Noirium

Noirium is a metallic ore with the symbol No, and is found predominately on the planet of Zhakar, and any planets zhakarformed by the Xanians. Noirium is found in all major constructs produced by the Xanians, from their warships, to their equipment, to their highly advanced wardynes, and is found even within the Xanians themselves as part of their biology. The durability and effectiveness of noirium has long been an attributing factor to the hardiness of Xanian construction, as well as the longevity of their buildings and general lack of required maintenance. Indeed, noirium is a uniquely Xanian elemental compound, found only within their bodies and in their creations. Scientists on Earth have yet been able to discern extremely where noirium came from, but they have not given up on both on the origins of noirum, and the potential application of the metallic substance in human technology.

Characteristics
Noirium is extremely unique for a number of varying factors that set it apart from almost all other metallic substances on the periodic table. One of the most jarring facts is that of noirium's resistance to corrosion and ionizing radiation. Many of the properties boasted by noirium seem to fly in the face of modern human science, and few explanations for the traits borne by noirium currently exist. The metal appears resistant to extremely temperatures, allowing for a vast array of applications with noirium in extremely conditions where more expensive materials would have been necessary. When sharpened, noirium blades possess a self-sharping ability, one that has been found in both the teeth and claws of the Xanian skeleton. The particles that make up the noirium blade realign themselves to their "memorized" location, though it seems that this "memory" is set via unknown means known only to the Xanian industrialists. Noirium also boasts a high tensile strength, and is equally resistant to breaking and shattering, qualities which have made it famous throughout the foundries of Zhakar and the many worlds of the Xanian Empire.

The manner in which the Xanians forged noirium in spite of its resistance to extreme heating, seems to be linked to the unrefined noirium ore when unearthed in its natural state. It would appear that refining noirium ore has an important role in adding the resistance to the extreme elements, though additional research into the properties of refine noirium have shown that more advanced methods of further refinement take place after the initial unearthing and metalworking, adding to the increased strength. Noirium also possesses a high degree of flexibility when it comes to coloration. Though the methods of doing so remain one of the many secrets of the Xanians, noirium can be aesthetically altered in terms of coloration with no loss in its unique properties, from its natural black tint to gold, silver, bronze, and many other colors the Xanians may wish to use. This is best seen in the extensive use of gold and silver in the architecture and armor design of the Xanian species, as well as in most other things the Xanians have produced.

Noirium is a noble metal, meaning that is boasts a powerful resistance to corrosion and oxidation, not oxidizing or corroding when exposed to moisture or the atmosphere, not unlike the similar properties found in gold and silver. Simply put, noirium is a pure metal, the lack of element iron within noirium has allowed it this rare quality. Similar to gold, copper, aluminium, silver, and brass, noirium is not necessarily magnetic and can only be magnetized within a laboratory environment. The metal is paramagnetic, this being that noirium possesses only a weak attraction to magnetic fields that interact with it. This means that while most magnets will not attach themselves to the metal in most circumstances, powerful magnets are capable of exceriting a strong enough pull on norium to physically interact with it. Oddly enough, this has meant that norium can be detected by metal detectors, but will not be adversely affected by magnetic fields.

Production
Noirium is found almost exclusively on Zhakar and the planets zhakarformed by the Xanians. Production of the metal is therefore limited to Xanian space and the worlds directly altered by the Xanians. The highly unique composition and nature of noirium, and its rarity outside of Xanian space, has made the production of noirium a highly limited operation. Thus, all noirium currently in circulation is located within the Xanian Empire. Noirium is currently mined and refined on some thirty-three planets, all colonized by the Xanians, and the output of noirium production is measured in the millions of metric tons. The sustainability of this rate of production of the metal is maintained by the use of special energy-matter converters located on the planet. These converters are responsible for repeating the internal transformation of the planet usually part of the process of zhakarforming a new world, doing so by converting large amounts of energy into the particles and molecules which make up the noirium element, and replace the extracted portions of noirium within the crust of a planet. This allows Xania to maintain a high rate of noirium extraction without the fear of cleaning out the entire mineral reserve of the planet.