Calcite a newer naturally spawning block, first shown during Minecraft Live 2020 and first added officially into Minecraft with 1.17, the caves and cliffs update.  Calcite is a light gray “carbonate mineral” which means containing a CO2-3 ion.  This block is available in all Minecraft versions, including Java edition, Bedrock edition and pocket edition.

Where To Find Calcite:

Calcite spawns in two places, amethyst geodes and, in 1.18, stony peaks.  Amethyst geodes are underground circular structures made of Amethyst surrounded by smooth basalt and calcite that are designed to look like real life amethyst crystals.  These features are large and once you’ve found them you’ve really hit the gold mine (or amethyst mine!).   So, if you’re caving deep underground, keep an eye out!  These geodes are also the best place to get blocks of amethyst if you’re interested in playing with sculk sensors!

Stony peaks biome appear in mountain biomes connected to savannahs, forests and jungles.  You can recognized stony peaks by their sharp upward corners and lack of snow, as opposed to jagged peaks and frozen peaks which are snowy and icy respectively.  In stony peaks, calcite spawns in strips, so if you’ve found one block, you’ve found a bunch!

How To Mine It:

Whether you found it in caves or cliffs, calcite requires a pickaxe to be mined.  If mined by hand or any other tool, it will drop nothing, similar to most ores.  Any pickaxe can mine it, including a wooden one, but if you’re going for speed a golden pickaxe will be your best bet with a record breaking speed of 0.1 seconds!

Pickaxe Type:	Mining Speed:
Non-Pickaxe	3.75 seconds
Wood Pickaxe	0.6 Seconds
Stone Pickaxe	0.3 Seconds
Iron Pickaxe	0.2 Seconds
Diamond Pickaxe	0.15 Seconds
Netherite Pickaxe	0.15 Seconds
Gold Pickaxe	0.1 Seconds

If you’re tired of mining or having trouble finding calcite, I have some good news!  Calcite is a giveable item, meaning you can also get it using the give command.  You can use commands in any world with cheats turned on in the world options settings!  In Java edition the give command is /give <target> <item> [<count>]. In bedrock the command is /give <player: target> <itemname: item> [amount: int] [data: int] [components: json]. 

Ways To Use It:

Calcite is, at this point, only used for decoration.  It can be used if you want to upgrade your typical minecraft house into something more unique!  The gray color could look nice with any theme, from medieval to modern and the texture will add life to your walls, floors or ceilings and truely make your crafting table and furnace “pop”!  Calcite can also be used alongside cobblestone, diorite, granite, stone bricks, dirt and any other blocks you like to make a stone or gravel path with a creative spin!