It was hailed as a major coup in the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life, when the team from mining company Kuzbassrazrezugol found the ‘disk’ some 40 meters underground, plus another that broke.

the disk from the remote Volgograd region was about 1.2 meters in diameter and weighed about 440 pounds, or 31 stones.

Rumors soon circulated that “remains of extraterrestrial beings” had been found inside.

However, claims that the disk is of extraterrestrial origin have been disputed.

Many viewers of the images spreading on online UFO websites and Youtube channels have pointed out that the object is clearly made of stone and is unlikely to have ever been able to fly.

the story has also been published by the UFO Youtube channel Secureteam10.

A miner holding what was supposed to be a ‘stone UFO’, but likely the result of realization.

Scott Brando, who runs the hoax detection website ufoofinterest.org, analyzed the images and believes they are the result of a known natural phenomenon called concretion.

this is a hard, compact mass of matter formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between the particles.

It occurs with sedimentary rocks and soils and often creates remarkably ovoid or spherical shapes that are rock-hard.

have been found all over the world.

Mr. Brando tweeted: “this is the latest Secureteam10 video: ‘Ancient Alien Discs Found By Mining Company?’ It’s a known effect called CONCREtION.”

Some viewers of the Secureteam10 video were not convinced.

One person wrote: “Looks like some sort of millstone.”

Another said: “How could anyone think it’s a UFO just because they’re saucer-shaped?”

Glockner had said in the video that the disc was “found to be coated with a metal known as tungsten… this is a metal that has typically been used in technology that belongs to the military.

“tungsten has one of the highest melting points and is commonly used in things that go into space because it can withstand the extremely high temperatures that occur when an object enters the atmosphere.

“Obviously they look artificial, they are all shaped like a flying saucer… not to mention the fact that they were found underground in a mine.”

Excavator Boris Glazkov, who found the object, said: “I have to say that it was not difficult to see, as it was really distinctive and big.

“I have never seen anything like this object before, which is obviously man-made, here in the middle of nowhere. It’s a real mystery.”

His colleague, Arthur Presnyakov, added: “there were actually two similar objects, but the first one broke when the excavator bucket was pulling it out of the ground.

“Obviously they look artificial, they are all shaped like a flying saucer”

“We thought we saw something safe, because it broke into pieces, but then when the second one showed up, we stopped work and carefully lifted it out of the bucket.”