‘The Mandalorian’ lore: How rare is beskar, exactly?

Within the Star Wars universe there are few objects as dangerous — or powerful — as the lightsaber. In the history of the series there is only one thing that truly evens the odds between a lightsaber wielder and anyone else: beskar.  Forged by the ancient Mandalorians to help them defeat the Jedi during the Mandalorian Wars, beskar allowed those without force abilities to hold their own against the Jedi, even if they did ultimately lose the conflict.

What is beskar?

Also known as Mandalorian steel or Mandalorian iron, the metal is capable of reflecting high-powered energy beams like those found in blaster shots and even more impressively – lightsabers. The metal is incredibly durable, even when in an unpure state. During the events of the Clone Wars, Clans that did not side with Clan Kryze were outfitted with unpure beskar armor. Whether they could not claim new ore for armor sets or didn’t have the tools necessary to accurately refine the metal is unknown, but the imperfect armor frequently shattered in battle against high-powered foe like Sith, Jedi, and even other Mandalorians. While unpure beskar is more than capable of protecting the wearer against average threats, it’s only when refined into its perfect form that beskar has the incredible abilities the metal is coveted for. The art of creating perfect beskar is a Mandalorian-only technique and is a closely guarded secret that is passed from generation to generation.

Once smelted, the alloy can be shaped into many forms. During the conflict between the Mandalorians and the Jedi, it was used for swords, halberds, and lightsaber-catching gauntlets. Its most common usage is the creation of armor – the religious apparel of the Mandalorians. Some factions of Mandalore — like the Children of the Watch — consider the creation of weapons from the coveted ore to be taboo since beskar is vulnerable against beskar.

Where is it found?

The ore is only located on one planet – Mandalore itself. Located under the Civic Center in the city of Sundari, the ore has been mined for generations. The mine is also home to the Living Waters, an important religious site for Mandalorians. The holy site allows apostate Mandalorians to redeem themselves and rejoin their clans.

How precious is the metal?

Mandalorians place high value on the metal. It plays a valuable role in their culture and traditions, with armor being passed from generation to generation and some factions using their helmets as permanent face-coverings. Armor is sacred and most Mandalorians will not suffer someone outside of their culture to wear it or use the metal.

While the warrior culture may value the ore more than most, they certainly aren’t the only ones that covet it, it’s valued across the galaxy. Forged armor sets and beskar weapons are considered easy money by smugglers since they are all but guaranteed to sell. The Empire even created a weapon for use during the Great Purge of Mandalore specifically designed to super-heat beskar, rendering the wearer to ash without destroying the armor. The Empire collected many sets of beskar in the aftermath, and with the destruction of Mandalore and its people, Mandalorian steel has become harder to come by.

Without new sources of metal, the clans of Mandalore salvage the armor of fallen comrades and beskar weapons to forge new sets. Din Djarin frequently donates beskar to his fellow Mandalorians so that new armor can be forged for the foundlings. If the Mandalorian people can ever regain the plunder stolen by the Empire after the Great Purge, the warriors will easily be able to outfit their few surviving Clans.

It’s hard to say how conservative the Mandalorians themselves were while extracting beskar from the mines. If the surface of Mandalore is actually inhabitable there is a possibility that the mines could still be able to produce the precious metal. Even if the residents of Mandalore were being conservative in their ore extraction, the Empire is well known for stripping planets of anything of value before glassing the world’s surface and moving to the next one. Bo Katan Kryze tells Din Djarin that the planet was plundered of resources before it was destroyed by the Empire, so there is a real possibility that the only beskar left is hidden in some Imperial war chest waiting to be reclaimed.