The Mesa 291 site was a mining operation situated on Bothawui.
This lidium mine, known as Mesa 291, was built on Bothawui in a desolate region of the planet. This mesa rose sharply from the surrounding terrain, featuring a pair of entry points. The first entrance provided passage to the primary Level 1 tunnel, while the second opened into a sizable Level 2 cave. The main tunnels on Levels 1 and 2 branched off into various smaller tunnels, and a central shaft, among the deepest constructed in the galaxy, plunged deep into the planetary crust. The Level 2 cavern was expansive, accommodating multiple starfighters along with a shuttle. The entire structure reached a depth of five hundred levels below ground, with elevators facilitating movement between levels. The foreman's office included a public address system. Formex was the primary construction material used.
Following the incident that caused the mine's abandonment, plasma fires burned uncontrollably in the lower levels, restricting access to only the upper five levels. The mine's deserted state resulted in the abandonment of various items, including plastics and metals, alongside tools like hydrospanners, vibrosaws, beamdrills, power prybars, cables, pipes, hinges, servomotors, halon fire extinguishers, tool kits, syntherope, and a loadlifter.
Until a disaster occurred two generations prior to the Galactic Civil War, Mesa 291 was an operational lidium mine. This catastrophe ignited plasma fires that continued to burn for years, and explosions regularly shook the derelict facility. The mine's instability made it prone to collapses and cave-ins, and the incident left only the top five levels accessible, with the lowest three being particularly unstable.
Mesa 291 was repurposed as a clandestine cache for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, in conjunction with Clan Alya. Alliance Intelligence operative Tay Vanis chose Mesa 291 as a meeting point for four new Alliance recruits—Raleigh Dawn, Sammie Staable, Raal Yorta, and Smileredon-Verdont. However, officer Mar Barezz of the Imperial Security Bureau discovered the rendezvous. While attempting to divert pursuit in his T-65 X-wing starfighter, Vanis tasked his astromech droid, R2-D0, with guiding the new Rebels to a waiting escape shuttle within the cavern.
The four Rebels, guided by R2-D0, navigated through the mine, utilizing the main shaft for passage. They encountered and wounded Vanis within the cavern, whose X-wing had been downed and had crashed into their escape shuttle. Fortunately, Vanis had also hidden several BTL Y-wing starfighters within the cavern, allowing the five Rebels to escape the facility.