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While writing up an answer to this question, I was looking for information on how common dilithium mines were, trying to find evidence that dilithium couldn't be replicated.

The only dilithium mines I found in the TNG/post-TNG era were Rura Penthe (Klingon), Remus (Romulan), and the Breen one in DS9 4x05, Indiscretion. The Federation doesn't seem to have any dilithium mines after replicator technology becomes ubiquitous.

And then I realized, the only replicators that come to mind are Federation and Cardassian (from DS9), and I couldn't find reference to the others on Memory Alpha, either - and the Cardassians don't seem to have any dilithium mines of their own!

So, have the Klingons, Romulans, or Breen ever been shown to have replicator technology? (Despite being an offshoot of transporter technology, that does not count as evidence - they could be roughly in the ENT/TOS level of development in that tech., where they have transporters but have yet to develop replicators.)

Izkata
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  • Ferengi are shown to have replicators in the Voyager episode False Profits (3x5). And while it is not clear what is being mined, the Federation does continue to mine some materials as seen at the end of the Voyager episode Author, Author (7x20). – Xantec Oct 03 '12 at 19:20
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    In the TNG episode Sins of the Father, Worf's brother, Kurn, did not immediately remember that the Federation replicated their food, which implies that at best it is very uncommon for food to be replicated in Klingon society. – Xantec Oct 03 '12 at 19:29
  • @Xantec Memory Alpha lists the Author, Author instance as dilithium mining, but I saw/heard no evidence of that in that scene of the episode.. – Izkata Oct 03 '12 at 19:55
  • I would need to watch the episode again to be sure. – Xantec Oct 03 '12 at 19:56
  • @Xantec - I could be wrong (and I don't remember where I'm getting this from), but I think it's a cultural thing; Klingons preferring the idea of food killed in battle, or taken in the hunt, where there is risk as well as honor to be gained. Ok, so in modern (relative) society, that's probably a fiction, but the underlying cultural identity probably still looks down on replicated food. Makes me think of a quote from the Ringworld books about Herbivores becoming sentient: "How much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a blade of grass?" I suspect most vegetables aren't a favorite, either – K-H-W Oct 03 '12 at 21:07
  • That being said.. Liquor, vegetables, and other things that are normally produced with no significant risk are probably fairly common. Incidentally, in TOS: Day of the Dove, Kirk had the replicators (Food Synthesizers; an early, limited output version of what would become the Replicator) reprogrammed to accommodate the Klingons. – K-H-W Oct 03 '12 at 21:15
  • @KeithHWeston Re: Day of the Dove, those were still Federation repli-thesiers, not ones made by Klingons for Klingons. I agree that there may be replicators the Klingons use for industrial purposes (do Klingons eat vegetables?), but there isn't any evidence I am aware that they have any at all, which is what the OP is asking. If that evidence does exist, I would expect it to appear in Deep Space Nine. – Xantec Oct 04 '12 at 14:55
  • @Xantec - Oh, sure; sorry -- I should have made it clearer -- I meant Day of the Dove to demonstrate that it looks like Klingons WILL eat replicated food, or they wouldn't have had known settings to apply to them. Then again, these were the old school 'Dark Makeup and styled hair' Klingons -- dunno how much their behavior counts. :) – K-H-W Oct 04 '12 at 17:07
  • In TNG The Next Phase one of the first things Riker asks the the Romulans is where are their replicators. He seemed to take for granted that they would have some, although that may have been a cultural oversight. The Romulans said the replicators were offline, and not that they didn't have any, so it seems likely that Romulan military ships have replicators at least. – Xantec Oct 22 '12 at 16:21
  • @Xantec: If I were hosting an officer of a foriegn power that was on generally unfriendly terms with my government and they assumed I had a certain technology I didn't have, I would certainly not correct their oversight. Misinformation in an enemy's hands is a potent weapon. – Jeff Oct 22 '12 at 21:30
  • I would imagine any society that has transporter technology would at some point gain replicator technology as the former technology matures. Also, exactly what ore was processed at Terok Nor? After all, it was a Cardassian ore processing station, so some ore must have been mined to be processed there? – ewanm89 Jan 13 '13 at 16:35
  • @ewanm89 Uridium ore, used in Cardassian ship construction – Izkata Jan 13 '13 at 16:38

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Aside from the Cardassians having replicators in Deep Space Nine, there are at least two other non-Federation races that have replicator technology.

Romulans:
In The Next Generation episode The Next Phase, Riker asks some Romulans where their replicators are. Although the Romulans reply that they are offline (or damaged) they do not say that they don't have any. This implies that the Romulans do have replicators on their military ships (although it would not be unthinkable that a Romulan would lie about having replicators). Additionally, in the TNG episode Birthright: Part 2, at a Romulan prison camp Worf talks to one of the children about "The Hunt", to which the child replies that they "have replicators for that [food]."

Ferengi:
The second example was in the Voyager episode False Prophets, during which it is shown that Ferengi have replicators.

Some extrapolation from the second example; Ferengi having replicators leads me to think that anyone with something to trade would likely be able to acquire a replicator, should they want one. A major political power like the Romulans or Klingons not having replicators, when there is no reason a Ferengi wouldn't sell them for profit, would be an odd display of weakness in the face of the Federation's ubiquitous replicator technology.

Xantec
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    Concerning your last point; the Kazon were completely unfamiliar with replicator technology, but then they were about as backward as a spacefaring civilization can be. – Junuxx Dec 20 '12 at 16:53
  • True, the Kazon blew themselves up when given a replicator. – Xantec Dec 20 '12 at 16:55