How to Find Lapis Lazuli in Minecraft

Last Updated: May 11, 2022 References

Lapis lazuli is an important ore in Minecraft. While you can't use it to make tools or armor like you can with other ores, lapis lazuli can be used to enchant items with powerful enchantments that can help the player. Additionally, it can be used as a dye to color a variety of blocks and items. Lapis lazuli can be difficult to find, however, as it only generates deep underground or in chests hidden away in structures that can be hard to find. This wikiHow will teach you how to find and use lapis lazuli.

Method 1

Method 1 of 5:

Mining Lapis Lazuli Ore

1
Make a stone pickaxe or better. You can mine lapis lazuli using a stone, iron, diamond, or netherite pickaxe. A pickaxe can be made using 2 sticks and 3 of the material you want your pickaxe to be made of. Open a crafting table and place the 2 sticks in the middle column, starting from the bottom. Then, fill the top row with the material of your choice, like stone or iron ingots.
2
Dig down. Hold your pickaxe, face the block you want to mine, and hold right click until it breaks. Make sure you mine down at an angle, making a staircase like formation as you go, as this will prevent you from falling into caves or lava.
- If you're playing on Pocket Edition, tap and hold on the block you want to break.
- If you're playing on a console or with a controller, press and hold right trigger until the block breaks.
- You can also explore caves in order to find lapis lazuli. However, you'd need to find a cave that goes down deep enough for it to generate.
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3
Check your Y-coordinate. Lapis lazuli ore is found from Y-levels 0-30 pre-1.18. In 1.18 and above, Lapis Lazuli ore is found at Y-levels -32-32 and -64-64.^{[1]
X
Research source}. You can make sure you're on the right level by pressing F3 on Java Edition, or by checking a map. Your Y-coordinate will be the second number present.
4
Mine in branches to find lapis lazuli. Dig a main straight, horizontal tunnel and mine 1 block wide, 2 tall tunnels branching off from the main tunnel. Space the ones branching off 2-3 blocks apart in order to find the most lapis.
5
Mine the lapis lazuli ore. You'll be able to tell that a block is lapis lazuli ore if it looks like stone or deepslate with bits of dark blue in it. When you find some ore, face it, hold your pickaxe, and hold right click until it breaks. Each ore block will drop 4-9 lapis when it breaks^{[2]
X
Research source}.
- If you're playing on Pocket Edition, tap and hold on the block you want to break.
- If you're playing on a console or with a controller, press and hold right trigger until the block breaks.

Method 2

Method 2 of 5:

Finding Lapis Lazuli in Mineshafts

1
Explore caves, ravines, or badlands biomes. Abandoned mineshafts can generate underground in any biome in the Overworld, although they can be more easily found by exploring caves and ravines. Abandoned mineshafts can also be found above ground in badlands biomes^{[3]
X
Research source}.
2
Look for rails, wood planks and fences, or torches you didn't place. All these things indicate that a mineshaft is there. You can also listen for an abundance of spider sounds, as mineshafts contain cave spider spawners, and these are the only place where they will generate.
3
Look around the mineshaft for minecart chests. All the chests found in mineshafts have a chance to contain 4-9 lapis lazuli^{[4]
X
Research source}, but not all of them will.
4
Loot the chests. Face the minecart chest and right click to open it. Put any lapis lazuli or other loot you want in your inventory. If the chest doesn't contain lapis lazuli, try to look for another one.
- If you're playing on Pocket Edition, tap the chest to open it.
- If you're playing on a console or with a controller, press right trigger to open it.

Method 3

Method 3 of 5:

Finding Lapis Lazuli in Villages

1
Find a village. Villages generate in the Overworld in deserts, plains, taigas, savannas, and snowy tundras in Java Edition. In Bedrock Edition, they can generate in those biomes as well as sunflower plains, taiga hills, snowy taigas, and snowy taiga hills^{[5]
X
Research source}. Any of these village types can contain lapis lazuli. Keep exploring your world, particularly these biomes, until you find a village.
- If you have cheats enabled on your world, you can use commands to find a village. Open chat and type /locate village and enter it. This will give you the coordinates to the nearest village, which you can then travel to.
2
Look for chests in the village. Enter every building present in the village and look for chests.
3
Open chests. Face the chest and right click it to open it. Take any lapis or other loot you want from the chest. Not every village chest may contain lapis lazuli, so keep looking if you don't find any.

