DURBAN - FORTUNE seekers at KwaHlathi near Ladysmith have been ordered to vacate the mining site after preliminary reports revealed the stones that were being mined were not diamonds.
The intergovernmental team, composed of officials from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and MECs from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government, released the results yesterday that showed that the mined stones were quartz crystals.
Over the past weeks, the community of KwaHlathi has been gripped by excitement following the discovery of stones which locals believed were diamonds. The diamond rush resulted in people, including those from other towns and provinces, flocking to the area to participate in the mining activity.
Last week, the government warned that the activities posed a huge risk in terms of Covid-19 regulations and would lead to the destruction of the environment. A team of officials, consisting of geo-scientists and mining experts, conducted an inspection of the site and collected samples of the stones for further testing and analysis.
Delivering the report, KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Ravi Pillay said that a preliminary report revealed that the site of the informal mining practises was geographically located on the edge of a Karoo dolerite sill. He said this was not in a zone where diamond occurrences were present. Pillay said this was further confirmed by visual, geological and chemical analyses that were conducted.
“The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds, as some had hoped. In fact, what has been discovered are quartz crystals that are common across the Karoo Supergroup with extensional fracture planes within and along with the contact of Karoo dolerite sill,” he said.
He said the value, if any, of the quartz crystals was yet to be established. However, their value was very low compared to that of diamonds.
Pillay said the Council for GeoScience, working with various stakeholders, would institute a geological mapping programme. This, said Pillay, would be done to further understand any other potential resources that may advance socio-economic development in KwaHlathi.
Furthermore, Pillay said the activity seen at KwaHlathi had highlighted the socio-economic challenges confronting people in the area.
“Thus in responding to this particular matter of the stones, we also have to provide a comprehensive response to the socio-economic challenges as raised by the community members.”
He said the report on the findings would be presented to KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala and the entire provincial executive council.
Pillay said that they would also formulate a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate the site on which digging was taking place.
“We appeal to the people on-site to vacate the area as what they are involved in has the potential of spreading Covid19. The illegal mining practices also have a negative impact on the environment and land degradation that has been accentuated by the extensive diggings in the area. We reiterate that the mining activity taking place at KwaHlathi is illegal,” he said.
Mosa Mabuza, the chief executive for the Council for GeoScience, said they would also be undertaking a geology study to identify the possibility of shallow aquifers (underground water).
Mabuza said this might go a long way in contributing to water provision as the area was facing serious water challenges.
He said that they would go back to the community in a period of three months to report back on what science uncovered in that area.
KwaHlathi community leader, inkosi Sphiwe Kunene, said that the community was aware that what they were doing had been deemed illegal.
Kunene said that he did not believe that the miners would refuse to leave after the results had been released.
“We will be engaging with the police to have the miners removed from the site. The number of miners has started going down. Expectations had been very high. I must say, however, I don’t think they will refuse to leave the mine,” he said.
KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Peggy Nkonyeni urged the miners to vacate the site immediately.
“We are asking nicely at the moment because we don’t want to get to where we use force to remove them. People must give the government room to operate freely on their studies,” she said.
THE MERCURY