(Check the gallery for a video demonstration [v2.0.3])

Last release

V3.0.5

2026-04-15
-Upgrades of remaining v3.0.1 to v3.0.5
-Added Forge 1.21.1

2026-04-10
-Added Fabric, Forge and Neoforge 26.1.2

2026-04-02
-Added fabric, forge and neoforge 26.1 + 26.1.1
-Fixed and adjusted rotation of drill heads
-Fixed commands using item ID's on fabric 26.1
-Fixed all "missing texture" warnings (for particles) appearing in the log when lauching minecraft (maybe one or two survived concerning "air blocks" but it's minor)
-Added solidification of sand and gravel into sandstone and stone + a cleaning on the drill layer to definitively block all fluids infiltration into the drilled tunnel
-Drills now emit light (like a vanilla light block)

V3.0.1

-New double-block textures introducing a rotating drill head as drilling progresses.

What this mod does

Adds drilling machines
Automatically mines large straight tunnels
Controlled mining in all directions

How to use?

Place a drill
Fill the tank with right click + redstone in hand
ON/OFF with right click without nothing in hand
Repair with right click + diamants in hand
Retrieve your drill with Shift + right click without nothing in hand (or "mine" it)
Limited of 1 drill active per player configurable with command (1-64)
A drill placed with fuel in the tank is active and follow UUID of the last player who filled the tank

Drills

Drill prototype: mines 3x3 with normal drops (t1)
Advanced excavator: mines 5x5 and only whitelisted blocks drop (t2)
Mountain piercer: mines 7x7 with the same whitelist logic and higher durability (t3)
Can be upgrade with somes Enchanted Books (Unbreaking, Fortune, Silk touch, Mending)
All the drills get now fire immunity

Drill behavior

Moves forward in the direction it is facing
One step equals one block forward and one full layer mined
One step every 2 seconds
Various visual and sound effects

Fuel and durability

Powered by redstones, use them directly on the block to fill the tank
Fuel is consumed with each step directly from an integrated tank
A fuel gauje has been added and visible on the textures
Durability is consumed every step
Repairable with diamants, use them directly on the block (33%, 20% and 12.5% respectively, depending on drill efficiency)

Block and terrain handling

Unbreakable blocks stop the drill
Whitelisted blocks drop normally
Other blocks will be deleted
Fluids are solidified before mining
Drill stop and drop when open air is detected ahead (3 "air" blocks in a raw)

Configuration

Recipes can be modified in a .jar data/mountainpiercer/recipes
You need to use correct item IDs if you do any change! (ex: minecraft:diamond)
The .jar can be opened by any decompression software (7zip, WinRAR, etc.)

Command prompt (use /reload to validate any change):

/drill recipes on|off

/drill recipes status

/drill keep add|remove ………………………………….… (whitelist, add|remove parent blocks; ex: to keep emerald, add emerald_ore_block; also you can edit the config file manually)

/drill unbreakable add|remove ……………………….. (same logic)

/drill config status

/drill config set max_active <1-64> ………………… (1 by default)

/drill config set fuel_per_redstone <1-1024> … (5)

/drill config set fuel_capacity t1 ……………………. (15)

/drill config set fuel_capacity t2 ……………………. (30)

/drill config set fuel_capacity t3 ……………………. (45)

⚠️Some functions may vary slightly depending on the version.

⚠️Although the drills are designed to withstand micro-lags, reactions in the event of prolonged lags are unknows.

⚠️If you notice any bugs, please let me know in the comments section.

The Mountain Piercer