In James Cameron’s Avatar, humans are mining unobtanium on Pandora. The mineral is extremely valuable in the film’s future economy, making Pandora a target for industrial extraction and driving the conflict between the human corporation and the Na’vi.
Unobtanium is a humorous engineering term for a hypothetical material with ideal or impossible properties. Avatar turns that informal term into the name of a fictional mineral. Within the film, unobtanium is described as having valuable superconducting properties at relatively high temperatures, which helps explain its enormous commercial value.
The mining operation threatens the Na’vi’s home, including the area beneath the Hometree. This economic motive is central to the film rather than a minor background detail. Unobtanium is fictional and should not be confused with real superconductors, rare-earth elements, or the mineral resources found on Earth.