Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-4784525-20131010155204/@comment-10390252-20131121215704

In episode 2, Weiss said that the dust in her luggage was "mined and refined at the Schnee Quarry". So, in its' raw form, Dust is a natural resource. The process that the prologue talks about was probably the discovery of its uses (beyond being pretty glowing crystals).