Ladysmith Black Mambazo sang about diamonds on the soles of one’s shoes in their 1986 hit with Paul Simon.
But even they could not have foreseen that 35 years later, a rural hillside just 60km from their hometown of Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal would be overrun by thousands of villagers digging frantically after stories spread that diamonds had been discovered in the area.
This week the setting sun glinted on spades, pickaxes and buckets wielded by members of the KwaHlathi community who carved gaping holes in the landscape in their search for riches.
Many of the diggers found translucent stones that they sold for several hundred rands apiece.
On Tuesday, six days after the first “diamond” was discovered, officials from the South African Diamonds & Precious Metals Regulator, the Council for Geoscience and Mintek visited the site to obtain stones for testing.
A source in the team told the Sunday Times it was unlikely that the diggers really had struck it rich. “All I can say is that our initial findings suggest these are not diamonds. Thorough tests will need to be conducted which could take a number of weeks.”
Geologist Alan Page said it would be unusual to find diamonds just lying around on the ground.
“According to the geological plan of the area, there is no historical record of diamonds in the area,” Page said. “The geology of the surrounding area does not have any rocks that would normally carry diamonds.”
He said a river that runs through the area, the Kalkoenspruit, might have carried stones and pebbles from far away but there were no diamond-bearing rock types upstream.
“It is possible there is a new and unknown kimberlite intrusion in the area that no-one knows about; this, however, is not very likely due to the extensive exploration that was undertaken by various mining companies,” Page said.
60Km - The distance from KwaHlathi to Ladysmith - the nearest town
32.6% - The Stats SA national jobless rate for the first quarter of the year.
“So the only option is something new and totally unexpected, that no-one knows about and that has no historical record.”
But villagers of all ages, including children in school uniform, ignored the sceptics this week as they scooped up bucketloads of soil that they washed in homemade sieves next to a stream.
Thabani Sithole, 70, said he had been digging with his neighbours since Sunday and had found some small stones.
“We hope they are worth something. I saw two people who dug up a very big one and everyone rushed to crowd them,” Sithole said. “They got into their car and drove off.”
The father of five said he prayed the stones he had found were diamonds, so he could build a better home.
By Friday the number of people digging had dwindled, with only a few hundred still in the area.
One of them, Amanda Khumalo, 32, an unemployed mother of four, said if the stones proved to be diamonds “it will be the biggest breakthrough of my life”.
“But if it turns out not to be diamonds I will cry, it will honestly break my heart. I want to take my family to Dubai for a holiday.”
She said she began digging on June 9 and found her first gem-like stone within a few seconds. “I just screamed with joy.”
Khumalo said she had refused to give any of her stones to the government investigators.
“They told us to give them the diamonds and they will do the tests and give us results within a month. I refused, they are greedy — if it turns out to be real they will lie to us. This is a free world, a free country, we do what we want on our land.”
Nzeni Dlomo, 13, said she had left school early to help her family dig.
“Yes, school is important, but my family said if these are real diamonds it would be very good for us,” she said.
“Everyone at school is talking about these diamonds. One of my classmates didn’t attend school the whole week. He is here helping his family dig.”
A woman who did not want to be named said she had driven from Johannesburg after hearing the news and had bought a handful of stones from the diggers.
“I work with diamonds and I suspect these are real. I’ve got my money’s worth — the community don’t really know the true value so if you come with a few thousands you can really make [a profit],” the woman said.
“I'll be taking them to Johannesburg for testing. If they aren’t real diamonds at least I know I’ve paid people who are deserving.”
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