Diamond rush expected to finally calm down

 THE diamond rush expected to now settle following new findings.

The illegal mining of diamonds began soon after Dwayne Maskutule, a herd boy who was in search of livestock, stumbled across a stone that resembled a diamond. Thousands of people from the province and beyond travelled to KwaHlathi with the aim of getting their hands on the so-called diamonds.

The Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Ravi Pillay said In fact, what has been discovered are quartz crystals that are common across the Karoo Supergroup with extensional fracture planes within and along the contact of Karoo dolerite sill.

Pillay said that KwaHlathi, a rural area in Ladysmith, was located in an area that was not a diamond zone. He stated that this was confirmed by visual, geological and chemical analyses that were conducted.

The quartz crystals found in the area were worth way less than what diamonds are worth though their actual worth was yet to be determined.

Peggy Nkonyeni, MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison urged people to withdraw from further illegal mining activities following the scientific finding that the stones mined were not diamonds.

by Everngelista Muza