Duracrete slugs eat and digest duracrete, then excreting the remaining non-digestible parts onto the skin to form hard shell segments and scutes. The digestion removes any impurities from the duracrete, resulting in the purified duracrete deposits forming over the creature’s body. These deposits are both stronger and lighter than commercially available duracrete of the same volume. When a freshly killed duracrete slug is skinned, the hide, while heavy with mineral deposits, is relatively flexible and can be moulded into various shapes. Mounted onto a frame while still wet, the hides will dry and maintain the shape of the frame, resulting in a structure or shelter that is half the weight of an identical abode made from commercially available material. Scavengers and the destitute in areas where duracrete slugs can be found will sometimes hunt these creatures down and skin the carcasses, using the skins to erect shelters that are both strong and long lasting. Some of the smaller structures can even be moved from place to place with nothing more than muscle power.

While shelter building using the tough, durable skin might be expected, they have increasingly been used in high-end fashion, with duracrete slug skin leather used in trendy leather products from such renowned leather goods brands as Louie Button, Hermos and Gussi. A number of pistol holster manufacturers have also started using duracrete slug leather in their newest product lines. Another use for these skins is for sharpening blades. As the duracrete secretions form over the slug’s bofy at different rates, it is quite possible to obtain skin segments of differing roughness, ranging from coarse sections that can be used to remove nicks and rolls from a blade edge to very fine, high grit sections that are used to apply the final polish to blades.