In the adventure that came with the GM Kit, my players picked up some of the Oridium from the mines there. What would be the value of such a crate? Is Oridium very valuable (something like gold or platinum for us Earth-bound)? One of my players asked and I didn't really know the answer, so I will throw it out here to the community. Thanks!

Wookieepedia states it was "used in production of the TIE Phantom". That's it. Unless someone else has more to add, I surmise it is an ore that can be refined into structural materials. In its natural state as opposed to being refined, it isn't even any good for the manufacture of repair parts.

Since it's used in the production specifically of the TIE Phantom, it may be a mineral used in the the development of cloaking devices in smaller ships. It'd need to be refined for certain, plus developed into a usable form.

At this point you could probably take some liberties with it, saying that it has properties capable of absorbing and dispersing various radioactive frequencies. It may even be dangerous in its raw form if you want to turn it into an "anti-macguffin" of sorts.

I'd say it's quite valuable, perhaps even similar to certain types of spice, but likely only for specific markets that may be a challenge to find.

Stygium crystals are used in the Phantom's cloaking technology (says Wookieepedia). Maybe oridium + stygium = cloaking?

As an aside...

Are all SW mineral elements iums? 'Cause it's getting a little silly.

Aside answered, a quick search for "metal" on Wookieepedia turns up lots of non "-ium" hits, such as tungsten, orichalc, fravisite, and the ever-loved phrik. Not to mention beskar.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Compounds

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Ores

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Metals

But yes, "-ium" and "-ite" do cap off the majority of Star Wars material elements

As an aside...

Are all SW mineral elements iums? 'Cause it's getting a little silly.

Aside answered, a quick search for "metal" on Wookieepedia turns up lots of non "-ium" hits, such as tungsten, orichalc, fravisite, and the ever-loved phrik. Not to mention beskar.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Compounds

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Ores

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Metals

But yes, "-ium" and "-ite" do cap off the majority of Star Wars material elements

Those prefixes also occur on a lot majority of Earth ores.

Also, consider the table of material values in the old WEG Pirates & Privateers book. You can find a free pdf on d6holocron.

Check out Enter the Unknown for more info on oridium than even Wookieepedia has currently. Pages 88-90 under the header "Discovering New Worlds and Systems" talks about oridium and some potential options for discovering a mine full of it.

This has been central to my campaign, since the players obtained the oridium mine from Bargos the Hutt at the completion of the adventure way back in August. Happy rolling!