Minerals Compass
by rubenmz2000
Minerals Compass adds a handheld compass for Forge 1.20.1 that points to the nearest vanilla ores, so a player searching for resources can see how far each one is.
What it does
The compass detects vanilla ores such as iron, copper, gold and coal, and shows the distance to the nearest deposit of the selected type. Its tracking covers ground that is above or below the surface, so it can be used while mining as well as while exploring.
Ore selection is made through a graphical screen, letting a player choose which ores the compass tracks. The tool is aimed at survival gameplay, where finding resources is part of progression. Only Forge 1.20.1 is supported, and it is published as a single version.
The mod runs on the client and works with vanilla Forge servers, so only the player's installation is needed for it to function. It is described by its author as lightweight, and the source code and issue tracker are publicly linked. The project is released under All rights reserved and is not open source.
Key features
Nearest ore distance
The compass shows how far away the closest vanilla ore of the chosen type is, updating as the player moves.
Tracks common ores
Iron, copper, gold, coal and other vanilla ores can be tracked by the compass.
Ore selection screen
A GUI lets the player pick which ore types the compass searches for.
Works above and below ground
Detection continues on the surface and inside caves or mines.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Use cases
Survival resource hunts
A player on a survival world can use the compass to locate a needed ore without searching chunks by hand.
Underground mining
Tracking below ground helps a miner decide which tunnel to dig toward.
Who it’s for: Players on Forge 1.20.1 who want a tool for locating vanilla ores in survival play. Server owners can run it on a vanilla Forge server, since the client side provides the tracking.
How it compares
Modern Compass is a Forge 1.20.1 mod that runs client-side only and is released under All rights reserved. Universal Compass is also a Forge 1.20.1 mod, is client and server, and is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 only. Zoni's Compass Waypoints is Forge 1.20.1, client and server, and uses the MIT License. Minerals Compass sits in the same niche of ore-locating compasses and differs from these in its specific ore-tracking focus.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minerals Compass | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2025-11-09 |
| Modern Compass | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client-side only | 2026-06-06 |
| Universal Compass | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-10-15 |
| Zoni's Compass Waypoints | Forge | 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2026-08-23 |
Questions
Does Minerals Compass need to be installed on the server?
Which Minecraft version does Minerals Compass support?
Can the compass find ores underground?
In the catalog
Minerals Compass is one of 36,990 Utility mods on ModsFinder, and one of 14,575 Utility mods for Forge. 34,764 mods support Minecraft 1.20.1.
Similar mods
What the author says
Materials Compass is a simple and lightweight Minecraft mod that adds a new tool designed to help players locate vanilla ores more easily.
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/minerals-compass
- Owner
- rubenmz2000
- Published
- 2025-11-09
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-11-09
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15