Retired geologist from Durban, Manqoba Msimango, says he can not rule out the authenticity of the recent discovery of what some believe to be diamonds in the KwaHlathi area outside Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal.

Last week, people flocked to the area, some even from other provinces, to mine the stones.

 

The provincial government has expressed concerns about the activities and has asked the provincial Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs to refer the matter to the national Department of Minerals and Energy to do inspections at the site.

Msimang says only a team of geologists can confirm if these are indeed diamonds.

“There is a possibility of the diamond but most probably occurrence there could be quartz. Quartz is another type of a rock which is common occurring. But it is used for ornaments. When it is [a] type of a quartz, that is very much beautiful.”

“[Quartz] form very beautiful crystals and its hardness is comparable to that of the diamond in the first test but test it on the glass. I think that is all at the moment until such time that we have got another more conclusive testing. At the moment there the most likelihood it could be quartz,” adds Msimang.