Void Opals
Void opals are a mineraloid prized by various cultures. Their lack of reflectivity means that they seem almost to absorb light, hence their name.
— In-Game Description
Void Opals are a rare Mineral Commodity that can be mined from Hotspots in icy Planetary Ring Systems.
Although Void Opals can be found inside asteroids in any icy rings, which occur fairly commonly throughout the galaxy, the locations with the highest concentrations are Void Opal Hotspots within high-mass icy rings orbiting Gas Giants. Ideally, these should be in uninhabited, low-traffic systems that are not being exploited by groups of other miners, as extensive mining activity can deplete Hotspots and make crackable motherlode asteroids more difficult to find.
Under certain conditions, specific markets will buy Void Opals for over 500 million credits per unit, making them potentially an extremely-lucrative commodity. This usually occurs at stations controlled by a minor faction that is simultaneously experiencing the Investment, Civil Liberty, and Pirate Attack States. Their prices and demand were drastically reduced in 2020.
Notes
- Void Opals were added in Elite Dangerous: Beyond Chapter Four (3.3), but were initially only called "Opals". Update 3.3.1 added the current name.