Semiobtanium ore
Unobtanium ore
moderate deposits
sparse deposits
no known deposits
Semiobtanium ore is a naturally-occurring quasimetallic mineral, known for its semiconductive properties and used commonly in consumer electronics. Semiobtanium ore is mined sustainably in parts of Illuminatia. The resulting metal requires only modest processing before it can be used in consumer goods. Semiobtanium ore shares many physical and chemical similarities with unobtanium ore—properties that make both substances commercially useful—but also have key differences from one another that differentiate their usage and make one or the other ideal for various purposes.
Unlike its cousin mineral unobtanium ore, semiobtanium ore is completely safe to process and work with in a non-controlled environment. While unobtanium ore requires careful handling in a highly-controlled technical environment during its intensive manufacturing process to avoid contamination and serious health consequences for the industrial workers who handle the metal, semiobtanium ore is completely benign even when it is being processed. Semiobtanium cannot cause Unobtinosis, while unobtanium commonly does cause this disease if it is handled improperly during processing, manufacturing, or servicing.
Significant semiobtanium ore deposits are found primarily in the hills and mountains of the Lucidian Range in northeast Illuminatia, particularly on the Galant Peninsula and, to a lesser extent, on Ludwig van Island. Semiobtanium ore has not been found in any other regions of Illuminatia. Though semiobtanium ore exhibits many similarities to unobtanium ore, their deposits are found very distant from one another in different parts of the Illuminatian continent, leading to the conclusion that the two minerals are geologically distinct. The nearby semiobtanium deposits have caused the nearby coastal cities of Brahms and Ave Verum to develop into prominent semiobtanium processing and electronics manufacturing centers.
Semiobtanium is somewhat less conductive and more resistive than unobtanium, a property which does not entirely preclude its use in electronics, but instead weights the cost-benefit analyses in relation to the advantages and disadvantages of its use compared to its more expensive cousin mineral, unobtanium. Due to the metal's higher resistance to electricity, electronics built using semiobtanium tend to waste more energy and generate more waste heat than electronics that use unobtanium. This makes unobtanium generally more desirable for use in mass-produced consumer electronics, industrial equipment, and professional equipment used on other commercial environments despite the higher costs involved in its complex manufacturing process. Semiobtanium is frequently used in electronics that are assembled by consumers because it is not hazardous to work with. Semiobtanium is most often found in hobby electronics and electronics kits.
The Bureau of Natural Resources (BNR) tightly regulates the extraction of semiobtanium ore from the natural environment through its Office of Resource Extraction (ORE). The impacts of unobtanium ore mining on the environment is managed by the BNR's Office of Mineral Resources (OMR).
Like other minerals that are extracted from the natural environment, the BNR encourages its recycling through its Office of Resource Reclamation (ORR). Raw semiobtanium and devices containing it have a fee assessed with is considered a deposit on the raw materials inside, representing the value of the raw materials due to the Illuminatian public in general for use of the natural resources belonging to the public at large. Upon selling or surrendering the electronics containing semiobtanium, the deposit fee is returned.