Hoping to find a fortune that would save them from destitution, thousands of people flocked to a poor region of South Africa last week to search for "diamonds". They flocked to the side of a hill in the small village of Kwahlati located in KwaZulu-Natal (east), about 300 km from Johannesburg, and began digging with shovels, axes or sticks, in the hope of finding diamonds.
This topic was raised by one of the shepherds, who was the first to extract mysterious stones, and his posting of pictures on social media fueled the demand for the site. This frantic rush prompted the government to act, and it sent a number of scientists and mining experts to collect samples for analysis, according to AFP.
The results disappointed many
However, the dream of the poor did not last, and their hope extinguished. The results announced on Sunday disappointed many who believed that the stones they had extracted would bring them wealth or put an end to their lives of misery, as it turned out that the stones they had extracted assuming that they were diamonds were in fact nothing but quartz crystals, according to the preliminary results of the tests conducted on them.
"The tests showed that the stones found in the area are not diamonds," the local authorities said in a statement, adding that they were "in fact quartz crystals," noting that the value of these stones, which has not yet been evaluated, is "very low" compared to the value of diamonds.
The analysis report also indicated that the area where the stones were discovered is located near a volcanic rock called dolerite, "not a diamond storage area." In addition, quartz crystals are also located within a sedimentary basin that extends along the site.
Social and economic challenges
The local government noted that the influx of South Africans in search of diamonds "highlighted the social and economic challenges faced by people in the area", stressing that it intends to address the problems raised by the influx of people to the site, namely the quality of roads and the availability of water.
At the same time, she reiterated her appeal to citizens to leave the site, noting the risks associated with the coronavirus and environmental degradation.
The Source: alarabiya.net