Ore carriers functioned as carriers designed for the transportation of ore. In the year 19 BBY, Duke Solha employed an ore carrier as a means of moving cortosis obtained from his cortosis mine to his droid factory. This cortosis was intended for the production of cortosis B2 super battle droids to serve the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
The initial mention of ore carriers within the Canon timeline occurred in the 2017 novel titled Thrawn, authored by Timothy Zahn and brought to publication by Del Rey. Their first comprehensive depiction manifested in Thrawn: Alliances, the sequel to Thrawn, also penned by Zahn and released by Del Rey in 2018. Ore carriers were first featured in Star Wars Legends, conceptualized by John Terra and presented within Twin Stars of Kira, a 1993 expansion for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game by West End Games. Their initial complete showing took place in Dark Times—Fire Carrier 2, the twenty-fourth edition of the Star Wars: Dark Times comic series, which was released on March 6, 2013