"There is little to say about minerals. Mined on rocky planets by machinery
except on planet Major (van Maanen's star) where the Guardians of the Free
Spirit exhume it with only a hammer and chisel. They believe in severe
hardship and live underground. It is thought that money (left over after
buying necessities like oxygen) is burned in ceremonies intended to purify
the soul. The worshippers think of all the luxuries, such as a salve for
their bleeding hands, that the money could have bought causing great
anguish which is thought to be cleansing."