Caliche Stone

"Although the name "caliche" usually refers to a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt, which occurs naturally in aridisol and mollisol soil orders — generally in arid or semiarid regions — it is also the name given to a mineral mixture composed of gypsum, iodate minerals, various salts such as sodium chloride, sodium sulfate and sodium borate (borax), associated to a composite of sodium nitrate (NaNO3) and potassium nitrate (KNO3) otherwise known as saltpeter."

Excerpt from the Galactic Encyclopedia.

Description


Caliche stone greatly resembles cobblestone at first look, but of a tan color instead of gray, and is quite easy to break even with basic mining tools.

Since caliche is a bulk material rather than an ore, it can be moved and shaped with a standard-issue Matter Manipulator. Though this property allows caliche to be used as a building material, it is far more useful as a source for various chemical elements and compounds, such as saltpeter and iodine, thus making caliche a very useful resource in labs and factories across the galaxy.

Where to Look for It


Caliche stone deposits are found primarily on desert planetary biomes, usually forming sizable deposits both visible at the surface level and immediate underground, seldom extending lower than the planet's first major geological discontinuity (i.e. the transition to the planet's underground biome layer).