Kalkite

This article is about the canon mineral.
You may be looking for calcite or chalcite crystal in the Star Wars Legends continuity.

"Kalkite. Synthetic Kalkite! Kalkite alternatives! Kalkite substitutes! I mean, the amount of time spent pondering this grubby little bit of rock is sadly astonishing."

―Orson Krennic, to his colleagues — 20?cb=20250116042720

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Kalkite was a mineral useful in coating reactor lenses. It could be found on the planet Ghorman in deep substrate foliated deposits. By 4 BBY, the Galactic Empire enacted efforts to declare martial law on the planet in order to extract the kalkite and use it in the construction of the Death Star superweapon. These efforts resulted in the Ghorman Massacre of 2 BBY in order to declare martial law and strip mine Ghorman.

Description

"And it turns out, spiders are not the most unique thing in Ghorman. There's a mineral underground. Doctor?"
"Deep substrate foliated Kalkite."

―Orson Krennic and an Imperial science officer — 20?cb=20250116042720

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Kalkite was a mineral that could be used to coat reactor lenses to help generate vast amounts of energy.^[1] A valuable form of kalkite^[2] was unique to the planet Ghorman in deep substrate foliated deposits.^[1]

History

Ethical barriers

"Now, we've promised delivery in three years. That delivery is dependent on some version of Ghorman Kalkite to coat the reactor lenses."

―Krennic briefs his colleagues — 20?cb=20250116042720

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By 4 BBY, the Galactic Empire had an interest in the kalkite deposites on Ghorman, requiring the mineral for coating reactor lenses^[1] in the development of the Death Star superweapon. The weapon's project was fronted as Emperor Palpatine's^[3] "energy initiative"^[1] and production had become at risk of stalling completely^[4] around 5 BBY.^[5] Analytics determined that extracting the kalkite would involve the invasive process of gouge mining, which could destabilize the planet's core and cause a total collapse. Due to Ghorman's wealth and political power, the Empire began an anti-Ghorman whispering campaign to turn galactic opinion against the Ghorman locals. Director Orson Krennic,^[1] who oversaw the construction of the Death Star,^[3] promised the project's completion within three years.^[1]

Orson Krennic held a meeting in the Maltheen Divide to discuss logistics around acquiring Ghorman Kalkite.

That year, Krennic assembled a select group of Imperial officials, including science, engineering, military, and intelligence officers, in the Maltheen Divide for the Ghorman project, an effort to increase the Empire's control over Ghorman in order to extract the kalkite. There, he discussed the kalkite's presence on Ghorman, the importance of the mineral to the "energy initiative," and the complications behind extracting it. At that time, the assembly of the mining equipment started, and the Empire additionally began increasing its presence on Ghorman. At the meeting's reception, an engineer officer told Major Lio Partagaz of the Imperial Security Bureau (ISB) that drilling equipment was being actively assembled and could easily be mobilized for mining in a matter of weeks without the administration and security issues.^[1] ISB Supervisor Dedra Meero was put in charge of the Ghorman project, being overseen by Partagaz. Meero aimed to allow an insurgency to provoke the Empire's wrath.^[6]

Ghorman's expense

"There is, apparently, no suitable replacement or synthetic alternative for the Ghorman substrate material."
"I see."
"It's not for lack of effort. Krennic's had the lab in Eadu working overtime all year. I don't know the science, but… it's bad luck Ghorman. We need what's in the ground, and when we're done, there won't be much left to call 'home.'"

―Lio Partagaz and Dedra Meero — 20?cb=20250116042720

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The Empire's need for kalkite prompted a massacre on Ghorman.

Meanwhile, the project's scientists explored substitutes and synthetic alternatives to the kalkite mineral,^[1] which a laboratory on the planet Eadu worked overtime on, to no avail. With no replacements found, Director Krennic met with Palpatine and Partagaz in 2 BBY, and the Emperor ordered for the mining of Ghorman to go ahead immediately. With a fleet scheduled to be positioned above the planet within forty-eight hours, Partagaz gave Meero the go-ahead to stoke Ghorman conflict in order for a Declaration of Martial Domain to be enacted as soon as possible.^[7]

As mining equipment, including mining rigs and droids, began to land on Ghorman, Meero's assets provoked a protest in Palmo Plaza, which they forcibly escalated into an Imperial genocide of the Ghormans, known as the Ghorman Massacre. With the excuse they needed for martial law, the Empire went forward with plans^[8] for mass relocation^[7] and strip mining,^[3] devastating Ghorman.^[7] Mining schedules for Ghorman were compiled and eventually made it to Meero's desk.^[9] The acquisition of kalkite^[1] was a significant breakthrough for the production of the Death Star,^[4] which ultimately became operational in 1 BBY, but was shortly destroyed at the Battle of Yavin in^[10] 0 BBY.^[11]

Behind the scenes

"But, I mean, I had to learn a lot about Kalkite. […] What are Kalkite alternatives? Kalkite [substitutes]? Synthetic Kalkite?"
"He had to do that for the entire day in a dark room with a roaring fire with, like, thirty people in there."

―Ben Mendelsohn and Denise Gough, on the former's delivery of kalkite — 20?cb=20250116042720

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Kalkite was first mentioned in "One Year Later," the debut episode of the second season of the live-action Disney+ television series Andor,^[1] which aired on April 22, 2025.^[13] According to Orson Krennic and Dedra Meero's actors, Ben Mendelsohn and Denise Gough, respectively, the lines with kalkite in "One Year Later" had to be repeatedly recited on set in order to take different shots of the scene. Gough remarked that Mendelsohn's energy did not drop in the delivery regardless.^[12] After the season's premiere, author Chris Kempshall confirmed that^[14] in his 2024 reference book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire the mention of "a significant breakthrough" of resources for the Death Star project^[4] was a reference to the kalkite.^[1] The author later added that he was told limited details about Andor's second season while he was writing the book.^[15]