[[Image:Sideshaft.png|frame|right|Side shaft example]]
; The iron pickaxe gets stuck in the rock. : This one is a basic anti-macro measure. Move around a bit and you will free your pickaxe. Until then you will be unable to perform further mining actions.
; You have to move to free your pickaxe. It is stuck. : This means you didn't move around enough after getting the preceding message.
; You fail to produce anything here. The rock is stone hard. : Occurs on the surface. This means the tile you are attempting to excavate is actually an ore vein. There's nothing to do about it, you simply have to make your entrance on another tile. Note that if you make the entrance one tile below the vein, the tunnel will open right into the vein and cannot be extended until the vein is depleted.
; The ground sounds strangely hollow and brittle. You have to abandon the mining operation. : Occurs on the surface. This means there's already a tunnel on the tile you're trying to excavate. There's nothing to do about it, you simply have to make your entrance on another tile. Or you could search for the entrance (possibly caved in) to the existing tunnel.