Alshar, an ancient mine located in the

southern Balkans, in Macedonia, is said

to contain minerals to be found
nowhere else on the planet. The rarest
of them all - the lorandite, is thought to
have the potential to let us understand
the work of the sun. Science-fiction or
reality?
02/05/2007 - Risto Karajkov Skopje

They say it holds a secret no lesser than that of the

Universe. That it guards the answer to the power of the
Sun. It is not the latest Spielberg blockbuster. It is a mine.
But a mine covered in a veil of mystery.
Alshar, an ancient mine located in the southern Balkans,
in Macedonia, is said to contain minerals to be found
nowhere else on the planet. The rarest of them all - the
lorandite, a crystal of the thallium. The lorandite is
thought to have the potential to unravel the so called
"neutron puzzle". By serving as geo-chemical detector of
the neuron, the lorandite could validate or disprove the
theory of the standard solar system, say physicists. In
simple terms - to let us understand the work of the Sun.
The Ottomans who ruled the peninsula till the beginning of
the 20th century, called it Majdan (the word for mine in
Turkish) which also gave the name to the nearest village.
They explored gold. But they were not the first ones.
According to some, the mine has existed for over 5.000
years.
It has eight entrances, two of which lead through corridors
which extend up to 6 kilometers and have cobalt stone
pathways, placed there by the Ottomans. The mine has
been closed for decades.
Some media tell the story that in the late 70s the
Macedonian government had a secret session at a request
by the federal authorities of former Yugoslavia, to decide
whether to concede a "great power" to conduct research
for space purposes in Alshar.
In the beginning of the 20th century, the elite universities
from Budapest, Vienna and Prague had been exploring the
by then unknown minerals from the mine.
Nowadays people from the nearby villages serve as guides
to "mysterious" foreigners who to visit the mine. They go
inside the mine to collect minerals from its bowels. The
stories abound with fantasy. They talk of helicopters
which do screening from above, with marks of the national
government but also foreign military ones (there is large
foreign military presence in the region). Villagers say the
mine is full of minerals that glow in different colors.
According to experts, many world scientists are very
interested in exploring Alshar. The lorandite from the mine
can register in a chemical and physical way the so called
neutron flux coming from the Sun. And they say it is the
only known substance that has this power. If the neutron
could be explored, science could understand the
processes that go on inside the Sun. Some say with awe
that it could lead understanding the past but also the
future of our galaxy.
How did it ever get there, and only there? On a mountain
(Kozuf) in the southern Balkans. One assumption, again
resembling a movie scenario, is that - it fell from the Sun,
as a result of eruption a billion years ago.
With all the mystery going around, the fact is undisputed
that Alshar is the only known place on the planet that
contains the lorandite (a crystal of the thallium), a mineral
of potentially huge significance in physics.
According to rough estimates the mine could have
reserves of up to 40 tons of lorandite. A few grams of
lorandite for lab research is said to cost about 5-6 euro.
Some local scientists have come forward in the past with
the idea to have the mine protected by UNESCO and have
suggested that it should be turned into a resort for global
science tourism. It could attract up to several thousand
researchers a year, they say; atomic physicists, space
scientists, geologists, and of course many adventurers.
The zone around the mine should be developed, and the
mine itself should be restored, its corridors lightened, and
new pathways built. They say, many NASA people would
enjoy to come and stay for work and holidays combined.
Macedonia has the lorandite and should do more for
promoting the "hunt" on the neutron, they say.
A decade ago the Lorex project (Lorandite experiment)
had been initiated by scientists from all over former
Yugoslavia, in cooperation with international labs. The key
to the neutron is the key to the door of Alshar, they said.
As of a few years back the mine has been registered as a
natural monument and is part of the Emerald network of
"areas of special conservation interest", created by the
Council of Europe. .
This year the Macedonian government has initiated a
project to have the mine protected. This would mean that
any type of activity in Alshar would require a prior
government permission. At present the place is
completely unrestricted for any type of visit.
Villagers' stories continue. Just next to the mine there is a
small hill whose grass is always green. Neither man nor
livestock can step a foot on it, they say. It will knock
down even the largest cattle which roams that pasture, as
it hills is full of thallium, one of the most potent poisons.
The immediate zone around the mine has geothermal
waters, and the outer edges of the village of Majdan
abound with white mineral which the villagers use for
washing and cleaning.
If the power of the Sun could be understood, say
scientists, then hypothetically, humanity could reproduce
it. It could create many "small suns". Energy production
facilities akin to nuclear plants, only not radioactive. They
would produce environmentally clean power.