Johannesburg – The Department of Mineral resources and Energy has cleared up the confusion surrounding the ‘Diamond’ Rush which saw throngs of people flock to the less known village of KwaHlathi outside Ladysmith on the KwaZulu-Natal midlands.
The department has said in a statement that the precious stones that have been discovered by people are not diamonds, but in fact, Quartz.
“Following consultations between the provincial government and the national Department of Minerals and Energy, a team of officials, geoscientists and mining experts conducted an inspection of the site on the 15th of June 2021,” the department said.
“The team was able to collect samples of the stones for further testing and analysis. During that visit we made a commitment that we would report to the community within a month. It is for that reason that earlier this afternoon, the intergovernmental task team looking into the matter of the KwaHlathi stones, met with community leaders and representatives to give a report back on findings made,” the department further stated.
“The preliminary report shows that the site of the informal mining practises is geographically located on the edge of the Karoo dolerite sill which is not in a zone where diamond occurrences are present,” the department stated.
“This was further confirmed by visual, geological and chemical analyses that were conducted. The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds as some had hoped. In fact, what has been discovered are quartz crystals that are common across the Karoo Supergroup with an extensional facture planes within and along the contact of Karoo dolerite sill. The value, if any, of the quartz crystals is yet be established but it must be mentioned that the value of quartz crystals is very low compared to that of diamonds.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
