Doonium

"Doonium has been the metal alloy of choice for nearly 10 centuries in capital starship construction. The distinctive white-gray cast of the battlecraft constructed with doonium has become synonymous with serious naval power."

―Harod Crimmler of the Historical Battleship Preservation Association, as quoted in Imperial Defense Daily^[1]

Doonium

Doonium was a heavy metal primarily used in starship hull construction. It gave ships such as those in the Imperial Navy their characteristic white-gray color.^[2] The Empire granted exclusive mining contracts to companies like Turlin Corp to provide the needed ore.^[3]

Between the Battle of Yavin and the Battle of Hoth, the Galactic Empire experienced a raw materials shortage that included a shortage of doonium. As a result, many ships languished in spacedock without proper hull plating. To clear space in the Kuat drydocks, a flotilla of Victory-class Star Destroyers was equipped with red havod alloy hulls instead of the traditional doonium.^[2]

One source for the metal was the mines of the Thrugii Asteroid Belt in the Socorro system.^[4] Other sources included Dor^[5] and Atraken.^[6]