Johannesburg – While throngs of people continue to flock to the less known village of KwaHlathi outside Ladysmith on the KwaZulu-Natal midlands region to get their share in the so-called ‘diamond discovery’, renowned geologist Dr Gideon Groenewald believes the geological setting of the area makes it possible that they might be diamond deposits underground.
“What is interesting about the area is that there is the Tugela fault system which brings up very old rocks to the surface. We also have a unique scenario where the Tugela river over history has washed rocks from Lesotho down to the sea. So, it is not impossible that diamonds could have arrived in that area millions of years ago,” said Dr Groenewald.
He added that the little quartz crystals that the fortune seekers had been digging up since last week might resemble the presence of localized illuvial deposits with some diamonds buried neatly underneath the rocks.
More than 2000 people across other provinces and neighbouring countries have remained stationed in the area after the discovery of the identified stones believed to be diamonds.
A local man who was herding livestock apparently made the discovery and subsequently notified villagers about the natural riches he had discovered.
The Department of Minerals and Energy swiftly dispatched teams to the site to conduct inspection.
They were also joined by other geologists from the minerals research organization, Mintek together with the Pietermaritzburg based environmental consultant group, the Council for Geoscience.
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