Taros (T'ros) - Economy and Society: Almost 12 million people inhabit Taros, mostly in and around Taros City (Tarokeen) and the semi-arid regions surrounding the small seas. Taros City is situated in the Aestus region, where several small landbound seas are Taros' only surface water. The water is highly alkaline, but hydro-processing plants situated on the shores turn it into potable, fresh water.This process is aided by the scattered water-farms, which gather ambient moisture from the air. Water farmers sell their produce to the planetary governor through exclusive contracts. The governor and his officials control all water distribution on Taros and therefore all life.Tarokeen is the single largest urban area with the planet's only spaceport facility. Most Taronian workers are miners, working long hours at the strip mines and quarries out in the desert. Other major industries include water-processing and hydro-farming.Hydroponics workers grow food in atmospheric-controlled hydroponic plants. Ore transportation is another large Taronian industry, moving raw ore from the desert mines to collection points in Tarokeen before transportation off-world.Short distance transportation uses physical manpower (literally labourers carrying a sack of ore each) or tractors towing trains of ore carts. Long-distance transportation uses large cargo aircraft.In the 38th Millennium, as part of the then-planetary governor's drive to improve Taronian productivity, he requested an order from the Adeptus Administratum to import off-world labour in the form of Ogryn colonies of Jopall.Several thousand of the big Abhumans were shipped en masse to Taros to work in the mines in the most inhospitable desert areas. Very strong and hardy, the Ogryns are still used by many Taronian mines as part of their workforce.The last census carried out by the Adeptus Administratum, in the mid-41st Millennium, estimated a population of 10,000 Ogryn scattered across the planet.The rest of the Taronian population is made up mostly of poor mineworkers and labourers operating in work gangs. A high level of technology is maintained, with many tasks automated because of the difficult environment and the importance of Taros' minerals to the Imperium's war machine. The Ecclesiarchy's Missionaria Galaxia missionaries report that there is little evidence of genetic mutation or psychic abilities among the Taronians.Dur to the extreme aridity of the planet water is the primary resource on Taros. Hydro-farming is an important industry, as is hydro-processing from the alkaline seas. Sea water is processed to make it fit for Human consumption. All water trade is centrally-controlled by the planetary governor through his official "water-agents." Processing plants are situated on the coast and purify the water via a three-stage process. Hydro-farms are widely scattered across the Aestus region.The world's primary exports, first to the Imperium and currently to the T'au Empire, are mineral ores for ferro-alloys, including lead, vanadium, rhenium, cobalt and manganese. Vanadium is a toxic, silvery-white metallic element, occurring in vanadinite which is a red/yellow/brownish mineral formed by the weathering of lead ores in desert climates. It is used in steel alloys to provide extra hardness and as a catalyst in other military-grade alloys.Rhenium is a dense, silvery-white metallic element with a high melting point that occurs in gadolinite and molybdenite. It is used in alloy with tungsten in high-temperature thermocouples.Manganese is a brittle, greyish-white metallic element that occurs in manganite,a black mineral consisting of a form of manganese oxide. It is used in some steel and other ferromagnetic alloys. Manganese steel is a very hard form of steel containing 11-14% manganese by volume to produce hard-wearing tools such as rock crushers, heavy pistons and gun barrels with high-tensile properties.Lead is a heavy, toxic blue-white metallic element that occurs in galaena (a blue-black mineral that consists of lead sulphides). It is highly malleable, and it is used in alloys for accumulators, cable sheathing and radiation shielding.Cobalt is a brittle, hard, metallic element that is a ferromagnetic metal and occurs in cobaltite, and it is used in steel alloys to help resist corrosion. Taros' principle imports are food and fresh water.Taros' native food supply is largely grown under cover in large, atmospheric-controlled hydroponic plants. Many Taronian buildings have their own hydroponic plants, but the largest are situated around Tarokeen and in the coastal regions. This provides the population with 80% of their food supply, the other 20% being imported from surrounding worlds.Taros' principle crops are variants of the millet and sorghum plants, both members of the grass family, providing highly nutritious grain. Groundnuts, related to the soya bean, are a growing source of protein and provide many varied foodstuffs. Some exotic off-world fruits are grown.All Taronian crops have evolved to survive on a minimal water supply, which is heavily recycled by the hydroponic plants to prevent any wastage. Other sources of vitamins and protein come from algae and marine microorganisms harvested from the seas and chemically processed to make an edible gruel called "Kreml" by the natives.This is the staple diet of the Taronian miners and workers. Other foodstuffs, meats, dairy products and luxury items must be imported and are the preserve of the top level of the Taronian social order, planetary government officials, mine owners, etc.Only one major city exists on Taros, Taros City (Tarokeen), which has a population of approximately 4,000,000 people. It acts as an ore collection point, the centre of the planet's political administration, the distribution centre for water and food supplies and other smaller industries.The surrounding hinterland has the highest density of hydro-farms and water processing plants and mines, but there are very few other large settlements. Those that do exist are towns built up around the largest strip-mining and quarrying operations.