carpenter’s Shop and keep going right, and cross the bridge over to the mines.
You can find iron ore in iron nodes, which are gray or blue rocks with little iron nodes on them.
You can also find iron ore in crates and barrels. So, break them up on every new floor to see what you get. If you’re lucky, you can also get your hands on iron ore much earlier in the game, when you’re at level 25 or so. But that won’t provide you access to iron ore mines. Later, you can also till the soil of the mines and get iron ore.
Carry a pickaxe for mining iron ore and a sword to protect yourself. Initially, you’ll have an ancient sword gifted to you by Marlon. You can later buy a more advanced sword from the Adventurer’s Guild after you earn access to it, after killing 10 monster slimes in between mining levels 1-10.
Later in the game, once the bus service is repaired, you can just take the bus directly to the mines.
Break Geodes
You can also get iron ores from geodes. You can find geodes while you’re breaking stones on your farm or in the mines. However, only 4 types of geodes can yield iron ore.
Though the number is less, it’s worth trying. You can take the geodes to the Blacksmith, who charges 25g for breaking one open. Once it’s open, you’re sure to get iron ore at least a time or two initially in the game.
Fight Monsters in Stardew Valley
If you have been to the mines, you know you encounter a lot of monsters on your way: bats, bugs, dust sprites, lava crabs, stone golems, and more. If you don’t do an impressive job of fighting them, you can pass out and lose 4 valuable items from your backpack. However, that’s a different story!
Lava crabs, who disguise themselves as pink stones, can drop iron ore when killed. And so can stone golems who look like walking zombies. You’ll find lava crabs between levels 20 – 40, whereas stone golems come gnawing at you with their glowy eyes from level 31 or so.
Iron slimes can also drop iron ore when encountered on dungeon floors of the mines. There’s a 33% chance of them dropping iron ore, in addition to diamond, dwarf scroll, sap, and smile. They are gray, and both male and female iron slimes exist.
You can also encounter more powerful versions: special iron slimes with a higher HP of 650. On killing them, you get iron ore and a host of special items, like thermal boots, forest sword, genie shoes, and more!
Buy Iron Ore at the Blacksmith’s Shop
You can also buy iron ore from the Blacksmith’s Shop once you have enough gold to spare. Each iron ore costs 150g in year 1 and starts costing 250g from the second year onwards. You can buy as many as you like, considering you have space to source it up in your backpack.
The Blacksmith’s Shop is behind the Museum, which is right to Mayor Lewis’s home and can be accessed by crossing the small river bridge.
The Blacksmith’s Shop is run by Clint and is open between 9 AM – 4 AM except on Fridays once the Community Center has been restored. You’ll also find copper ores, coal, and gold ores for sale. You can use a furnace to smelt iron bars and use them to upgrade your tools at Clint’s.
First, you upgrade to a copper pickaxe, copper hoe, copper scythe, copper trash can, and a copper axe, as you get access to copper ores earlier in the game. The next available for upgrade are the iron tools and trash can.
Find Iron Ore in Garbage Cans
Now, if you’re at the Blacksmith’s shop, we recommend you look in his trash can and if you’re lucky, you can get your hands on some iron ore for free. Well, that sounds easy, but here’s the catch.
If any villager sees you, you’ll lose 15 friendship points with them. To be careful, ensure no one’s within a 15 x 15 square around your character. Now, if Linus sees you, you’ll get 5 friendship points with the eccentric dude who keeps asking you if you have come to ridicule him every time you see him!
You can also get coal and copper ore in Clint’s garbage can from time to time.
Buy From the Travelling Cart in Stardew Valley
South of your farm in the Cindersap Forest, you’ll find a Travelling Cart that sells numerous goods from time to time. Occasionally, you can buy iron ore between 100g – 1000g.
But remember that the Travelling Cart won’t always have iron ore. Items sold here are more expensive than at Clint’s Blacksmith Shop. Plus, the traveling cart can only be found on Fridays and Sundays between 6 AM and 8 PM.
