MineArchive
Naquadah mine of Abydos
Fictional record. This page describes a mine from a fictional setting, not a real place. Information is based on the cited canon, with adaptations and interpretation distinguished where necessary. It is kept separate from the real MineArchive corpus — see Fictional.
| Also known as | Abydos mine |
|---|---|
| Setting | Stargate (Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin (1994 film); Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner (Stargate SG-1)) |
| Location | In the desert west of the Great Lake of Khemhelt on the planet Abydos, among rock formations rich in the mineral, near the pyramid that houses the planet's Stargate. The film never names the planet; the series calls it Abydos. |
| Commodity | Naquadah |
| Type | Naquadah (open working) |
| Worked | Not dated. Worked under Ra, who brought humans from ancient Egypt through the Stargate to dig for him. – The rebellion of the film ended Ra's rule; the planet itself was destroyed by Anubis in 2003 in the series. |
| Extent | An open working in the desert rock. No scale is given beyond a whole tribe at work in it. |
Overview
The open naquadah working on Abydos where the 1994 film's expedition first meets Ra's human slaves, mining the mineral their god's technology, and the Stargate itself, is made of.
History
In the film, Colonel O'Neil's team steps through the Stargate into a pyramid on a desert world and finds a tribe of humans at work mining a strange mineral, which the geologist Brown recognises as the material the Stargate is made of. Daniel Jackson works out the rest: Ra, the alien who had ruled ancient Egypt as a god, had brought these people through the gate to dig for him, and their descendants, forbidden to read or write, still worshipped him. When Ra returns and finds the team's nuclear bomb, he plans to send it back to Earth packed with the mineral to multiply its force a hundredfold. Jackson persuades the Abydonians that their god is no god, the people rise, and Ra dies in his own ship.
Stargate SG-1 names the planet Abydos and the mineral naquadah, and returns to both: Abydos becomes the first world reached by Earth's Stargate programme, home to Jackson's wife Sha're and to Kasuf's people, until Anubis destroys it in 2003.
Workings
An open mine in the desert rock, worked by hand under Ra's Horus guards, the ore carried out by the people themselves. The rock formations around it are described in the series material as the oldest on the planet, uncovered by the blowing sand and rich in naquadah.
Closure
Ra's rule ended with the rebellion of the film; the planet was destroyed by Anubis in the series.
What became of it
Destroyed with the planet in 2003, in the series' continuity.
Canon & adaptations
The film never names the mineral or the planet, and places the world millions of light years away in another galaxy; the series named both, moved Abydos into the Milky Way as the nearest gated world to Earth, and built the mineral into the basis of all Goa'uld technology.
Recorded claims
Each claim is marked with its basis — explicit canon, MineArchive inference, adaptation only, or fandom interpretation — and attached to the source(s) below. Where tellings disagree, both are kept.
- The expedition of the 1994 film finds a tribe of humans mining a mineral that the team's geologist identifies as the material of the Stargate; Ra had brought their ancestors from Earth to dig it. (MineArchive inference) 1,2
- Ra intends to return the team's nuclear bomb to Earth with a shipment of the mineral to increase its explosive power a hundredfold. (MineArchive inference) 2
- The series names the planet Abydos and the mineral naquadah, and Anubis destroys the planet in 2003. (MineArchive inference) 1,2
- The naquadah lies in old rock formations uncovered by the desert sand west of the Great Lake of Khemhelt. (MineArchive inference) 1
Sources
- (interpretation) Abydos — Stargate Wiki — Stargate Wiki (Fandom), read through the MediaWiki API
- (interpretation) Stargate (film) — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
- (interpretation) Mythology of Stargate — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
Record created: 16 October 2026 · Last researched: 16 October 2026