Local officials have vowed to respond to issues raised by the community during their visit, particularly around road quality and water access. The diamond rush "highlighted the socio-economic challenges confronting people in the area", the statement said. ![]() The country, renowned for its mineral wealth, has struggled with decades of spiralling unemployment worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s claim that the discovery was actually quartz was met with suspicion. The prospect of finding a diamond had sent ripples of hope across one of South Africa's poorest regions and beyond. When rumors of a diamond find hit social media, thousands of jobless South Africans rushed to a sleepy village. The people traveled from across South Africa to join villagers who have been digging since. It added that quartz crystals were common across a sedimentary basin known as the Karoo Supergroup, which stretches over the site, and particularly abundant along dolerite sill. 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 the discovery of unidentified stones in the area. Diamond Rush as Fortune Seekers Flock to Village Near Ladysmith, South Africa. The report said the site - more than 300 kilometres (186 miles) southeast of Johannesburg - sat near a sill of volcanic rock named dolerite "which is not in a zone where diamond occurences are present". SAPeople - Your Worldwide South African Community logo. "In fact, what has been discovered are quartz crystals," it said, noting that the yet-to-determined value of the stones would be "very low" compared to diamonds. "The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds," a local government statement said in reference to the report. 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. More than 1000 fortune seekers on Monday flocked to the village of KwaHlathi in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province in search of what they. The story of diamonds in South Africa begins between December 1866 and February 1867 when 15-year-old Erasmus Jacobs found a transparent rock on his fathers. 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.The results quashed the dreams of diggers hoping to come up with a fortune. Thousands rush to South African village on the hunt for diamonds Hundreds of fortune hunters armed with pickaxes have descended on a small village after a farmer found a mystery gem that sparked a. 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. Dug by humans and so large it is visible from space, the pit has yielded some of the world’s largest diamonds and made the De Beers name famous worldwide. 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. Kimberley, South Africa, is home to the world’s largest diamond mine, also known as the Big Hole. 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 meters from the open field, where the young, old, female, and male dug through the soil with picks, shovels, and forks to find riches. 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 diamond rush in South Africa saw the emergence of several diamond mines, with Kimberley being the most significant. The people traveled 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. Triggered the diamond rush Thousands of people all over the world came. 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 the discovery of unidentified stones in the area. 1867- Vaal River (edge of Cape Colony in South Africa) December 1866- 1867.
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