How to Find Different Ores in Minecraft

For coal, dig down four levels of stone, then strip mine. They are also common in caves.

To find iron, search for a cave or ravine. While iron can easily be found by digging down, you can skip the hassle of digging altogether by searching for a cave. You will need to go down to at most Y coordinate 63, as that is the maximum height in which iron spawns. You will need a stone pickaxe or better to mine iron. Iron ore needs to be smelted before use. Iron ingots can be used to create iron tools and armor, anvils, buckets, shears, and more.

To find redstone, dig down about sixty blocks in the desert, and create a floor.

For Lapiz lazuli, dig until you find a ravine deep underground, and explore it. Abandoned mineshafts can also be good places to search.

To obtain gold, dig down to Y coordinate 29 or below and start mining. You can also get gold from bartering with piglins. Upon being killed, some drowned also drop gold. You will need an iron or diamond pickaxe to mine gold. Gold ore needs to be smelted before use. Gold can be used to make gold tools and armor (not recommended due to gold's subpar durability), clocks, golden apples, carrots, and melons, and more.

For diamond, search on the sixteenth or twelfth layer of bedrock, and strip mine until it is found.

To get emerald, find the Extreme Hills Biome. Once you get there, dig to bedrock level, and dig four by four tunnels until it is found. Emeralds only spawn in blocks of one. So it's impossible to find a vein. If you want more than one, try strip mining.