The chief stated he was none too completely happy about what the diggers have been doing to the land, however he understood their plight and didn’t intervene. Now, it seems like a naked, cratered moon - a treacherous terrain of holes, a lot of them the dimensions of graves. The diamond rush has fully remodeled KwaHlathi, the place the chief estimates that about four,000 households reside.Ĭattle as soon as grazed on the digging subject, which sits on conventional land owned by the chief and was till lately lined with Sweet thorn bushes and grass. The rumor that diamonds had been found within the soil of a grassy, tree-filled slope lured 1000’s of jobless South Africans to the location. If they’re actual diamonds, it means we’re profitable.” Molefe, 41, who conceded that he had no clue whether or not they have been really diamonds. Two days of strenuous digging had yielded 4 stones for Mr. No one who got here appeared the least deterred by the widespread skepticism that the stones have been actually diamonds. The rumor that a herdsman had discovered clear stones resembling diamonds within the soil of a grassy, tree-filled slope final month lured 1000’s of South Africans to KwaHlathi, a sleepy village within the jap province of KwaZulu-Natal the place cattle roam freely.Ĭoming by taxi and by automobile, many from hours away, they dreamed of a flip of luck in a nation whose persistent struggles with joblessness have reached new heights amid the pandemic. He took a couple of extra vigorous whacks into the sides of the shallow crater he had dug on the backside of a hillside, earlier than scooping up a handful of unfastened dust and shaking it in quest of the flicker of a gem. Police cars are monitoring the area to keep the crowds in check.KWAHLATHI, South Africa - Sbusiso Molefe stretched the pickax excessive above his head and hacked into the clumpy black dust round his ft. The government on Tuesday sent a team of geological and mining experts to the area, now pockmarked with holes, to collect stones for analysis. "These are not diamonds, people here are just wasting their time," said 18-year-old Bhekumuzi Luvuno, skeptically inspecting one of the stones he unearthed overnight.Īuthorities over the weekend asked diggers to leave the area, citing coronavirus restrictions, but to no avail. There is talk of "foreigners" buying the stones for a few hundred rands in the nearby town of Ladysmith.īut experts say it is highly unlikely the stones will turn out to be valuable. I want a house with double storage, this is going to change our life," Manyathi told AFP, fingering a cluster of stones in his pocket. Johannesburg resident Thulani Manyathi, 36, travelled to KwaHlathi from the impoverished township of Alexandra with his four young daughters. The rough stone yielded nine major diamonds used to adorn the British crown jewels, as well as almost 100 minor brilliants. Rumour has it that the Cullinan, which weighed over 3,000 carats uncut, was lying only a few meters below ground and was dug up with a pocketknife. A person uses a pickaxe to dig as fortune seekers flock to KwaHlathi village near Ladysmith in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, June 14, 2021.
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