When you start out mining there are a few things you will need. First is a pickaxe, because without that you wont be able to mine. Next is a rock that contains ore. Identifying what a rock contains is accomplished by prospecting the rocks. If you come up to a rock, and you want to know what ore it contains, right-click on the rock, and click 'prospect rock'. If the rock contains an ore you should see:

If it does not contain any ore, or if it has not regenerated yet it will say:

Gems

When your mining a rock, sometimes you will find gems. Gems are used in crafting. Gems can either be sold to the gem shop in Falador, or crafted and sold to the Jewellery Shop in Port Sarim. If you wear a charged Dragonstone Amulet (members only) you will have a higher chance of getting a gem. Usually, the higher the mining level needed for mining the rock, the higher the chance of getting a gem. Note: You cannot get a Dragonstone when mining.

Pickaxes

Upon finding a rock that contains the ore you wish to mine, you need a pickaxe. Pickaxes are sold by a Dwarf named Nurmof who is located in the Dwarven Mine.

Nurmof

His location

The pickaxes he sells are as follows:

Type	Picture	Mining Level	Price	Swings
Bronze		1	1 gp	1
Iron		4	140 gp	2
Steel		6	500 gp	4
Mithril		21	1300 gp	6
Adamantite		31	3200 gp	9
Runite		41	32000 gp	12

Other Tips & Info

• Each rock will always generate the same ore
• When you get an ore, the rock will take a certain amount of time to regenerate
• The regeneration time is affected by:
• The number of people on the server (the more people the quicker the regeneration time)
• The mining level needed (the lower the level, the quicker the regeneration time) 
• Sometimes your pickaxe will break or get broken and you have to fix it as follows:
• • Find the axe head laying around on the ground somewhere near you
  • Attempt to fix it yourself by using the head with the handle
  • If that didn't work then goto Nurmof and pay for him to fix it for you
    To my knowledge, the fastest way of raising your mining level is as follows. Levels 1-10 mine Copper and Tin, alternating each load, you can do this at the at East Varrock mine. Levels 10-60 mine Iron at the Varrock east mine. This may seem a bit extreme but Irons respawn time is only 5 seconds, so you can get 1 load of iron in roughly 5 minutes, which is faster than Silver at level 20, Coal at level 30, Gold at 40, and Mithril at 55. Another reason why this is worth it is because you will have something like 50,000 iron ore in your bank account upon getting to level 60. If you plan on Power mining then once you reach level 30 mining, go to level 9 wilderness and mine coal there, if you dont mind the skeletons and the Pkers then its faster. Once you reach Level 60 then the Miners Guild is the place for you. You can either mine there till you reach 85 or till you reach 70. When you reach 85 you can mine Runite, and your quest is complete. If you follow the Level 70 strategy, then what you want to do is the same as the coal in the wilderness. Only difference is your going to level 32 or 35 wilderness and youll be fighting Hobgoblins or Chaos dwarfs as well as high-level Pkers. The payoff is that there are 13 Mithril rocks and 3 or 2 Adamantite rocks for you to mine. It might be a bit slower in terms of trips, but you get a lot more Mithril and Adamantite, so you can sell them for more cash.

    Ore	Picture	Mining Level	Mining Experience	Respawn Rate	Used for...
    Clay		1	5	1 Sec	Crafting clay items
    Tin		1	17.5	3 Sec	Bronze bar
    Copper		1	17.5	3 Sec	Bronze bar
    Iron		15	35	5 Sec	Iron and steel bars
    Silver		20	40	60 Sec	Crafting Holy Symbols
    Coal		30	50	30 Sec	A secondary ore used in smelting steel, mithril, adamantite, and rune bars
    Gold (nuggets)		40	65	70 Sec	Crafting Gold jewellery
    Mithril		55	80	105 Sec	Mithril bar
    Adamantite		70	95	210 Sec	Adamantite bar
    Runite		85	125	600+ Sec	Rune bar

    Note: The ore used to make Rune bars is called 'Runite ore', the bars are called 'Rune bar', and the items are called 'Rune _____'.

    Mining Guild

    The mining guild requires a level 60+ mining, or Level 59 and by drinking a Dwarven Stout within the last 30 seconds before you enter. There are two entrances. One is through Dwarven Mine. If you go to the most Southeastern point in Dwarven Mine you will find a door. Open it and go south and you will find the Mining Guild. You can also access it by going to the small building just west of the South Falador bank. Go down the ladder and you will be in the Mining Guild. The mining guild contains 3 mithril rocks and 20 coal rocks.Below is the Mining Guild Map:

    

    Other Ore Locations

    This is some additional locations to find ore, this is not every location and is only to give you a few more places to look.
    

    Ore	Picture	Location	Number of Rocks
    Clay		Rimmington Mine/Dwarven Mine	1/3
    Tin		Varrock East/Dwarven Mine	5/6
    Copper		Varrock East/Dwarven Mine	9/7
    Iron		Varrock East/Dwarven Mine	3/6
    Silver		Varrock West/Edgeville Dungeon	3/2
    Coal		Mining Guild/Dwarven Mine	20/8
    Gold (nuggets)		Karamja Island Dungeon	4
    Mithril		Lvl 32 wild/Lumbridge Swamp	13/4
    Adamantite		Lvl 32 Wild/Lvl 35 wild Chaos Dwarf Mine/Lumbridge Swamp	3/2/1
    Runite		Lvl 45/46 wild	2

    Dwarven Stout

    There is a way to temporarily raise your mining level. Go to the bar in Falador, and talk to the barmaid. Order a Dwarven stout (they cost 3 gold coins each). When you drink it your mining level will temporarily go up by 1, as will your smithing level. Drinking the stout will also lower some levels, but they will restore within a few minutes.