Mandalorian iron

"By the Force! I thought a lightsaber could cut through anything. The walls are barely scratched. The only thing that can resist a lightsaber is&hellip;Mandalorian iron!"

- Exar Kun, regarding Freedon Nadd's tomb

Mandalorian iron, known as beskar in Mando'a, was a nearly-indestructible metal alloy first used by the Mandalorians and found on Mandalore and its moon Concordia.

Properties
"We Mando boys like to show we've been in action. Anyway, this is top-grade Beskar-full density, two percent ciridium, no fancy lamination or carbon-alloy."

- Kal Skirata to Ny Vollen on the state of his armor.

While the material was nearly indestructible even to lightsabers, it was surprisingly light. This was due not only to the natural properties of the metal, but also to Mandalorian metallurgy. It was commonly folded multiple times to gain even greater strength. Though it was nearly indestructible, there are instances where repeated strikes in the same area have been able to penetrate the armor. Creating an alloy of Mandalorian iron was exceedingly difficult and was a skill known to few non-Mandalorians. Beskar can have different luster and colors, depending on where it was mined and refined. It can be nearly any color or luster from bronze to gun-metal gray. Boba Fett was known not to use Mandalorian iron in his armor until 40 ABY, in which a new suit of armor with Mandalorian ore was made for him.

Sith Lord Darth Rivan used Mandalorian iron both in a chest to keep his most valued Sith tomes and in his Almas Sith fortress, including at least the door of his ritual chamber and the floor of his lightsaber practice room.

It was believed all the valuable ore had been strip-mined by the Empire during its reign, though the Empire proved incapable of working it as the Mandalorians did, making it all but useless to them. In 40 ABY, a rich new vein of Mandalorian iron was found 100 kilometers north of Enceri, revealed only because of the enormous craters left behind from the Yuuzhan Vong attack on Mandalore. This find gave the planet's economy a strong base upon which to build once more, allowing them to rearm. Shortly after the Second Battle of Fondor, Admiral Daala revealed to Boba Fett what had happened to the ore taken by the Empire and propositioned its use by the Mandalorians against the Jedi should the Jedi ever need to be restrained or combated.

Uses

 * Mandalorian armor
 * The tomb of Freedon Nadd on Dxun
 * Crushgaunts
 * Mandalorian manacles
 * Lumiya's lightwhip
 * Walon Vau's saber
 * Beskad saber
 * Bes'uliik starfighter
 * Tra'kad starship
 * Armor

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi 5: The Saga of Nomi Sunrider, Part 3
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
 * Knight Errant
 * Bane of the Sith
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Republic Commando: True Colors
 * The Feral Queen
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Imperial Commando: 501st
 * Tales of the Bounty Hunters
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Under Siege
 * Boba Fett: A Practical Man
 * Sacrifice
 * Fury
 * Revelation
 * Invincible
 * Outcast
 * Abyss
 * Backlash
 * Allies
 * Star Wars: Legacy 27: Into the Core
 * Star Wars: Legacy 27: Into the Core