Interplanetary Mining Corporation The Interplanetary Mining Corporation ( sometimes Interstellar ) , or IMC , was an Earth - based mining corporation . ( TV : " Colony in Space " ) Their logo was the letters " IMC " in duralinium curved around a spiral galaxy . ( PROSE : " Lucifer Rising " ) In the early 22nd century , Dom Issigri , having become rich prospecting for argonite , founded the Issigri Mining Company . Years later , the space pirate Maurice Caven kidnapped Dom and blackmailed his daughter , Madeleine Issigri , into allowing him to set up a base on Ta . ( TV : " The Space Pirates " ) Shortly afterwards , the Issigri Mining Company was renamed the Interplanetary Mining Corporation , or IMC for short . ( PROSE : " The Menagerie " ) The colony and mining operations on the planet Vulcan were funded by the IMC . However , they sought to keep the colony " economical " by cutting corners and providing only the bare minimum of essentials . Discontent brought together a group of rebels led by Bragen , the head of security , working to overthrow Governor Hensell who they saw as an IMC mouthpiece . ( PROSE : " The Power of the Daleks " ) In 2156 , IMC forcibly took over InterSpace Incorporated and sold off its assets . In 2157 , when IMC tripled the price of zeiton - 7 , the Earth Alliance of Corporations took control of Earth and its colonies , and granted mining rights for the Lucifer system to IMC . The " Insider Trading " , captained by Legion , went to the system where the scientific expedition Project Eden was already present . Legion set up black hole s around Lucifer to strip away its atmosphere without regard for the Angels on the planet . When the Seventh Doctor shot and killed Legion , the IMC troops were leaderless and fled . ( PROSE : " Lucifer Rising " ) By the 25th century , Earth , with its population expanding , was desperate for the mineral duralinium used in the construction of residential complexes . With such a demand came a tight schedule and a very motivated desire for profit . The company ' s methods became ruthless , with those in the field willing to do anything to secure a planet for mineral exploitation . In 2472 , a mineral survey team commanded by Captain Dent attempted to drive a colony of human s from the planet Uxarieus , using a faked monster backed by intimidation and murder . They were ultimately thwarted with the help of the Third Doctor and Jo . ( TV : " Colony in Space " ) In 2570 , IMC had a presence on Heaven . ( PROSE : " Love and War " ) They heavily funded Spacefleet in the Second Dalek War of the 26th century . Ace served aboard IMC ' s " Corporate Strategy " during her time in Spacefleet . They asked her to investigate the Lucifer system if she ever met back up with the Doctor , because it was of strategic value in the war but there was an exclusion zone around it . ( PROSE : " Lucifer Rising " ) For five years in the 2600s , IMC owned the planet Maximediras . After they had mined all the valuable materials from what little above - water land the planet had , IMC sold Maximediras to one of their subsidiaries . ( AUDIO : " Beyond the Sea " ) IMC had a presence on Epsilon Minima . ( AUDIO : " Benny ' s Story " ) In July of 2996 , a mining facility was established by IMC on a planet in the outer galaxy designated ERM 4997 , containing various minerals including trisilicate . The Seventh Doctor and Melanie Bush visited the base eighty years later , at the same time a group of Sontaran s landed , the Doctor noting when he saw the IMC logo that he had a grim history with that company . ( AUDIO : " Terror of the Sontarans " )