Mole Miner
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (2025)
Variants Mole Guard
Notable members Mole Miner Max

“And remember, just because it can't see you doesn't mean it can't hurl a pickaxe right at your head.”

—Cranky Kong,Donkey Kong Country Returns

Mole Miners are enemies that appear inDonkey Kong Country Returns and itsNintendo 3DS andNintendo Switch ports. They reside in mines and caves, where they are most often seen ridingmine carts.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong Country Returns (3D / HD)[edit]

InDonkey Kong Country Returns, Mole Miners only appear inCrazy Cart and theCave area ofDonkey Kong Island, but they are very common in this area. Mole Miners are the ones who constructed all of the rails and mine carts in the Cave.^{[citation needed]} Mole Miners frequently ride around in aMine Cart, often on a separate track fromDonkey Kong andDiddy Kong. They have abomb-throwing variant,Mole Guards.

Mole Miners are basic enemies. The mine cart-riding Mole Miners either drive away from Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong or toward them. They are made dangerous because Mine Carts are destroyed in one hit unless the player equips aCrash Guard. In either case the player can avoid the Mole Miner by either jumping over or onto it. The boost fromstomping them is useful for grabbing items. Mole Miners do not appear in the Mine Cart levels past the Cave,Prehistoric Path andRoasting Rails.

InMole Patrol, Mole Miners swing pickaxes to impede the Kongs in theirRocket Barrel. At first, they flee when they notice the Kongs, but later they appear from the rocks to swing the pickaxe at them. They can do so from the stalagmites in the ground or dangling from ropes in the ceiling. They can use their pickax to drop crystals from the ceiling into the ground, so the Kongs have to weave between the crystal chunk remaining in the ceiling and the rest of the crystal. TheMole Train drops Mole Miners, who float using balloons while attacking in front of them with the pickax. They turn around to face the Kongs if dodged. They can be defeated by steering the Rocket Barrel through the balloon, popping it and sending the mole off the screen. They can dropbananas. One set of four Mole Miners can be defeated this way to earn aPuzzle Piece.

Mole Miners appear during the boss levelThe Mole Train, where they assist the bossMole Miner Max. In a cutscene at the start, the Mole Miners are loading bananas into the Mole Train, and one is eating a sandwich that it pulled from its lunchbox. Once the Kongs arrive, Banjo Bottom sounds a whistle that orders everyone into the train and the train takes off. The Kongs pursue in a left over Mine Cart. The battle is divided into two phases. For the first phase, a Mole Miner in the last car of the Mole Train throws pickaxes in straight lines at the Kongs. The pickaxes come in one of two heights, with low ones requiring a jump to dodge while higher ones can be ducked under. Abomb is sometimes mixed in with the pickaxes. Once the Kongs get close enough, this Mole Miner stops attacking. Once the Kongs are on the train's cars, their car links up with the train's cars while the train's engine flees. The Mole Miners inside the carts pop out to hit the Kongs with their claws. This is indicated ahead of time by the Mine Cart shaking. Once they are above the banana-line the Mole Miner rests with its claws down, allowing the Kongs to stomp on the Mole Miner to defeat it. AGround Pound can stun a Mole Miner popping out of a Mine Cart, flipping it over. Given time, a Mole Miner can recede back into the Mine Cart to repeat the process, even changing the cart it emerges from. Sometimes a Mole Miner can fake out the Kongs and immediately disappear back into the bananas instead of staying still. A Mole Miner may drop aHeart upon being defeated. If the player takes too long to defeat all Mole Miners, three more operating a second train engine appear from the left to run over the cargo. Their engine is an one-hit KO, but recedes should all Mole Miners in the cargo be defeated while this engine is on screen. When all Mole Miners in the cargo are defeated, all but one remaining cart falls away and the Mole Train's engine returns with a new set of carts and a new Mole Miner to attack the Kongs with projectiles. This loop occurs three times before the player can battle Mole Miner Max to complete the level.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX[edit]

Mole Miners inMario Kart Arcade GP DX

Mole Miners reappear inMario Kart Arcade GP DX in the trackBananan Labyrinth, where they ride mine carts in the cave section of the track.^[1]

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

While no Mole Miners appear inDonkey Kong Bananza, a few of their worn hard hats lie around the mine ofDK Island in theDK Island & Emerald Rush DLC. Like other decorative elements throughout the game, they can be easily knocked away with any attack-based move.

Gallery[edit]

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  A Mole Miner, holding a pickaxe while strapped to a balloon.

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  A Mole Miner, using its pickaxe as a weapon.

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  The Mole Miners pouring the bananas into the mine carts.

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  Concept art of two Mole Miners and Mole Miner Max on the Mole Train.

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  Cave diorama

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  Emblem

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  LEGOSuper Mario

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

• Moles
• Donkey Kong Country Returns enemies
• LEGO Super Mario characters
• Mario Kart Arcade GP DX

• Articles with deprecated external links
• Articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced foreign names