The Rings of Power: What is Mithril? The metal plays a huge role in The Lord of the Rings
Warning: the following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 4. Turn back if you haven't seen the new installment in Amazon's epic Tolkien adaptation.
So the Dwarves’ secret is out – Mithril is the mysterious element that Khazad-dûm has been mining. After Elrond discovered a secret passage hidden behind a wall in Durin’s chambers, the Dwarven prince entrusted him with the secret of the precious, glowing metal.
"A new ore, lighter than silk, harder than iron as weaponry it would best our proudest blades," Durin explains. "As specie, it might be dearer than gold. This could be the beginning of a new era for our people of strength, prosperity."
However, while it sounds great, Durin points out how difficult and dangerous it is to mine in the depths of Khazad-dûm. What’s more, the Dwarves are concerned the discovery of the element will cause unwanted interest in their community from those who will take advantage of them.
After this ominous introduction, it seems Mithril will play a big role in The Rings of Power, but those familiar with Tolkien lore may remember the element is also hugely important in the future of Middle-earth. Before we delve any deeper into this, a word of warning that from here on out, we’ll be getting into some book spoilers. If you want to avoid these, stop reading now.
Mithril was first mentioned by J.R.R. Tolkien in 'The Lord of the Rings', where he described it as a precious metal that resembles silver, but is stronger and lighter than steel. By this point in the Third Age, when this story takes place, Mithril has become a very desirable metal thanks to these qualities as well as the fact very little of it still exists. And once Khazad-dûm is destroyed by the Balrog,
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