If you have been hunting for Arcane Debris and cannot find a single block, you are not doing anything wrong. In current versions of Iron’s Spells ‘n Spellbooks, Arcane Debris no longer generates in the world. It was replaced by Mithril Ore, which now fills exactly the same role.
Arcane Debris used to be the Overworld ore that fed the mod’s Mithril supply. In the 1.18 and 1.19 versions, and in 1.20.1 before update 3.15.0, you mined it deep underground and smelted it into Arcane Salvage. As of 1.21 and the 1.20.1 3.15.0 update, that job belongs to Mithril Ore instead.
The payoff has not changed. Mithril still powers the mod’s best rings, weapons, armor, and Upgrade Orbs. This page explains what happened to Arcane Debris and shows you how to gather Mithril the current way.
Arcane Debris
Why You Cannot Find Arcane Debris
Mithril arrived in version 3.4.0 for Minecraft 1.21, which added Mithril Ore, Deepslate Mithril Ore, Raw Mithril, Mithril Scrap, and the Mithril Ingot. The 1.20.1 3.15.0 update then backported the change. Its changelog states plainly that Mithril replaces Arcane Debris in the world and in recipes, with a legacy conversion kept for older worlds.
On any current version, Arcane Debris does not spawn anywhere and does not appear in the creative inventory. The block still exists in the game’s files, but only so that old worlds keep working. The one way to hold a block now is the /give command.
This is why a recipe viewer like JEI can be confusing. If you look up Mithril Scrap, JEI still shows the old chain of Arcane Debris turning into Arcane Salvage, because that recipe was left in for legacy saves. Searching for the block itself finds nothing, since it is no longer in the creative menu.
Arcane Debris
Mithril Ore
The table makes the swap clear. Both ores sit in the same place, need the same tool, and lead to the same Mithril. Only the name and the mining drop changed.
How to Get Mithril
Mithril Ore and Deepslate Mithril Ore generate in every Overworld biome, deep underground between Y -63 and Y -38. Like Ancient Debris, they never generate exposed to air, so open caves and lava lakes will not reveal them. Branch mining or blast mining through solid rock is the reliable way to find a vein.
You need a Netherite Pickaxe to mine Mithril Ore. A weaker pickaxe breaks the block but drops nothing, wasting the vein. The ore also gives off a faint glow, which helps you spot it the moment a tunnel exposes it. A plain or Fortune pickaxe drops Raw Mithril, while Silk Touch keeps the ore block whole.
Mine the Ore
Netherite Pickaxe required
Break Mithril Ore or Deepslate Mithril Ore with a Netherite Pickaxe to collect Raw Mithril. Fortune increases how much Raw Mithril each block drops, so a Fortune III pickaxe builds a stockpile the fastest.
Smelt into Mithril Scrap
Use a Blast Furnace
Smelt Raw Mithril in a Blast Furnace to turn it into Mithril Scrap. Each piece takes about 10 seconds and grants a generous 40 experience, so a full stack pays off nicely while you sort your haul.
Craft a Mithril Ingot
Four Scrap per Ingot
Combine four Mithril Scrap in a crafting grid to make one Mithril Ingot. You can also break an Ingot back down into four Scrap in a Blast Furnace when a recipe calls for Scrap instead.
Two shortcuts help early on. Citadel vault chests in the Lost Citadel can drop Mithril Scrap directly, and on an old world any leftover Arcane Salvage still smelts into Mithril Scrap through the legacy recipe.
What Mithril Is Used For
Mithril is a late-game material, so almost everything it makes sits near the top of the mod’s progression. Mithril Scrap goes straight into most rings and amulets, while Mithril Ingots feed weapons, armor, and two important crafting blocks.
Five Mithril Ingots and four Chains craft a Mithril Weave, the base for the mod’s strongest chestplates. The Weave is used to make the Infernal Sorcerer Chestplate, the Lightbringer Chestplate, and the Boots of Speed.
On the weapon side, Mithril forges the Boreal Blade, the Spellbreaker, and the Twilight Gale, partly through Weapon Parts that themselves require Mithril. Rings and accessories such as the Ring of Affinity, Ring of Expediency, Ring of Recovery, the Ward Rings, the Conjurer’s Talisman, and the Amulet of Concentration all use Mithril Scrap.
Two key blocks also need Mithril. The Empty Upgrade Orb and the Portal Frame each combine Mithril with an Arcane Ingot, powering the mod’s gear upgrade system and its teleport network.
Arcane Ingot and Arcane Essence are separate materials, not part of the Mithril chain. They pair with Mithril inside the Upgrade Orb and Portal Frame, but they come from their own recipes. If you have Arcane Ingots but no Arcane Debris, that is completely normal.
If you also run the Iron’s Jewelry addon, Mithril counts as a crafting material there too. It carries a quality rating of three and grants a five percent spell power bonus, which makes it a strong pick for custom rings and necklaces.
Legacy Arcane Debris (Old Worlds)
If you are still on 1.18, 1.19, or a 1.20.1 world from before update 3.15.0, Arcane Debris is real and works the old way. It generates in the Overworld below Y -38, hidden in solid stone, and needs a Netherite Pickaxe to mine, exactly like Mithril Ore does now.
Mining it with a plain or Fortune pickaxe drops Arcane Salvage, while Silk Touch keeps the block. You then smelt Arcane Salvage into Mithril Scrap and follow the same chain from there. The block has a hardness of 20 and a blast resistance of 1200, so blast mining with TNT or beds clears the surrounding stone while leaving the ore intact.
On current versions the block is command only. If you want one for a build or a display, a command block or creative mode can grant it.
Frequently Asked Questions
In current versions you cannot, because it no longer generates. Its role was taken over by Mithril Ore, which spawns in the Overworld below Y -38 and needs a Netherite Pickaxe. Mine that instead.
Mithril Ore and Deepslate Mithril Ore. Mithril was added in version 3.4.0 for 1.21 and backported to 1.20.1 in update 3.15.0, which removed Arcane Debris from world generation while keeping a legacy recipe for old saves.
The recipe that turns Arcane Salvage into Mithril Scrap was left in for old worlds, so JEI still displays it. The block itself no longer generates and is hidden from the creative menu, so it never appears in item searches.
Mine Mithril Ore in the Overworld with a Netherite Pickaxe to get Raw Mithril, smelt it into Mithril Scrap in a Blast Furnace, then craft four Scrap into one Mithril Ingot.
No. Arcane Ingot is a separate material that pairs with Mithril in the Upgrade Orb and Portal Frame. Having Arcane Ingots does not mean Arcane Debris is in your world.
No, they are separate ores. Arcane Debris was an Overworld ore, now replaced by Mithril Ore, while vanilla Ancient Debris spawns in the Nether and leads to Netherite.
