During the Clone Wars period, a cortosis mine was constructed by the pro-separatist Duke Solha under the directives of the Separatist movement's Head of State, Count Dooku. This mine was established to extract cortosis from the planet of Mokivj, situated in proximity to both a river and the Mokivj droid factory. The extracted cortosis was processed at the factory and subsequently utilized in the creation of cortosis B2 super battle droids. In the course of the attack on the factory, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, alongside Padmé Amidala and Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, also known as Thrawn, successfully destroyed both the mine and a portion of the factory. This action was taken to prevent the Separatists from producing additional cortosis battle droids or Clone armor. As a consequence of the factory and mine's destruction, Mokivj became a desolate wasteland, with triggered volcanic eruptions that devastated the grasslands and the planet's prime croplands.
Count Dooku of the Confederacy of Independent Systems learned from a mysterious species that cortosis possessed the ability to withstand lightsabers and that it was located on Mokivj. Consequently, Dooku dispatched Duke Solha, along with his brother and sister. They seized control of the planet and established both a mine and, before long, a droid factory. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, and Senator Padmé Amidala launched a raid on the droid factory. During the operation, the humans and Chiss discovered the Separatists were manufacturing a cortosis-armored model of the B2-series super battle droids utilizing cortosis extracted from the nearby cortosis mine. Padmé and Anakin resolved to stop the Separatists from continuing to produce these fortified droids. Thrawn obtained a deflector shield generator, which he referred to as a "Republic energy shield," for the Ascendancy.
The mission culminated in disaster. In an attempt to collapse the Separatist cortosis mine on Mokivj, Anakin Skywalker inadvertently channeled lava, ash, and smoke into the planet's most fertile cropland and water sources. Skywalker failed to consider that the cortosis within the mine would redirect the heat from the explosions. As a result, the explosive force did more than just collapse the mine's tunnels. It was directed down through the planet's crust, triggering volcanic activity and causing widespread devastation, deforestation, and desertification across Mokivj.
The cortosis mine made its initial appearance in the 2018 novel titled Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn.