Overview
Block of Coal is a building block in Minecraft Java Edition 1.21.4. Block of Coal is made at a crafting table. Expect to wait: its hardness of 5 is well above average.
Mine it with a wooden pickaxe or better, or you get no drop at all. Broken correctly, it drops itself. Sixty-four fit in one inventory slot.
The recipe calls for Coal. It is not used in any crafting recipe.
How long it takes to break
Block of Coal has a hardness of 5. By hand that is 25 seconds per block; with the correct tool at netherite tier it is 0.85 seconds.
An iron tool takes 1.3 seconds and a diamond one 0.95, so the jump that actually matters for this block is the one to diamond.
It will break below wooden, and you will get nothing for it. That combination of time spent and drop lost is the classic mining mistake.
The Efficiency formula is level² + 1 added to tool speed — at V that is about 3.4 times the unenchanted rate.
| Tool | No enchantment | Efficiency III | Efficiency V |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand * | 25 s | 25 s | 25 s |
| Wooden | 3.8 s | 0.65 s | 0.3 s |
| Stone | 1.9 s | 0.55 s | 0.25 s |
| Iron | 1.3 s | 0.5 s | 0.25 s |
| Diamond | 0.95 s | 0.45 s | 0.25 s |
| Netherite | 0.85 s | 0.4 s | 0.25 s |
| Golden | 0.65 s | 0.35 s | 0.2 s |
Properties
Block of Coal has a blast resistance of 6, so a nearby explosion will usually destroy it. It blocks light completely and emits no light of its own. 64 fit in a slot — a full stack. Fire spreads to it readily (encouragement 15, burn 100), so keep it away from lava and away from anything you would rather not lose. A pickaxe is fastest here; any other class mines it at bare-hand speed, because the bonus only applies to the class the block is tagged for. As furnace fuel it burns for 800 seconds — 80 smelting operations.
- Transparent
- No
- Required tool
- Wooden Pickaxe
- Flammable
- Yes (15/100)
- Fuel value
- 800 s
Crafting recipe
Crafting Table
Block of Coal
Drops
Mined with Wooden Pickaxe, Block of Coal drops itself.
Used to craft
Block of Coal is an ingredient in 1 recipes, producing Coal.
Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
How do you get Block of Coal in Minecraft?
Block of Coal is crafted from Coal.
What tool do you need to break Block of Coal?
Wooden Pickaxe or better is required; anything weaker destroys the block without dropping it.
Is Block of Coal blast resistant?
Block of Coal has a blast resistance of 6, so an explosion nearby will destroy it.
How many Block of Coal fit in one stack?
A stack is 64, and a double chest of them comes to 3,456.
How long does Block of Coal take to break?
The correct netherite tool clears it in 0.85 seconds. Bare hands take 25.
