Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-33959963-20171214031144/@comment-26397825-20171214033757

Well, Dust is not magic. Monty was very emphatic about that. It's the most science magic in the series.

So I believe Dust is basically just like any other mineral like gold. It forms in the soil and is dug out like minerals, which is why they have large Dust mines all over the place. Nothing mystical about it beyond maybe trace amounts of magic left over from the gods in the soil being concentrated and forming as crystals which people can use.