People rush to mine diamonds in South African village, authorities say they’re quartz

On June 12, a cattle herder in South Africa discovered shining stones whereas grazing his cattle within the KwaHlathi village of KwaZulu-Natal province. Believing them to be diamonds, the herder quickly put out the phrase. Within every week, 1000’s of individuals flocked to the hillside village with picks and shovels to dig the realm to make a fortune for themselves.However, an area authorities report has now mentioned the shining stones had been truly quartz and never diamonds.Ravi Pillay, the provincial govt council member for financial growth and tourism, advised a media briefing on Sunday mentioned the stones are literally quartz crystals, that are far much less precious.Unidentified stones that lured 1000’s of diamond hunters to a rural South African village had been, in actual fact, not diamonds https://t.co/CsRXkQE3Ia pic.twitter.com/izp3aZSghy— Reuters (@Reuters) June 21, 2021″The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds as some had hoped,” Reuters quoted him as saying.”The value, if any, of the quartz crystals is yet to be established but it must be mentioned that the value of quartz crystals is very low compared to that of diamonds,” he added.The report said that the positioning, which is almost 300 kilometres from Johannesburg, is situated on the sting of the Karoo dolerite sill which isn’t in a zone the place diamonds are discovered.Why individuals rushed for ‘diamonds’?KwaZulu-Natal province is one in every of South Africa’s poorest areas. Ravi Pillay mentioned the occasion highlighted the socio-economic challenges confronted by native individuals. South Africa, which is already reeling from a excessive unemployment price, has seen joblessness surge amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic.Initially, there have been 3,000 individuals on the web site who got here for digging however now the quantity has been diminished to 500, Reuters quoted Pilay as saying. He mentioned they’d be inspired to go away as massive crowds threaten the unfold of Covid-19. If they don’t depart, nevertheless, legislation enforcement companies could be requested to make sure the positioning is cleared, he mentioned.According to Reuters, the native officers have vowed to reply to points raised by the group throughout their go to, notably round highway high quality and water entry.