Dark Matter in the Mines: The Mystery of the Kolar Events

In a mine nearly two kilometers underground, Indian physicists recorded unexplained particle bursts—ones that defied every known source. Then the data stopped.

This episode of Unsettled: The Hidden Record explores the bizarre and still-unsolved occurrences known as The Kolar Events, recorded deep inside India’s Kolar Gold Fields during the 1970s and 1980s. Scientists observed unusual high-energy bursts—some theorized they could be evidence of proton decay, exotic matter, or even dark matter interactions.

But the data was sparse. The events couldn’t be replicated. The mine closed, and the only clues to what happened are buried in decades-old records and interviews with the physicists who were there.

What really caused the Kolar Events? And did the world walk away from a discovery it still doesn’t understand?