How to Get Nether Quartz in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

What you need

• Any pickaxe (Fortune III ideal)
• Nether portal access and fire resistance
• Gold ingots for piglin bartering (optional)
• Food and armor for the Nether

Step by step

1. Go to the Nether. Nether quartz ore generates in blobs from Y=10 to Y=117 in all Nether biomes, replacing netherrack 16 times per chunk.
2. Mine it with any pickaxe. By hand it drops nothing. Each ore drops 1 quartz, and Fortune I-III can raise it to a maximum of 4 (average 2.2 with Fortune III). It also drops 2-5 XP.
3. Avoid Silk Touch for quartz: it drops the ore block itself, so Fortune gives more quartz.
4. In Java Edition, basalt deltas try to generate quartz ore 32 times per chunk because they have fewer valid generation spots.
5. Barter with piglins: a gold ingot has a ~4.26% (20/469) chance to return 5-12 nether quartz.
6. Trade with an expert mason villager, who buys 12 nether quartz for 1 emerald, or loot bastion remnant treasure chests (8-23 quartz, ~33.7%).
7. Use it: it crafts redstone comparators, daylight sensors, observers, block of quartz, and granite and diorite, and it is a smithing ingredient.

Java vs Bedrock

The only generation difference listed is Java Edition basalt deltas, where quartz ore attempts 32 times per chunk instead of 16.

Versions: Observers use quartz since 1.11 (16w39a), mason villagers buy it since 19w11a, and piglins first offered it in 1.16 (20w07a, ~0.92%) before 20w09a raised it to ~4.42%. Today it is ~4.26%.

Frequently asked questions

Related:How to Get Glowstone in MinecraftHow to Find Ancient Debris in MinecraftHow to Find Gold in MinecraftNether WastesBasalt DeltasBastion RemnantPiglin