Quartz gemstones are relatively common materials, with unusually coloured. The provincial government has since requested all those involved to leave the site to allow authorities to conduct a proper inspection, amid fears the people digging at the site could potentially be spreading the coronavirus. Should KwaHlathi prove to be the scene of a quartz-rich, and not a diamond-rich find, quartz is still worth a few dollars. Some people have started selling the stones, with the starting price ranging from 100 rand ($7.29) to 300 rand. The coronavirus pandemic has made it worse. South Africa’s economy has long suffered from extremely high levels of unemployment, trapping millions in poverty and contributing to stark inequalities that persist nearly three decades after the end of apartheid in 1994. But it did cast a stark light on the desperate socio-economic circumstances of. The lack of an analysis of the stones has not deterred the fortune seekers as long lines of parked cars on both sides of the gravel road could be seen just a few metres from the open field, where the young, old, female and male dug through the soil with picks, shovels and forks to find riches. The KwaHlathi 'diamond rush' may not have brought the riches hoped for when the stones turned out to be quartz crystals. The mines department said on Monday it was sending a team comprising of geological and mining experts to the site to collect samples and conduct an analysis.Ī formal technical report will be issued in due course, the department said. Unemployed Skhumbuzo Mbhele concurred, adding: “I hadn’t seen or touched a diamond in my life. When I returned home with them, (the family was) really overjoyed,” said the 27-year old father of two. “This means our lives will change because no one had a proper job, I do odd jobs. The discovery was a life changer, said one digger Mendo Sabelo as he held a handful of tiny stones. The people travelled from across South Africa to join villagers who have been digging since Saturday, after a herd man who dug up the first stone on an open field, which some believe to be quartz crystals, put out the word. So basically these people will be classified as illegal miners.KWAHLATHI, South Africa (Reuters) – More than 1,000 fortune seekers on Monday flocked to the village of KwaHlathi in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province in search of what they believed to be diamonds after a discovery of unidentified stones in the area. You cannot have a rough diamond in your possession unless you have a mining or prospecting license. It is illegal for you to find a rough diamond, you will have to hand it in at the nearest police station.
David van Wyk, Senior Researcher - Benchmarks Foundation If they have found diamonds, I don't think they have struck it all that lucky because the government act of 1986 amended in 1995 basically states that if you do find the diamonds, you are not allowed to keep it. Questions have emerged whether indeed these are diamonds or crystals and what are the ramifications for the community if indeed these are diamonds?īongani Bingwa speaks to Senior Researcher at the Benchmarks Foundation David van Wyk and Geologist Dr Gideon Groenewald about this discovery. #DiamondRush in #Ladysmith, KwaHlathi /ZotkILw4z1- Dimbane ka Dimbane June 13, 2021 On Monday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala called for calm, urging people to cease their operation to allow the government officials to conduct a proper inspection. miners are still mining at the KwaHlathi diamond mine. Many people around South Africa and the rest of the world might have heard of it but, now people are being threatened to be arrested by the police.
Over the weekend videos and photos emerged on social media showing a group of people digging for the diamonds. A number of days ago, a story broke about the KwaZulu Natal Diamond Rush in KwaHlathi, Ladysmith. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has deployed a team of experts to KwaHlathi outside Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal where residents have allegedly found diamonds. Bongani Bingwa speaks to experts on the ramifications if indeed its diamonds and what diamonds look like.
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