Ore Detector Reborn

Simple handheld ore detectors for the early and mid game. Craft one, right-click a surface, and it scans the blocks behind that surface for a specific ore. A short beep and an action bar message tell you whether the ore is there and exactly how much. A lightweight, no-cheats way to decide where to start digging, with no x-ray and no waypoints.

Detectors

Eleven always-available detectors, each tuned to one ore:

Coal, Copper, Iron, Redstone, Lapis Lazuli, Gold
Diamond, Emerald
Quartz (Nether Quartz)
Amethyst (finds geodes)
Netherite (Ancient Debris)

There is also a bonus Zinc Detector that appears automatically if you have Create installed - see the table below for which build that applies to.

How it works

Right-click a surface to scan the blocks behind it.
Point at the ground to reach deep (16 blocks), or at a wall or ceiling for a shorter range (8 blocks), across a 3x3 column.
The result shows in the action bar, tinted to the ore's color, with the exact count. For example: Detected 4 Iron Ore nearby.
Detectors wear down as you use them (1 per scan, plus 1 per ore found). Rarer ores wear the detector faster, so it stays balanced. Repair them in an anvil with their material, or use Mending.
Each detector has its own cooldown - using one does not put the rest of your detectors on cooldown.
The beep is a real noise: sculk sensors will react to it. Set the volume to 0 in the config for a silent, sculk-safe detector.

Supported versions

Minecraft	Fabric	NeoForge	Forge
26.2	Yes	Yes	—
26.1 - 26.1.2	Yes	Yes	—
1.21.11	Yes	Yes	Yes
1.21 - 1.21.1	Yes	Yes	Yes
1.20 - 1.20.1	Yes	Yes	Yes

The 26.1, 1.21 and 1.20 files each cover their whole line in a single download.

Optional mods

Both integrations are automatic - install the other mod and it just works. There is nothing to configure, and nothing breaks if you don't have them.

Universal Ores by Hugman makes the detectors find its ore variants too. Andesite, diorite, granite, tuff, calcite, blackstone and basalt ores are counted right alongside the vanilla ones, for the Coal, Iron, Gold, Copper, Lapis Lazuli, Redstone, Emerald, Diamond and Quartz detectors.

Create, Create Fly, and Create Fabric unlock the Zinc Detector, which finds zinc ore in both stone and deepslate.

Which of these you can actually use depends on your Minecraft version, because those mods do not ship for every version and loader:

Minecraft	Create (Fabric/Fly)	Universal Ores
26.2	Fabric	—
26.1 - 26.1.2	Fabric	Fabric
1.21.11	Fabric	Fabric
1.21.1	NeoForge	Fabric
1.21	—	—
1.20.1	Forge/NeoForge/Fabric	Fabric
1.20	—	Fabric

Which loader Create lives on changes between versions - it is Fabric-only on 26.x and 1.21.11 (via Create Fly), NeoForge-only on 1.21.1 (via Create), and available on both at 1.20.1 (Create for Forge/NeoForge, Create Fabric for Fabric). Support for both optional mods is already built into every version of Ore Detector Reborn, so anything marked "—" will simply start working if those mods add one - no update needed here.

Crafting

Iron Detector Recipe

Each detector is made from its matching material, a redstone comparator, and a few sticks.

In-game config

A config screen lets you tune scan reach, column size, cooldown, a durability multiplier, and beep volume.

On Fabric the button comes from Mod Menu; on NeoForge and Forge it is in the mods list. Every build uses Cloth Config except Forge on 1.21.11, which has its own built-in screen with the same options and nothing extra to install (Cloth Config has no Forge build at that version).

Dependencies

Mod	Fabric	NeoForge	Forge	Notes
Fabric API	Required	—	—
Cloth Config	Required	Required	Required, except on 1.21.11	Powers the config screen
Mod Menu	Optional	—	—	Adds the Fabric config button
Create	Optional	Optional on 1.21.1 and 1.20.1	—	Unlocks the Zinc Detector
Universal Ores	Optional	—	—	Its ore variants get detected too

Known quirk

Right-clicking redstone ore makes it light up, and in Minecraft that block reaction takes priority over the item in your hand - so the Redstone Detector will not fire when you aim it straight at exposed redstone ore. Aim at a block next to it instead, or sneak while right-clicking. Every other detector is unaffected. A fix is planned for a future update.

Credits

Unofficial community port and expansion of Ore Detector by restonic4. Not made by or affiliated with the original author. Licensed under MIT.