S.African 'diamond rush' unearths only quartz crystals, officials say

People rush to mine diamonds in South African village, authorities say they are quartz

Unidentified stones that lured thousands of people to a South African village in KwaZulu-Natal province were not diamonds, local authorities have said, adding that they were quartz stones with relatively low value.

SAfrica mystery gems quartz, not diamonds

KWAZULU-NATAL: Gemstones that sparked a diamond rush to eastern South Africa last week have turned out to be just quartz, according to preliminary findings presented on Sunday (Monday in Manila).Thousands of people flocked to a hillside in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province to dig for mysterious stones first unearthed by a cattle herder and believed to be diamonds.The rush prompted the government to send geoscientists and mining experts to co…

South African gems that sparked diamond rush are only quartz

Stones found in a South African village earlier in June turned out to be only quartz crystals, authorities said.

Gems discovered in South Africa are ‘quartz, not diamonds’

Preliminary findings come after thousands flocked to a hillside in KwaZulu-Natal last week.

Thousands of people flocked to a South African village digging for diamonds, only to find out they were quartz

The diamond rush was prompted by a local herder who found an unidentified stone earlier this month and tipped off others.

South Africa: Kwazulu-Natal "diamonds" turn out to be quartz

After hearing a local herder had unearthed some mysterious stones in the small village of KwaHlathi, thousands armed with pickaxes, shovels and sticks had rushed to the surroundings of the village in search of diamonds.