Nix/Manniler Field

A diamond and sapphire mine on Nix, owned by the Manniler Residents Association. The 'field' was actually a vertical mineral-rich layer approximately 2 miles long, 1 mile deep and about 30 yards thick. Local geologists have theorised that at a tectonic fault, a layer of softer mineral-rich silt (possibly a former river bed) was compressed between two massive basalt and granite ranges over the course of the last 3 million years, leaving massive gemstone deposits encased in relatively soft rock or loose shale, in dozens of branching seams through cracks in the much harder surrounding rock.

The mine was theoretically in shared ownership between all the homes and businesses who own the land above it, many of whom have no experience of mining. Therefore the Residents Association hired the Superior Mining Consortium to run the mine and find buyers for the gemstones, and each resident claimed a fraction of the proceeds (after paying the SMC's fees) based on the area of land they own.

In late <date>843</date>, the lower levels of the mine (below 700m) were closed due to the discovery of an apparently man-made ruin under the mine. This suggests that the planet could have been previously settled, and possibly pre-Expansion ruins were buried in the fault, either deliberately or by Pressure side volitation. Mining continues on higher levels of the mine, while company guards (as well as representatives of the Nixin Heritage and History Trust) guard the single shaft leading down to that level. It is believed that normal operations will be able to continue following the inspection of the site by an archaeological expert from the Theocratic Science Service.

However, the mine (and the ruins) were then destroyed (during the game Oasis) in the infamous Manniler Incident.