Minecraft finally makes copper worth mining — it only took four years and a whole “Copper Age”

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As a dedicated Minecraft enthusiast, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm for the upcoming update! Although Mojang Studios typically shares their plans with the community while developing new features and enhancements, this doesn’t diminish the excitement one bit.

In about two months, an eagerly anticipated unveiling approaches for what we’ve been calling “name“. This marks the upcoming “Copper Age”, the latest Minecraft update (and the third this year), which is set to introduce a wealth of exciting new content into the classic survival game.

Upon the initial announcement of the third Minecraft Game Drop in 2025, it was evident what the central theme would be. Subsequent releases of snapshots and previews, designed to test new features, further solidified this theme, leaving no room for uncertainty at all.

In simpler terms, the Copper Age update revolves around copper, a mineral that Mojang incorporated into the game quite some time ago without much recognition due to its limited usability within the game at the time.

As a researcher, I am thrilled to announce that the shift is underway, and the dropping of the name suggests that Minecraft’s upcoming update is just around the corner. Although we don’t have an exact release date yet, rest assured that Mojang is gearing up to end the summer with a coppery explosion of excitement.

What can we expect from The Copper Age update?

Mojang is adopting a strategy for Minecraft where updates will be more regular, yet they might not be as extensive as before. The Copper Age update is an example that fits this pattern. Let me break down the key features that have been announced so far.

  • Copper Golem & chests. The headlining feature for this update is the Copper Golem, a friendly mob that sadly lost a past Minecraft Live Mob Vote. Thankfully, Mojang is reviving our metallic friend.
    • A single block of copper and a carved pumpkin is all you need to make a Copper Golem, which will seek out nearby copper chests (also new) and take items out of them.
    • Copper Golems will then seek out nearby regular chests with the same items, and deposit what they’re holding (in the case no matching chest can be found, they’ll seek out an empty chest).
    • Yes, that means automatic chest sorting, and it’s with cute friends!
    • Like other copper items, Copper Golems will oxidize over time and change in color. You can still halt or reverse that process with wax or an axe.
  • Copper armor, weapons, & tools. A first in a while, Mojang also added a brand-new set of armor, weapons, and tools. As you probably already guessed, it’s all copper.
    • Copper armor, weapons, and tools sit somewhere in between stone and iron in terms of durability and effectiveness.
    • There’s also new copper horse armor, which has a chance of appearing in the same loot chests as other horse armor.
    • It likely won’t be used for long, but copper should help bridge the gap between stone and iron gear.
  • Decorative copper blocks. You could already make a ton of building blocks out of copper, but the ore just got a whole lot more interesting.
    • Mojang is also adding copper torches and lanterns, which also oxidize over time. Oh, and you can change the color of the copper torches. Yeah, you heard what I said.
    • There’s also the new copper bars and chains, giving a nice alternative to the iron variants (with, once again, varying hues due to oxidization). Bees just became a lot more important with this update, too.
    • Oh, Copper Golems will turn into decorative statues if they become completely oxidized, too!
    • You can change their oxidization level like other copper blocks, and hitting a completely clean Copper Golem will revive it.
  • Shelves & more. One of the most interesting features of the new update, for me at least, are shelves.
    • Shelves can display up to three item stacks at a time, and interacting with those items will swap whatever you’re holding with that stack.
    • You can connect up to three shelves in a row to display nine items in a line.
    • Power those shelves with redstone, and interacting with the shelves will immediately swap your hotbar with those item blocks.
    • Yes, Minecraft effectively has loadouts now, letting you create hot-swappable loadouts for mining, exploring, farming, or anything else you want to do.
    • As a random side note, Mojang also gave each dye color a unique look. Cool.

It appears that Mojang has successfully made copper an attractive addition to the game with all the new features added. It’s taken nearly four years, but every delay seems worth it! In all seriousness, The Copper Age update looks fantastic and is undeniably the most thrilling of this year (at least, for now; there may still be a holiday update to come).

As an observer, I find a diverse collection of content catering to various players, yet I can’t help but wonder when we might encounter a genuinely fresh, challenging hostile mob for those craving adventure. It’s intriguing to ponder how long it has been since Mojang introduced a boss-style mob into the game.

I find myself quite content with our current progress, even if it’s reminiscent of the shift from Stone Age to Copper Age for humans, which took millennia. Interestingly, Minecraft managed to accomplish this transition in less than two decades. Could we be on the verge of mastering space travel next?

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2025-08-29 01:10