Sholazar Basin is the lowest level zone in WotLK Classic where you can gather Saronite Ore consistently, as Cobalt Ore doesn’t spawn here, so basically, you’ll only get Saronite. This also makes it a great place to get the last 30-40 skill points in Mining and cap your profession. Although this zone is not as great for mining Titanium Ore as Icecrown, this mineral can also be found here, occasionally.
Requirements:
- Minimum level 75 character
- Minimum 400 Mining skill
- At least 225 riding skill (Expert Riding)
- At least non-epic flying mount
- Mining pick
- The GatherMate2 addon (optional)
Where to go:
Sholazar Basin has two main quest hubs with a Flight Point these being Nesingwary Base Camp (25, 58), or to River’s Heart (50, 61). One of the richest Saronite Ore areas is at Swindlegrin’s Dig, close to the Nesingwary Base Camp, so it’s best to fly there and start your mining session with this location.
If you don’t have any of the FPs in Sholazar Basin unlocked yet, the easiest way to get to this area is from Bor’Gorok Outpost – Horde (50, 11) or Fizzcrank Airstrip – Alliance (55, 17), in Borean Tundra. From any of these camps, just follow the road north into Sholazar.
What to do:
Follow the route above and collect each and every Saronite Deposit that you can find. The areas that you shouldn’t leave unchecked are:
- The area around the Suntouched Pillar and Swindlegrin’s Dig (35, 48)
- Bittertide Lake (36, 38)
- The area around the Glimmering Pillar (49, 38)
- The Lost Lands, especially the area in front of the cave at (70, 58)
- The area around the Lifeblood Pillar (66, 58)
- The area around the Skyreach Pillar (54, 78)
- The area around the Mosslight Pillar (36, 75)
Now, there are many possible Saronite Deposit spawn points on the edges of the zone, as well. However, especially on high-pop servers, the mining competition here is quite atrocious and many miners simply circle the area following the zone borders. Thus, it’s actually less likely to find ore moving this way (just circling the zone), while the route above is shorter, covers several areas with multiple spawning points for Saronite Deposits, and is easier to cover especially if you don’t have an epic flying mount yet.
Loot:
After one hour of mining in Sholazar Basin by following this route, using an epic flying mount (280% flying skill), I got the 
following valuables:
- Saronite Ore x 171
- Titanium Ore x 4
- Eternal Shadow x 5
- Eternal Earth x 4
- Crystallized Shadow x 5
- Crystallized Earth x 5
- Crystallized Air x 6
- Bloodstone x 2
- Shadow Crystal x 3
- Dark Jade x 1
- Sun Crystal x 2
- Forest Emerald x 1
I’ll have to add here, that there were at least a few other miners in Sholazar at the time I gathered this amount, so with less competition, you should probably get at least a few extra stacks.
Tips:
If you have at least 425 skill in Blacksmithing, you can craft various leveling items or entry-level epics from some of your Saronite Ore for extra profits. Some of the items on the highest demand are the plates for tanking and healing, as well as the weapons. The list includes the Corroded Saronite Edge, Cudgel of Saronite Justice, Daunting Handguards, Furious Saronite Beatstick, Icebane Girdle, Icebane Chestguard, and Icebane Treads.
If you have Engineering on your miner, as well as the Zapthrottle Mote Extractor, you can get extra crystallized particles from the Steam Clouds and Cinder Clouds found in Sholazar. Cinder Clouds are found only at the Savage Thicket, while for Steam Clouds, there are several possible locations all over Sholazar. With Engineering, you can also craft Saronite Razorheads from some of your ore for extra profits.
The GatherMate2 addon is not necessary, but extremely useful. That’s because it will save the precise locations of each and every Saronite Deposit and Titanium Vein that you collect, making it much easier to move between their exact spawn points.
Related posts:
WotLK Classic – Sholazar Basin Icy Dragonscales Skinning Spot
WotLK Classic – Zul’Drak Cobalt Ore Mining Route
Retail WoW – Sholazar Mining and Engineering Route
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