1.8 Bllion Yrs Old Oklo Nuclear Reactor Man-Made or Mystery: Fact Check

Story:

Mystery of Oklo Nuclear Reactor – Did Humans Create This 1.8 Billion Years Ago?!

In 1972, a French factory imported Uranium ore from Oklo, in Africa’s Gabon. After receiving the ore, they were shocked to find that all of the ores had been previously extracted. They hired scientists from across the world to investigate the matter and later found out that the site of origin was a huge nuclear reactor. It existed 1.8 billion years ago, and was in operation for over 500,000 years. Prior to the discovery, we believed that only multicellular organisms roamed the earth. So who created such a nuclear reactor almost 2 billion years ago?

Nobel Prize winner Glenn T. Seaborg also claimed that the nuclear reactor wasn’t a natural occurrence, but instead a man-made product. His reason for saying this was that there are very specific conditions needed in order for uranium to react. One condition is that water needs to be very pure, much more pure than its natural state. A material called U-235 is also needed in order for nuclear fission to occur. Reactor engineers stated that the Uranium in Oklo didn’t have enough U-235 for the reaction to have happened naturally. Such a phenomenon definitely raises a few eyebrows and shows there was definitely more than just multi-cellular organisms living on earth during that time. Could there have been advanced beings who created the nuclear reactor for uranium ore extraction? How else could a 1.8 billion year old reactor be explained by science?

Fact Check:

A story shared widely online, especially on social media, discusses about a 1.8 Billion Years Old Nuclear Reactor Discovered in Oklo region of Africa’s Gabon, raising questions about its mysterious occurrence – whether it was Man-Made or is the creation of advanced beings, as multi cellular organisms like Man are not believed to exist at that time. As explained below, scientists investigated the Oklo mine site and suggested the 1.8 billion year old African Nuclear Reactor region was the result of Natural Fission process, and not made by man or any advanced beings.

About the Story and Its Origin

On 26 May 2017, Facebook page Beyond Science TV shared a video with the story in question, about examination of Uranium sample from Oklo region in Gabon, West Africa. It is said that all ores from the Uranium sample were surprisingly extracted and scientists across the world were hired to investigate the reasons. The site of origin in Oklo was found to be a huge nuclear reactor that existed 1.8 billion years ago, which operated for over 500,000 years. The story raises questions about advanced beings, as to who created the Nuclear Reactor at that time when multi cellular organisms like Humans are not believed to exist. Nobel Prize winner Glenn T. Seaborg is also mentioned to have said the nuclear reactor in Gabon was not a natural occurrence, as very specific conditions are needed in order for Uranium to react and create sustainable fission reaction.

In July 2017 there was also a video (shown below) from YouTube channel Mystery History talking about the findings in Oklo Nuclear Reactor and questioning if Man existed at that time.

Actual Facts

In 1972, a researcher analyzing the Uranium from the Oklo deposit in Gabon discovered the samples contained a U-235 content of only 0.717 percent – significantly less than the typical 0.720 percent contained in modern Uranium ore found in other rock samples from the Earth’s crust, the Moon and even meteorites. The finding was very significant with regards to uranium, as the researchers have to ensure that none are diverted for weapons purposes. So, officials alerted French scientists to investigate into the matter.

Natural Nuclear Fission Reactor

The French scientists analyzing the Oklo mine found ore from at least one part was far short on Uranium 235. About 200 kilograms appeared to be missing. Moreover, the depleted region of the deposit was also found to be rich in nuclear fission products. So the scientists suggested that the missing 0.003% U-235 content underwent Nuclear Fission reaction and split into other atoms. What was thought to be the first nuclear reactor came in 1942 when Physicist Enrico Fermi and a team of workers built it. So the proposal raised several suspicions as to who made it. Because Nuclear Fission reactor needs specific conditions to churn out energy continuously.