I have an urge to practice some smithing, but ore seems to be in short supply. How do I locate a mine? Will people be able to tell me where one is if I talk to the right ones? Are there certain terrain features that I should look for? Or is it just a matter of wandering the world map long enough to randomly locate one?
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – How to Find an Ore Mine
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Best Answer
Like Cloudancer said, one of the first mines in the game is to the east of the Guardian Stones. If you fast travel there, you can look for the "Mine" icon in your compass:
Follow that, and it should lead you directly to the Embershard Mine. Once inside, you'll need to look for veins of ore. Look for any sort of discoloration in the walls, then walk up and see if the tooltip says that you're looking at ore. Here's what an Iron Ore vein can look like: