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Origins of Shungite

Posted by Kerri Spence on

Scientists are yet to agree on the origins of Shungite.
There are at least 3 theories explaining how shungite may have formed.

Theory One: Galactic Mineral

Billions of years ago, a gigantic meteorite could have brought a part of a decomposed planet and landed in what is now known as Karelia. This decomposed planet had carbon based life forms.
Fact: The oldest meteorite crater on earth (2.4 billion) is found only 50km from Lake Onega. AND: Fullerenes WERE recently found in outer space by astronomers in a nebula. This theory cannot be ruled out, but No scientific study is currently able to prove it.

Theory Two: It was created

Shungite was made from Primitive microscopic organisms existing in shallow areas of the ancient sea. This was the first algae that gave birth to our atmosphere because there were no plants yet. Then the organic material was exposed to and transformed by volcanic heat.
This gives shungite all of the elemental associations
  • Water, because it the decaying matter was in water. 
  • Air, the algae from which it was formed created our atmosphere. 
  • Earth, the remains of the unicellular organisms built up and mixed with mud and silt to form layers of sediment.
  • Fire, the transformation through volcanic heat
  • Spirit, the initial bio-material was alive. 
NB although similar there is a significant difference between petroleum and coal. The timescale is completely different! Coal and petroleum were formed between 300 and 600 million years ago, 1.5 billion years later than Shungite.

Theory Three: Lightning Strike

Fullerenes present in shungite resulted from lightning strikes in storms. This has been strongly disputed as Shungite in Karelia has high levels of fullerenes. It has been proven that lightening can in fact produce fullerenes but only in trace quantities.