Block of Iron

This article is about the mineral block. For the ore, see Iron Ore. For the item, see Iron Ingot. For the nugget, see Iron Nugget.

Block of Iron

150px

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool
Blast resistance	6
Hardness	5
Luminant	No
Transparent	No
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No

A block of iron is a precious metal block equivalent to nine iron ingots.

Obtaining

Breaking

Blocks of iron can be mined only with a stone pickaxe or better. If an iron block is mined without the use of a pickaxe, it drops nothing.

Block	Block of Iron
Hardness	5
Tool
Breaking time
Default	25
Wooden	12.5
Stone	1.9
Iron	1.25
Diamond	0.95
Netherite	0.85
Golden	2.1

Chest loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	Chance
Java Edition
Block Of Iron	Bastion remnant	Generic chest	1	19%
		Treasure chest	2–5	33.7%

Crafting

Ingredients	Crafting recipe
Iron Ingot

Usage

Blocks of iron can be used to store iron ingots in a compact fashion.

Beacons

Blocks of iron can be used to "power" a beacon. The beacon can be powered by a 3×3 square of iron blocks underneath it, and can optionally also include a 5×5, 7×7 and 9×9 layer in the shape of a pyramid under the original layer to increase the effects from the beacon. The layers do not have to be entirely iron blocks, as they may also contain blocks of gold, blocks of diamond, blocks of netherite or blocks of emerald.

Spawning iron golems

Template:FakeImage Blocks of iron and pumpkins‌^{[Bedrock Edition only]}, carved pumpkins or jack o'lanterns are used to build iron golems. The pumpkin, carved pumpkin or jack o'lantern must be placed last, and the golem spawns immediately after placing it.

Note blocks

Blocks of iron can be placed under note blocks to produce iron xylophone sounds.

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Namespaced ID	Block tags (JE)	Form	Translation key
Block of Iron	iron_block	beacon_base_blocks	Block & Item	block.minecraft.iron_block

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Namespaced ID	Numeric ID	Form	Translation key
Block of Iron	iron_block	42	Block & Item	tile.iron_block.name

History

Java Edition Classic
May 21, 2009					Notch shows interest in adding a "metal block".
October 24, 2009					Notch teased a block of iron.
0.26 SURVIVAL TEST					30px Added blocks of iron.
Java Edition Indev
0.31		?			Iron ore no longer drops iron blocks.
		20100129			Blocks of iron can now be crafted from 4 iron ingots.
		20100130			Blocks of iron are now more expensive, requiring 9 iron ingots (3x3) instead of 4 (2x2).
Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0		?			30px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
Java Edition Beta
1.2					The side and bottom textures of blocks of iron have now been removed from terrain.png.
Java Edition
1.0.0		Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5			30px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
1.2.1		12w08a			Blocks of iron can be used to make iron golems.
1.4.2		12w32a			Blocks of iron can be used to activate a beacon.
		12w41a			Blocks of iron are now used to craft anvils.
		12w42a			A new crafting recipe for anvils call for 3 blocks of iron instead of the original 6.
1.9		15w31a			9 iron blocks generate in the end ships.
		15w33c			End ships generate with only 8 iron blocks now.
		15w41a			End ships no longer generate with iron blocks.
July 18, 2017					32px Jeb tweets an image of new textures for iron blocks, obsidian, and birch logs.
1.13		17w47a			Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 42.
1.14		18w43a			32px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
		19w09a			Blocks of iron can now be used to play the xylophone, if they are under note blocks.
Pocket Edition Alpha
Pre-release					30px Added blocks of iron.
v0.1.0					30px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
v0.2.0					30px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed, once again.
v0.12.1		build 1			Blocks of iron are now used to craft anvils.
					Blocks of iron can now be used to create iron golems.
v0.16.0		build 4			Blocks of iron can now be used to activate beacons.
Bedrock Edition
1.10.0		beta 1.10.0.3			32px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
1.13.0		beta 1.13.0.9			Blocks of iron can now be used to play the xylophone, if they are under note blocks.
Legacy Console Edition
TU1	CU1	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	30px Added blocks of iron.
TU3					30px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
TU14		1.05			Blocks of iron are now used to craft anvils.
TU19	CU7	1.12			Blocks of iron can now be used to construct beacon pyramids.
		1.90			32px The texture of blocks of iron has now been changed.
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0					32px Added blocks of iron.

• 1.13 teased obsidian, iron and birch textures.png

  The first image of new textures for iron blocks, obsidian, and birch logs compared to the old ones.

Issues

Issues relating to "Block of Iron" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.

Trivia

• Despite being considerably more reactive than copper, neither iron nor its products will rust over time