In the 2009 film Avatar, what valuable mineral is mined on Pandora?
Answer
Unobtanium
In the 2009 film Avatar, the valuable mineral mined on Pandora is unobtanium.
The Resources Development Administration, or RDA, seeks unobtanium because it is extremely valuable on Earth. The mineral is located beneath the home of the Na’vi clan known as the Omaticaya, creating the central conflict between the human operation and Pandora’s Indigenous inhabitants.
Unobtanium is a fictional material whose name comes from the engineering term “unobtainium,” a joking label for a substance with ideal but impossible properties. In Avatar, the spelling and the mineral’s economic importance make it a key part of the film’s world-building.
The mineral is not the same as Marvel’s adamantium or the fictional fuel-related material dilithium from Star Trek. Those belong to different fictional universes and have different roles.