The Travelling Cart also appears every single on the Night Market. Now, you might be wondering why you or anyone else should buy from the Travelling Cart at a higher rate. Well, you can buy things from the Travelling Cart at hours when Clint’s shop is closed, especially on nights.
Fish Out a Treasure Chest
Stardew Valley offers many areas for fishing: the River, the Beach, the lakes, as well as the ponds. Now, while fishing, you’ll see a treasure chest appear on your screen. You have to get the treasure chest along with the fish, or else you’ll lose both.
Wait till the treasure chest is touched and the orange bar is closed, whereas your fishing rod bar should be green. It’s all a matter of time and can be hard to master in the first few months of the game. However, these treasure chests can yield iron ore. Each can have up to 24 iron ore stacks.
Visit the Quarry in the Later Stage of Stardew Valley
In the initial levels in Stardew Valley, you won’t be able to go past the Adventurer’s Guild. However, once you have completed the Crafts Room bundle or bought the Bridge, by filling up the Joja Community Development Form and paying 25,000g, you’ll have access to the Quarry.
Iron ore nodes and other valuable nodes spawn in the quarry daily. It’s recommended that you keep the Quarry clean so that existing rocks don’t block the spawning of new ores.
Find it on Your Farm
You can also find iron ore on your farm. That’s right! But you can’t find it on a standard farm. To find iron ore on your farm, you have to choose the Hill-top farm or the four-corners farm. Both prioritize mining activities.
The Four Corners Farm will have a small quarry area south of your farm.
The Hill-Top Farm will have iron nodes on the hill that appear on the southwest corner of your farm, and these will be replenished every 4 days.
➡️ How to Make an Iron Bar in Stardew Valley
You can’t use iron ore directly for crafting recipes. It’s not a great gift to give to anyone, and most people will just hate it.
Hence, to use iron ores, you have to smelt them into iron bars using a furnace. You need 5 iron ores and a single coal to make a single iron bar. But how to get a furnace in Stardew Valley?
After you have got your hands on 5 copper ones by mining in the levels between 1 – 31, Clint shares a blueprint for a furnace the next morning. Or, the crafting recipe arrives in your mail. You can click E to open the menu and then go to 🔨Crafting.
To make a furnace, you require 20 copper ores and 25 stones. It’s a refining equipment that can later be used to smelt copper and iron bars. Also, note that iron bars take 2 in-game hours to be smelted. You can make multiple furnaces to save time later on in the game.
➡️ Other Ways to Get an Iron Bar in Stardew Valley
#1. From Copper Bars
You can also unlock a crafting recipe: Transmute (Fe) recipe when you have unlocked Mining level 4 that’ll allow you to turn 3 copper bars into 1 iron bar. Now, you might think, how can this be useful?
Well, finding copper ores in the mines is easier than finding iron ores. That’s because you have to encounter fewer monsters while mining copper ore. And they can be found not very deep in the mines. So, you can stock up on a lot of copper ore without having to fight monsters and turn them into iron bars.
#2. From Monster Loot
You can get them as monster loot when you slay the Shadow Brute or the Shadow Shaman.
#3. From Clint’s Garbage Can
Again, quite rare, but you can find an iron bar in his trash. But this’ll happen only if he has already shared the blueprint with you. Try not to be seen while you’re checking his trash can, or you’ll lose friendship points.
➡️ What are the Uses of Iron Bars in Stardew Valley?
Iron bars in Stardey Valley are mostly used for crafting recipes.
#1. Mining
- Glowstone Ring: Unlocked on mining level 4, requires 5 iron bars and 5 solar essences to emit a constant source of light and increase your radius of collecting items.
- Transmute (Au): Unlocked on mining level 7, requires 2 iron bars to smelt a bar of pure gold.
#2. Farming
- Sprinkler: Unlocked on farming level 3, requires 1 copper bar and 1 iron bar to water 4 adjacent tiles every morning.
