The discovery of the oldest groundwater in the depths of the Earth, one billion years old, may be the “Pandora’s Box” of energy

Scientists estimate that the age of groundwater recently discovered deep in the earth in a mine in South Africa is about 1.2 billion years, but what is interesting is the quality and contents of this strange water.
Researchers believe this groundwater is some of the oldest water on the planet, and its chemical interactions with surrounding rocks could provide new insights into energy production and storage in the Earth’s crust.
Oliver Warr, associate researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Toronto in Canada, and lead author of a new study on the discovered groundwater, described it as “a Pandora’s box for helium and hydrogen energy.”
According to the study, this groundwater may one day serve as an energy source, due to the concentrations of radioactive materials and elements resulting from radioactivity detected in the fluids.
In statements to the scientific journal “Live Science”, the researcher said that many experts, who indicated that the remains of this bridge became visible in the past due to low water levels.

“In these deep places, water is held in fissures between the rocks, and over time, they react, producing uranium, which then decays over millions, even billions of years, creating noble gases.”

As these noble gases accumulate in the water, researchers can measure their concentrations and how long they have been inside the rock.

The gold and uranium mine, known as “Moab Khotsong”, is located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Johannesburg and is home to one of the world’s deepest mine corridors, 3 kilometers below the surface from the deepest point of the mines.