Below is an overview video and detailed walkthrough on how to easily make gold with Mining. I'll be comparing the three of the top Northrend Mining zones, Sholazar Basin, Icecrown, and Storm Peaks. Mining can be very competitive so don't be surprised if you see a lot of other players Mining at the same time. It's best to farm during off peak times when noone is usually on. Even with some mass competition, players should find Mining a great gold maker. With the introduction of new recipes for all professions, Mining is still hold ing strong in profit as of patch 3.3.3!

• Check out my Mining Leveling 1-450 Guide for a great way to level Mining.
• WoW Mining Gold Guide Part 1: Best Mining Routes Overview - Finding the best Mining routes and zones to farm [Saronite Ore] and [Titanium Ore].
  Requirements: Mining skill level 450 or 445 if your gloves are enchanted with [Advanced Mining]
  Suggestions: PvP gear, epic flyer, potions, and food/water.

WoW Mining Gold Guide P1: Sholazar Basin - Saronite Ore & Titanium Ore Farming Route.

• Sholazar Basin is the haven for all gathering professions with easy to navigate terrain and low mob encounters. You will have to be prepared for some PvP unless on a PvE server. I suggest wearing your PvP gear and bringing some potions along.

  While I was farming and making the above video, an Alliance prot warrior had taught me a stun belt and stun grenades can be very helpful. He stunned me and then mined the node, so even if I killed him (he actually killed me), he would have gotten what he needed.

• You may also notice mining nodes disappearing without anyone around. This is because hackers are mining underneath the zone and appear to be invisible. To report them, open your combat log and it will display their name when they mine invisibly in front of you. Most of the time they are doing this on lower level characters so you can also check by typing "/who Sholazar Basin" and looking for a level 70 or any level that doesn't seem to fit the zone.
• I mined Sholazar Basin following the route pictured below for 30 minutes. The route was stress free and was extremely smooth. Spawn times were great and I ended up with 360g worth of materials.
• Items mined in 30minutes from Sholazar Basin mining route:

  [Saronite Ore] x 77
  [Titanium Ore] x 11
  [Scarlet Ruby] x 1
  [Eternal Earth] x 2
  [Eternal Water] x 1
  [Eternal Shadow] x 2
  [Crystallized Air] x 6
  [Crystallized Earth] x 2
  [Crystallized Fire] x 4
  [Crystallized Water] x 2
  [Shadow Crystal] x 2
  [Sun Crystal] x 2

  Total approximate value - 360g

WoW Mining Gold Guide P1: Icecrown - Saronite Ore & Titanium Ore Farming Route.

• Icecrown was a decent place to farm ore and if you have trouble with Sholazar Basin, or just want a change of scenery, Icecrown is a great alternative. There didn't seem to be a lot of other players farming but there were some. Just as Sholazar Basin I suggest wearing PvP gear, bringing potions, and any sort of stun devices you may have.
• The downsides to Icecrown were the many different elevations which made making an optimal mining route more difficult. Spawn locations also proved to be a problem with nodes spawning in the middle of mobs.
• Items mined in 30minutes from Icecrown mining route:

  [Saronite Ore] x 64
  [Titanium Ore] x 8
  [Autumn's Glow] x 1
  [Eternal Shadow] x 1
  [Crystallized Air] x 3
  [Crystallized Earth] x 6
  [Crystallized Shadow] x 4
  [Crystallized Water] x 8
  [Shadow Crystal] x 2
  [Huge Citrine] x 1
  [Chalcedony] x 1

  Total approximate value - 255g

WoW Mining Gold Guide P1: Storm Peaks - Saronite Ore & Titanium Ore Farming Route.

• Storm Peaks was the worst of the three and I really don't think farming there is a good idea unless you are already there waiting for an Ulduar raid, Heroic to start, or you want to farm for the [Reins of the Time-Lost Proto Drake].
  

• The different elevations and lack of nodes made it difficult to have a solid route. I found the caves to be the most decent places for mining nodes but the time it took to get to the back of the cave was a bit consuming.
• Items mined in 30minutes from Storm Peaks mining route:

  [Saronite Ore] x 55
  [Titanium Ore] x 8
  [Forest Emerald] x 1
  [Eternal Earth] x 1
  [Eternal Shadow] x 2
  [Crystallized Shadow] x 3
  [Crystallized Earth] x 9
  [Crystallized Fire] x 5
  [Sun Crystal] x 1

  Total approximate value - 230g



Good luck and I hope you enjoyed this guide. If you have any suggestions, comments, or feedback, please make a post on our forums.