Dondakan's mine

Dondakan's mine, also known as the Arzinian mine, is just south-west of the dwarven capital city of Keldagrim. To access the mines, players must have completed the quest Between a Rock... and have a Gold helmet equipped. They must then speak to Dondakan, a dwarf which stands near the entrance. He will then shoot them into the mine using his dwarf multicannon. To leave the mine, simply unequip the helmet or log out.

Description
This contains the most concentrated number of gold rocks and gold veins in all of RuneScape, numbering in at 146 rocks, making it the largest mine in the entire game. There are very few mines containing more than a few gold rocks, and gold respawns fairly slowly, so gold can be difficult to obtain in bulk. The Arzinian Mine is unique because it not only is a massive source of gold, but it also gives players a convenient method of banking the ores. Because of this, it is one of the most popular gold mining areas amongst players. However, because of its quest requirement, the mine is usually empty, and players can have the entire mine to themselves in most worlds.

The release of concentrated gold rocks in the living rock caverns has rendered this mine all but obsolete, due to the faster mining speed, and quicker banking at that location, combined with less effort spent as multiple ore can be gained from these rocks. A mining level of 80 is required for concentrated gold rocks to be mined, and those without this requirement will find this their best gold mining mine.

History
The Arzinian Mine was discovered by the dwarves of Keldagrim during the early Third Age, after the God Wars forced them to flee from what is now the Fremennik Province and take shelter beneath the surface. Keldagrim, which was still very young and underdeveloped at the time, had already begun to rely primarily on mining, resulting in the digging of extremely complex mining networks. The Arzinian Mine was found in what is sometimes referred to as the Keldagrim south-west mine by dwarves commissioned under the Elders of Keldagrim.

The mines were found to be connected to Gielinor through a small dimensional rift, leading to what may be part of Bordanzan or what could also be simply a dimensional pocket. The early history of the caves themself remain unclear, although it has been noted that the centre of the tunnels bears some resemblance to the symbol of the deity Zaros. The mines were used heavily initially, but at some point the Arzinian Avatar was discovered in the deepest confines of the network. The creature forced the miners from the caves, although it itself was trapped by them. The mine was sealed at some point, although whether by the dwarves or Arzianian remains unclear. It was eventually forgotten by the dwarves of Keldagrim, who set their sites on other veins.

It was not until the Fifth Age that interest in the site was renewed. Dondakan, the father of the Keldagrim-Branch Dwarven Black Guard Commander Veldaban, discovered the site while working for the Consortium. Where the rift had once been, a seemingly impenetrable rock now stood. For unclear reasons, Dondakan believed that penetrating the rock would lead to great wealth and devoted eighteen years of his life to opening it.

Dondakan exhausted nearly all of his wealth on various methods to open the rock, all of which were unsuccessful. Dondakan used, amongst other methods, complex mining gear, dwarf multi-cannons, and granite boots. As the rock continued to resist, Dondakan's aid gradually left him. It is only during the Between a Rock... quest that Dondakan recruits the help of the player, who finds that the rock can be penetrated with gold. The player enters the rock, where they temporarily defeat the Arzinian Being once again, granting Dondakan access to the mine.

Since finding the Arzinian Mine, Dondakan has become extremely wealthy. Although the Consortium takes much of the profit, he has money to spare, and has purchased areas such as the North Keldagrim mining area.

Banking
The mine's long distance from a bank can at first appear to ruin the mine. Fortunately, however, a nearby dwarf Dwarven boatman, east of the mine entrance) banks the player's gold ore for a charge. He charges 20% of the gold ores, rounded up. For example, if the player gives him 25 gold ores, he will charge 5 gold ores. If the player gives him 26, 27 or 28 gold ores, then he will charge 6 gold ores.

If the player is wearing Ring of Charos (a), then the dwarf will only charge 10% of the gold ores (rounded up). This is highly recommended, as the regular cost can quickly add up.

After the quest "Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf" was added, a new route between the bank and the gold mine has been added: a small door was added on the north side of the small tower just north of the boatman who hauls ore, creating a shortcut that allows players to bypass the ferryman and boatman completely by passing through the tower (the building where you kill the dwarf cannoner early on in the quest) to get to the bank fairly quickly.

The nearby city of Keldagrim greatly attributes to the mine's usefulness. The city boasts many features that will prove useful to players while mining in the gold. Amongst these features are the blast furnace, a bank, an ore shop, a general store, a hammer respawn, and five anvils.

Tips

 * 1) Players will find their run energy lasts much longer (for running to/from the Dwarven Boatman) if they equip weight-saving items (e.g. Spotted cape, Spottier cape, Penance gloves, Agile top/bottom, and/or Boots of lightness). This permits longer running time, shortening the time each load and trip takes.
 * 2) Completing the Varrock Achievement Diary up to medium level allows players to acquire Varrock armour 2. This gives players ~10% chance of Mining 2 gold ores per rock - yielding double experience too.
 * 3) Instead of removing the helmet to exit from the Arzinian mine, players can simply log out from Runescape. This will cause them to exit the mine, enabling them to carry one extra gold ore to the boatman! The disadvantage to this of course is the time taken to log back in.
 * 4) The 'DKS' fairy ring transports a player close to the Relleka entrance to Keldagrim. The Slayer ring Relekka dungeon teleport is a fast way to get close to a fairy ring. The player should bring coins to pay the ferryman as the ring slot is already taken and a ring of charos is no option. A Beast of Burden familiar offers additional gold ore transport capacity, and an amulet of glory can be used to teleport to the bank. This allows for reasonably fast gold ore bank trips (faster than to most other gold mines).
 * 5) As noted above, the 9 September 2009 release of Forgiveness of a Chaos Dwarf introduced a shortcut between the bank and the mine: a small door added on the north side of the small tower just north of the boatman who hauls ore, allowing players to bypass the ferryman and boatman completely.  Players with a Ring of Charos will find this route slightly better (cost of 3 gold ore verses approximately 45 seconds additional travel time per trip), especially since the boatman does not bank gems. (Players without a Ring of Charos will, of course, find this route far superior to paying the boatman.)

Trivia

 * All dungeons are stored on one huge map, separated only by distance. The Arzinian mines are stored near the Temple Trekking minigame event areas, and the areas used in the bridge event of the Recruitment Drive quest. This enables Jagex to save memory and game space.
 * If you prospect any of the mineral veins in the mines, it will say "This vein contains gold. That was kind of obvious, really...".