Ore, Smithing Material

Corundum Ore

A common ore that smelts into Corundum Ingots and, paired with Iron Ore, into Steel Ingots for Steel Plate and Scaled armor.

Corundum Ore is the less famous half of the steel recipe. Pair one chunk with one Iron Ore at a smelter and you get a Steel Ingot; smelt two chunks on their own and you get a Corundum Ingot, which goes into Advanced Armors gear like Steel Plate Armor and Scaled Armor. At 20 gold a piece it is also ten times more valuable than iron, so it is worth pocketing even when you don’t need it.

How to get it

The motherlode is Knifepoint Mine at Knifepoint Ridge with 19 veins, though the bandits there won’t hand it over politely. After that the counts drop fast: Liar’s Retreat, Dead Drop Mine and Goldenrock Mine have 4 veins each, Gloomreach Cavern has 3, and you can even find 3 veins in and around Whiterun. Around 16 more veins sit outdoors with no dungeon attached.

Loose chunks turn up at Darkwater Crossing (4), Dead Drop Mine (4) and in the Skaal Village on Solstheim. Blacksmiths and general goods traders also sell it, including Ahkari, Arnskar Ember-Master, Aval Atheron and Camilla Valerius. Bandits, peddlers and Falmer occasionally carry some too.

Smelting and tanning

1 Corundum Ore + 1 Iron Ore → 1 Steel Ingot at the smelter
2 Corundum Ore → 1 Corundum Ingot at the smelter

Used to craft

Corundum Ore appears in 2 recipes in the game files.

Weapons and other items

smelter: Steel Ingot (1), Corundum Ingot (2)

The number in brackets is how many Corundum Ore each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.

Good to know

Corundum is the bottleneck for steel: you need as much of it as Iron Ore, but there are far fewer veins.
Two ores (40 gold) make one Corundum Ingot (40 gold), so smelting is about crafting, not profit.

Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0005ACDB is the item’s form ID for the console.

Where to find it

Knifepoint Mine: 19 veins, the best spot in the game
Dead Drop Mine: 4 veins and 4 loose pieces
Goldenrock Mine and Gloomreach Cavern have a few veins each
Sold by blacksmiths such as Balimund and Birna
Carried by bandits, peddlers and Falmer

Crafting materials

Lore notes

Dropped by

Quest reward from

Where it appears

Darkwater Crossing

Darkwater Crossing in Skyrim: corundum mining village on the Darkwater River – Goldenrock Mine, Annekke and Derkeethus, quests and the Chimarvamidium book.

Knifepoint Ridge

Knifepoint Ridge in Skyrim: bandit camp and mine near Falkreath – Boethiah’s Calling, the sniper ledge, iron and corundum veins, forge and Archery book.

Liar’s Retreat

Liar’s Retreat in Skyrim: bandit hideout overrun by Falmer – chaurus, spiders, The Longhammer, Biography of the Wolf Queen and loads of alchemy ingredients.

Whiterun

Whiterun is the trading heart of Skyrim, a hilltop city on the central plains crowned by Dragonsreach. Districts, shops, quests and characters.

Characters connected to it

Ahkari

Ahkari in Skyrim: the Khajiit caravan trader travelling between Dawnstar and Riften, who buys almost anything and fences stolen goods for the Thieves Guild.

Arnskar Ember-Master

Arnskar Ember-Master in Skyrim: Thieves Guild smith in the Ragged Flagon, unlocked by Delvin’s City Influence jobs. Sells weapons and armor.

Aval Atheron

Aval Atheron in Skyrim: Dark Elf pawnbroker and meat vendor in Windhelm’s market who sells goods of doubtful origin. Shop, family and his rescue quest.

Balimund

Balimund in Skyrim: Riften blacksmith at The Scorched Hammer, Expert Smithing trainer and marriage candidate who wants ten Fire Salts for his forge.

Birna

Birna in Skyrim: the Nord pawnbroker who runs Birna’s Oddments in Winterhold, sells the Coral Dragon Claw for 50 gold, and despairs of her brother Ranmir.