Em's Metal Detectors
by Emmaallyy
Em's Metal Detectors adds three handheld detectors that find nearby ores, built from redstone, copper, amethyst and iron, diamond or netherite materials.
What it does
Each detector scans a fixed area around the player and reveals matching ore blocks: the basic metal detector checks for iron ore, redstone ore and diamond ore inside an 11 by 11 by 11 cube, while the diamond detector and ancient debris detector search a 21 by 11 by 21 prism for their own blocks. The author describes the aim as making mining less tedious, especially when hunting for a specific ore in a large area.
The detectors are crafted at a workbench. Each recipe places a single identifying ingredient in the top middle slot, so an iron ingot yields the metal detector, diamond the diamond detector, and netherite scrap the ancient debris detector. Installation covers the server and each player's game. Fabric API is required. Files are published for Fabric only, for game versions 1.21 – 1.21.7, and the latest build, 1.0, targets 1.21.1. The source code is available on GitHub, and the author welcomes porting with credit.
Key features
Basic metal detector
Within an 11 by 11 by 11 area centered on the player, the detector shows iron ore, redstone ore and diamond ore.
Diamond detector
Searches a 21 by 11 by 21 prism for diamond ore, covering a wider area than the basic detector.
Ancient debris detector
Locates ancient debris in a 21 by 11 by 21 prism, made with netherite scrap, for Nether mining trips.
Resonating core recipe
Every detector uses a resonating core crafted from amethyst, redstone dust and diamond, so the recipes share one component.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Who it’s for: Players on Fabric who want simple tools for locating ores in survival worlds. Server owners who run the mod need to install it on the server and on every client.
How it compares
Simple Ore Detector is available for Fabric and NeoForge, covers 1.21.1 – 1.21.8 and is not open source under the MIT License. Shield Detector is a Fabric mod for 1.21.11 that is client-side only and open source under the MIT License. Autototem detector is a client-side only Fabric mod for 1.21.11 under the MIT License, and it is not open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Em's Metal Detectors | Fabric | 1.21 – 1.21.7 | Client and server | 2025-08-08 |
| Simple Ore Detector | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 1.21.8 | Client and server | 2025-08-09 |
| Shield Detector | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Client-side only | 2026-08-04 |
| Autototem detector | Fabric | 1.21.11 | Client-side only | 2026-02-03 |
Questions
Does Em's Metal Detectors need Fabric API?
Does the server need the mod?
Which game versions does the mod support?
In the catalog
Em's Metal Detectors is one of 17,631 Equipment mods on ModsFinder, and one of 8,894 Equipment mods for Fabric. 13,697 mods support Minecraft 1.21.7.
Similar mods
What the author says
A Fabric 1.21.7 Mod Made for an SMP I am on! There are 3 metal detectors in the mod! The metal detector detects iron ore, redstone ore, and diamond ore, within an 11x11x11 cube. The ancient debris and diamond detector detect their respective blocks within a 21x11x21 prism.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/ems-metal-detectors
- Owner
- Emmaallyy
- Published
- 2025-08-06
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-08-08
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15