Thorilide served as a valuable material in the construction of starship turbolaser cannon shock absorbers. The Republic provided security to the vital thorilide mining operations, safeguarding them against corporate raiders throughout the Clone Wars. As the Empire's reign progressed, the once-abundant thorilide-bearing comets became scarce, resulting in an increase in Thorilide mining efforts. It was believed that the planet Gorse and its moon, Cynda, held thorilide reserves sufficient for more than 2000 years, which was a contributing factor in the outbreak of the Gorse Conflict given the Empire's extreme methods for resource acquisition. Thorilide was originally discovered in a crystalline state and extracted using powerful baradium bisulfate explosives, followed by a refinement process involving immersion of the crystals in xenoboric acid to isolate the desired material. Mining this resource was challenging because it had a natural disposition to break down into simpler elements.
The Interstellar Thorilide Guild functioned as a specialized organization dedicated to the extraction of this particular resource.