Novian ore represented a specific variety of ore used in smelting processes to create saw blades. This ore was located on the swamp planet known as Safrifa.
During her time on Safrifa in 231 BBY, the mercenary named Ty Yorrick received novian ore as payment from a marsh-lord residing there, compensating her for rescuing the marsh-lord's son from a competing rival clan. Yorrick intended to have an armorer at the Mid Rim shadowport of Keldooine transform the ore into saw blades. Ultimately, she took on a different job on Safrifa when two Safrifan farmers proposed paying her with more novian ore for her services in monster-hunting.
The novel The High Republic: The Rising Storm, penned by Cavan Scott as part of Phase I of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia initiative, introduced novian ore. The book was released on June 29, 2021. Before the book's publication, StarWars.com featured a preview on April 22 of that same year that mentioned the ore.