Copper is a relatively new ore that was added in the 1.17 update of Minecraft. Upon release, it does shake the whole dynamic of other ores alongside its own. The ores like iron and gold were previously dropped in the form of ore blocks. After the release of copper ore, mining these ores started to drop raw versions of themselves like raw iron, and raw copper It allows players to get more material in less time. Having said that, copper was the only block that introduced oxidation in Minecraft, but how does it work and how much time is required to oxidize copper in Minecraft? I will elaborate on all of this in this guide. 

How Long Does It Take for Copper to Oxidize in Minecraft?

Copper is introduced in Minecraft, along with its other shapes like Cut Copper with the phenomenon of oxidation. For oxidation, generally copper will take 50-80 days, which is approximately 16-27 hours in real-time.

How to Oxidize Copper in Minecraft?

To oxidize copper in Minecraft, we will need to:

• Collect Raw Copper
• Smelt Raw Copper
• Collect Copper Blocks and Oxidize them in Air

1: Collecting Raw Copper

Copper can be found below Y-64, preferably with more chances to find it underground. It can be mined with stone or a stronger pickaxe. On mining the copper ore, you will get raw copper from two to five using an unenchanted pickaxe. With an enchanted pickaxe, especially with Fortune III, it can drop up to 20 raw copper per ore.

In case you want to collect ore, use a pickaxe with a silk touch enchantment.

2: Smelting Raw Copper

Once collected, you can smelt this Copper in a furnace or a blast furnace to turn these into Copper Ingots.

Now you can convert these ingots into copper blocks by placing 9 ingots, one in each box of a crafting table.

3: Collecting and Oxidizing Copper Blocks

Collect all these blocks and place them on the ground and wait for the oxidation process to happen, you cannot do it faster by placing them in water or rain. Usually, it takes around 50 to 80 Minecraft days.

It oxidized in 4 stages:

• Copper
• Exposed Copper
• Weathered Copper
• Oxidized Copper

The picture below shows all 4 of the stages from top (Copper) to bottom (Oxidized Copper).

You can even stop this oxidation process at any stage by waxing the block to use that stage of the block as it is.

How to Wax and Remove a Wax from Copper Block?

To wax, take a honeycomb and right-click on the block to wax it. You can use an axe to remove wax from the block.

Using an axe on the oxidizing copper one time will remove one stage of oxidation from it.

What Happens When We Craft a Copper Block on Minecraft?

The Copper blocks can be crafted into Cut Copper and they can easily be further crafted into Cut Copper Slabs and Cut Copper Stairs for all 4 stages, with and without waxing.

How to Craft Cut Copper in Minecraft?

Cut Copper blocks can be crafted using this recipe of 4 Copper blocks, as shown below:

How to Craft Cut Copper Stair in Minecraft?

The Cut Copper stairs can be made in Minecraft by using 6 Cut Copper blocks:

How to Craft Cut Copper Slabs in Minecraft?

To make Cut Copper Slabs, we need only 3 Cut Copper blocks placed as per the recipe:

Conclusion

Copper is a versatile building block and has tons of variations to go along with it. To get other forms, you need to oxidize your Copper blocks by placing them on the ground and wait for around 50 to 80 Minecraft in-game days. You can wax them to stop aging and can remove them using an axe. Further, an axe can be used to reverse this process. In short, it is a somewhat realistic and cool concept that’s available for Minecraft players to enjoy.