Yes, there will soon be a new resource in Minecraft: Copper. You can smelt it and craft things with it. But what is the new copper good for, which will be added with Patch 1.17 and the “Caves and Cliffs” update?
When is copper coming? The Minecraft team has announced the huge “Caves and Cliffs” update for summer 2021. It will then be released with Patch 1.17 in Minecraft. It includes new mobs like the Axolotl, the Warden, or goats. The main focus is a major overhaul of the game’s cave systems.
There should be much more to explore underground. The generation of caves will be designed to be more varied. Among other things, this update also includes the new copper metal that you can mine.
What is special about copper? This is not just any new metal that will be added with the “Caves & Cliffs” update. Copper can age. And it does so in a way that you would know from real life.
Gradually, your copper-colored structures will turn green.
What can you do with copper in Minecraft?
How do you mine copper? As you already know from other metals, you can mine copper with pickaxes. It also appears in veins – that’s a new feature in Minecraft. When mining, you may encounter a block that looks unusual, but is basically just stone. However, if you follow these “unusual” stone blocks, it will lead you to more copper ores. You can then smelt it in your furnaces and turn it into copper ingots.
What can you build with copper? We will still have to learn the full extent of using copper. However, there are already a few things that Mojang introduced.
We know that you can create stairs and slabs from copper. You can also see them in the screenshot as a roof on the house.
Additionally, you can build the new lightning rods from copper. However, how exactly they work and whether they provide you with energy is still unclear. But this will probably be a toy that many people will try out during thunderstorms.
This is especially helpful if you are building roofs from wool or wood and want to protect them from spontaneous fires.
Copper is also needed to build the new telescopes in Minecraft. However, the exact blueprint for the parts is not known. It is also known that you will need the new crystals introduced in the update.
With the summer update, the Axolotl also returns to Minecraft – and they will help you in combat.