- Quality Sprinkler: Unlocked on farming level 6, requires 1 iron bar, 1 copper bar, 1 refined quartz to water 8 adjacent tiles every morning.
- Bee House: Unlocked on farming level 3, requires 1 iron bar, 1 copper bar, 1 maple syrup, 40 pieces of wood, and 8 pieces of coal to make honey.
- Fence: Though fences are usually for aesthetic purposes, this gets unlocked on level 6 and requires 1 iron bar, and can last longer than a stone fence.
- Keg: Unlocked on farming level 8, requires 1 iron bar, 1 copper bar, 1 oak resin, and 30 pieces of wood to turn a vegetable or fruit into a beverage like beer or pale ale.
#3. Fishing
- Crab Pot: Unlocked on fishing level 3, requires 3 iron bars and 40 pieces of wood to catch fish in streams, lakes, and rivers by putting bait in.
- Recycling Machine: Unlocked on fishing level 4, requires 1 iron bar, 25 pieces of stone, and 25 pieces of wood to turn fishing trash like broken CDs, driftwood, and soggy newspapers into resources.
- Spinner: Available on level 6, requires 2 iron bars to catch more fish and spin in water.
- Barbed Hook: Unlocked on level 6, requires 1 iron bar, 1 copper bar, and 1 gold bar to help you catch more fish.
- Dressed Spinner: Unlocked on level 8, requires a piece of cloth and 2 iron bars, to help catch more fish through vibrant colors that attract them.
- Worm Bin: Also unlocked on level 8, requires 1 gold bar, 50 pieces of fiber, 1 gold bar and 25 pieces of hardwood to produce bait regularly without you having to buy them.
- Magnet: Unlocked on level 9, requires a single iron bar, to increase your chances of finding treasure at the risk of losing fish, however.
#4. Combat
- Warrior Ring: Unlocked on combat level 4, requires 10 iron bars, 10 frozen tears, and 25 coals to equip the wearer with warrior energy.
- Ring of Yoba: Unlocked on level 7, requires 5 iron bars, 5 gold bars, and a piece of diamond to shield you from damage (only sometimes).
- Explosive ammo: Available on level 8, requires 1 iron bar, and 2 pieces of coal to fire with a slingshot.
#5. Foraging
- Lightning Rod: Unlocked on level 6, requires 1 iron bar, 1 refined quartz, and 1 bat wing (can be found after killing bats in the mines) to collect energy from storms and turn them into portable batteries.
- Warp Totem: Mountains/Beach: Unlocked on level 7, requires 1 iron bar, 1 hardwood, and 25 pieces of stone to take you directly to the mountains or beach on consumption.
#6. The Carpenter’s Shop
- Iron Lamp-Post: You know how dark it gets after sundown, so you can get an iron lamp post to give light when you give 1 iron bar, 1 battery pack, and 1000g to Robin.
- Stable: Requires 5 iron bars, 100 pieces of hardwood, and 10,000g to keep and ride a horse.
Tool Upgrades, Craft Bundles, & More Require Iron Ore
To upgrade your copper hoe, pickaxe, axe, watering can, and trash can to their steel counterparts, you’ll need iron ore. Each upgrade requires 5 iron bars and gold between 2500 and 5000g to be paid to Clint’s Blacksmith Shop.
Moreover, you can gift iron bars to Clint and Maru. A craft bundle called the Blacksmith’s Bundle at the Community Center is going to require 1 iron bar, 1 copper bar, and 1 gold bar. You can also use an iron bar for tailoring a steel breastplate. It is quite useful for fighting monsters or advancing in your combat levels of the game.
Iron bars can also be requested as a part of quests occasionally. You can check the noticeboard outside Pierre’s General shop. So, we suggest you always have 5 iron cores lying around in your chests or backpack.
If you want to try multiplayer, Stardew does have the Four Corners Farm for you. Or, you can always check our list of the best multiplayer PC games!
