Large Ore Veins
Large Ore Veins replaces Minecraft's default ore generation with large, customisable ore veins that players must search for across the world.
What it does
Instead of scattered single ores, the world gets massive veins whose size, shape and contents can be adjusted through datapacks. Because veins are generated as new chunks load, players who travel into unexplored terrain find them, while existing worlds keep their old ore until new areas are reached. Certain ores appear more often in specific biomes, which gives explorers a reason to choose where they dig.
Mining becomes slower and more exploratory: veins are much harder to locate, so the strategy shifts toward searching caves and hoping to stumble across a vein with the right tools. Other mods that reveal ore positions can be used alongside it to find them faster. The mod is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 only and is published for NeoForge 1.21.1 only.
The server must run the mod for veins to generate, while players may add it as well. Installing it on the server alone is enough for vein generation, but the client-side integration with JEI does not occur when the mod runs only on the server. Cave biomes are unlikely to honour biome weights because of how biomes are sampled, and a solution is planned for the future.
Key features
Replaced ore generation
Default ore generation is swapped out for large veins with customisable size, shape and contents.
Datapack configuration
Vein definitions are datapack files placed in data/largeoreveins/ore_veins under a custom namespace, and existing veins can be modified by matching their id.
KubeJS support
Modpacks can adjust vein configurations through KubeJS by placing files in the kubejs/data folder.
Biome-specific ores
Some ores are more common in certain biomes, shaping where players search.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Who it’s for: Server owners and modpack makers who want ore to be harder to locate, and players who enjoy exploring new chunks to find it.
How it compares
Exposed Ore Veins is a NeoForge 1.21.1 mod that is server-side only, with all rights reserved and no open source code. Smallerveins is open source under the MIT License, covers 1.21.1 – 1.21.11 and is server required with client optional. Diagenesis is open source under the GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 or later and reaches 1.21.11 on Fabric and NeoForge.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Ore Veins | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Server required, client optional | 2026-05-31 |
| Exposed Ore Veins | NeoForge | 1.21.1 | Server-side only | 2026-07-05 |
| Smallerveins | NeoForge | 1.21.1 – 1.21.11 | Server required, client optional | 2026-02-23 |
| Diagenesis | Fabric and NeoForge | 1.21.11 | Server-side only | 2026-03-09 |
Questions
Does the server need Large Ore Veins installed?
Can the ores in veins be changed?
Does Large Ore Veins work with JEI?
In the catalog
Large Ore Veins is one of 8,515 World generation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 4,175 World generation mods for NeoForge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
This mod replaces Minecraft's default ore generation with massive, highly customisable ore veins. This encourages the player to explore the world and also makes mining a bit more difficult. You can put the mod in an existing world, just travel to new chunks for the new veins to generate. The mod also works when…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/large-ore-veins
- Owner
- absolutenarwhal
- Published
- 2026-04-28
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-05-31
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15