Minecraft’s ore textures are changing

While we are heading towards the release of update 1.17, better known as the Caves and Cliffs update, we are getting a lot of snapshots from developer Mojang, giving us insides into the new content we can expect. So there is snapshot 21w07a, which shows us that the looks of the different ores in Minecraft are going to change. 

As we all know them today, the ores are having the same texture. It is only the different colours that separate them from each other. According to the snapshot update, all ores, except diamond, are going to get their very own texture shape. That way the ores will be even more distinguishable. Why not the diamond ore? Mojang says that the diamond ore is too "iconic" to change. 

Also, the world generation is going to have some changes to better distribute ore along the additional vertical space introduced in the last update. You can see the full chart on the official website and on the picture below, but notably, you will be able to find more emeralds at high altitudes in the mountain biome and you will start to find more and more Redstone as you dig deeper and deeper. 

The moment you go below the old bottom limit, you will now discover Grimstone. It is a different sort of stone, much comparable with Blackstone from the Nether. It's probably some sort of replacement for cobblestone that you can use to craft basic tools with and of course construction materials.