Gold



Gold ore is commonly found by stone blocks deep underground, in a vein of 2-8 blocks (sometimes up to 16 if two veins happen to spawn together, and down to 1 if the block that was supposed to be gold ore is occupied by a cavern or a dungeon). It shows up at elevations ranging from 0 (the bottom of the map) to 35 (about halfway between sea level and the bottom of the map). Up to 32% below sea level is found in 0.13% of rock, above 32 its abundance falls sharply. It can be mined using an iron or diamond pickaxe. Gold ore can be smelted in a furnace to create gold ingots. Tools made with gold will mine much faster than diamond, however because of its very low durability it is more used for showing off than its value on items/armor. It can also be used to create a watch and a powered rail.

Trivia
Gold ore blocks in a cave.*It can be placed in Classic as of version 0.28, but is still usable if found thanks to the "Copy Block" tool.
 * In Classic it could be found at much higher elevations, sometimes even at the surface.
 * Gold is the only ore that can't be mined by tools made by the same material, not including coal, redstone or lapis lazuli, since they can not be made into tools.