Gems that sparked diamond rush in South Africa turns out to be quartz

Stones that
were found in a South African village last month are quartz and not diamonds,
the government has clarified. The stones were found by a cattle herder in KwaZulu-Natal
province’s KwaHlathi village, which sparked a diamond rush as thousands soon poured
in from across the country.

However, the stones have been found to be quartz crystals after tests were
conducted, the BBC reported. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral
of the Earth’s crust, after feldspar.

Also Read | World’s third-largest diamond found in Botswana

“The tests
conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not
diamonds,” the BBC quoted a local government statement as saying.

The rush occurred
in one of the poorest regions in the country. South Africa already suffers from
high levels of economic inequality, with joblessness reaching new highs during
the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to
data from the Johns Hopkins University, South Africa has the highest caseload in
the continent, recording over 1.8 million infections and nearly 60,000 deaths.

Also Read | Poorer countries are running out of vaccines, says WHO

And the
discovery of what was thought to be diamonds only exposes the frustration of
people looking for a quick way out of poverty. The site where the stones were found
is located on the edge of the Karoo dolerite sill, where diamonds are not
usually found.

The council
for Geoscience is conducting further studies to find out whether there are any
other minerals in the region that can help create jobs and improve the lives of
the tens of thousands of residents in the region.