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The
people travelled 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.
The discovery was a life changer, said one digger Mendo Sabelo
as he held a handful of tiny stones.
"This means our lives will change because no one had a proper
job, I do odd jobs. When I returned home with them, (the family
was) really overjoyed," said the 27-year old father of two.
Unemployed Skhumbuzo Mbhele concurred, adding: "I hadn't seen or
touched a diamond in my life. It's my first time touching it
here."
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.
A formal technical report will be issued in due course, the
department said.
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 metres from the open
field, where the young, old, female and male dug through the
soil with picks, shovels and forks to find riches.
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. The coronavirus
pandemic has made it worse.
Some people have started selling the stones, with the starting
price ranging from 100 rand ($7.29) to 300 rand.
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.
($1 = 13.7193 rand)
(Writing by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
and Grant McCool)
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