The spice mines of Kessel were a series of labor camps on the planet Kessel, where various species and Wookiee slaves were forced to mine a medicinal spice mineral into a dangerous drug. Spice mining was extremely dangerous and slaves were thus used as expendable labor. Life expectancy for humanoid species was two to three years, while Wookiees had an expected survival time of three months. The Kessel royal family turned a blind eye to the harvesting of spice on their world, living in luxurious sanctuaries in the southern hemisphere of the planet, while the spice mining took place in the northern hemisphere.