DAVETHE DIVER GUIDE

How to Mine Deep-Sea Ore

Deep deposits use an interaction/tool input and a strong enough pickaxe; striking them with the knife means the wrong action is firing.

Updated July 25, 2026 · 5 min read

Quick answer

Stand at the deposit and use interact—not melee

Approach the ore until its mining prompt appears and press the interact or tool action. Do not use the knife attack. If both actions share a button on your setup, assign them to separate inputs temporarily.

Higher-tier deposits require an upgraded pickaxe. If the prompt appears but mining fails, return after upgrading the tool rather than repeating melee strikes.

Correct input
Interact/tool action
Wrong input
Knife/melee
Location
Lower freshwater zones
Hard deposits
Upgrade pickaxe

Mine an ore deposit

1

Clear nearby threats

Create enough space to remain beside the rock without an attack interrupting the action.

2

Move into prompt range

Face the mineral surface until the contextual mining symbol appears.

3

Use interact or tool

Press the action assigned to contextual interaction, not the melee-attack button.

4

Collect every drop

Wait for the deposit to break and move across the fragments before leaving.

Fix the knife-versus-pickaxe conflict

On custom keyboard, controller, or Steam Input layouts, one physical button can trigger both melee and context actions. Restore the default layout for the mining attempt or bind interact and melee separately, then reopen the room so the prompt can refresh.

Know when the pickaxe is too weak

  • A visible deposit with no successful break can be a tool-tier gate.
  • Gold deposits require the strongest mining progression.
  • Do not confuse a background mineral texture with an interactive node.
  • Carry spare oxygen before testing deposits in deep rooms.
  • Use one lower-lake circuit to collect several upgrade materials at once.

FAQ

Deep-Sea Ore questions

Why does Dave pull out the knife at ore?

The melee input is firing instead of the contextual interaction. Reposition for the prompt and separate conflicting controls.

Do you need a level 3 pickaxe for every deposit?

No, but the hardest deposits, including gold, require the highest mining tier.

Sources and verification

This guide was checked against current game information and player reports on July 25, 2026. Current player reports and fixes · Jungle resource location reference