Method 4

Method 4 of 5:

Finding Lapis Lazuli in Shipwrecks

1
Find a shipwreck. Shipwrecks can generate underwater in any ocean biome, and may sometimes generate beached and above water^{[6]
X
Research source}. Swim or sail around oceans until you spot a wooden structure underwater or on a beach.
- If you feed a dolphin raw cod or salmon, they will lead you to the nearest underwater structure, which may be a shipwreck.
- If cheats are enabled on your world, you can use commands to find a shipwreck. Open chat and type /locate shipwreck and enter it. This will give you the coordinates to the nearest shipwreck, which you can then travel to.
2
Look for chests in the shipwreck. Each shipwreck can have up to 3 chests, depending on the level of damage. You want to find the treasure chest, which can contain lapis lazuli. The treasure chest is located towards the back part of the ship, and the other chests are in the lower part of the ship.
- If the ship is underwater you may have to make multiple trips. You can also place a door down to create a pocket of air which you can use to regain breath underwater, or bring water breathing potions with you.
3
Open the chests. Face the chests and right click them, then put any lapis lazuli and other loot you want in your inventory.

Method 5

Method 5 of 5:

Using Lapis Lazuli

1
Make lapis lazuli blocks. Open a crafting table and fill all 9 slots with a piece of lapis to make a lapis lazuli block. You can then use this to build and decorate with.
2
Make blue dye. Open a crafting table or your survival inventory and place some lapis anywhere in it. This will make blue dye, which you can then use to dye things. If you play on Bedrock Edition, you don't need to turn lapis into blue dye, you can just use it on its own. You can use blue dye to:
- Change the wool color of sheep. Hold the dye or lapis in your hand, face a sheep, and use the dye on the sheep to change its color.
- Change the collar color of tamed dogs. Hold the dye or lapis in your hand, face the dog, and use the dye on the dog to change its collar color.
- Change the color of leather armor. Open a crafting table and place the dye and the leather armor in it to dye the armor.
- Change the color of wool blocks, beds, candles, and shulker boxes. Open a crafting table and place the block you want to dye as well as the dye inside to dye it.
- Make different colored patterns on banners. Open a loom and place a banner as well as the dye inside. Choose the pattern you want and drag the dyed banner into your inventory.
- Dye terracotta and glass. Open a crafting table and place the dye in the middle slot, then surround it with 8 pieces of glass or terracotta to dye them.
- Make concrete powder. Open a crafting table and place the dye in the middle slot. Then, place 4 sand in each of the 4 corners, and fill the remaining slots with 4 blocks of gravel.
- Create colored fireworks. Open a crafting table or your survival inventory and place the dye, a piece of gunpowder, and a fire charge anywhere in the crafting space to make a colored firework star.
- Dye water inside cauldrons (Bedrock Edition only). Hold the dye in your hand, face the cauldron, and use it to dye the water inside.
- Dye candles. Open a crafting table and place the candle and dye in the slots to make a dyed candle.
3
Enchant items with lapis lazuli. Lapis is one of the things needed to enchant items. Open an enchanting table and place up to 3 pieces of lapis lazuli in the slot on the right. Then, place a weapon, book, tool, or piece of armor in the slot on the left. Pick the enchantment you want and drag the enchanted item into your inventory.

Community Q&A

Question

What is Lapis Lazuli used for?

Bun bun

Top Answerer

It can be used as a dye or used for enchantments.
Question

Is there lapiz near redstone or diamonds?

Community Answer

Not specifically, it is found on similar levels. I personally suggest draining lava from a cave, as lava pits reveal more space, and if it can be drained your sure to be more likely to find something.
Question

Is there a dark lapis lazuli or is that obsidian?

Community Answer

Yes, that is obsidian. Obsidian is made by mixing water with lava source blocks.