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 spiraling unemployment worsened by the coronavirus pandemic. The prospect of finding a diamond had sent ripples of hope across one of South Africa’s poorest regions and beyond. 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. The report said the site – more than 300 kilometers (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.”

“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. The results quashed the dreams of diggers hoping to come up with a fortune. The rush prompted the government to send geoscientists and mining experts to collect samples for testing.įor the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Diamond rush in south africa