The Interstellar Thorilide Guild functioned as a mining collective, with a focus on the acquisition of thorilide. This crystal served as a protective barrier for starships, guarding them against the effects of turbolasers. Lemuel Tharsa, who later transformed into the management expert known as Count Denetrius Vidian, was once a mining inspector employed by the Guild before he was afflicted with Shilmer's syndrome. Roughly four years prior to the collapse of the Galactic Republic, Vidian acquired the mining consultancy Minerax Consulting and released a study asserting that Gorse had depleted its entire supply of thorilide, thereby negatively impacting the Interstellar Thorilide Guild's business.