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“Our regional mining engineer has confirmed that the stones that villagers in the area were scrambling for are not diamonds but are special stones called aquamarine,” he said.
The prospecting licence to explore aquamarine stones in Beitbridge was issued to a Harare-based prospector Mr Rasim Kassim.
He is still waiting for approval from Government for a licence to mine aquamarine minerals at the site.
Aquamarine is usually found in coastal areas.
Aquamarine mineral is pale greenish blue in colour and largely used as an alloy with copper to increase the metal’s tensile strength, hardness and resistance.
A similar rush also occurred in Murehwa in September last year amid reports that the gemstones had been discovered in the area.
However, geologists in Mashonaland East province concluded that the stones were not diamonds but quartz. Quartz is one of the most abundant minerals, and as a major constituent in many rocks, it is an important rock-forming mineral.
It is estimated that 12 percent of the earth’s surface is made up of quartz.
The only known mining activities in Murehwa had been for black granite.
Zimbabwe made headlines when it made the biggest diamonds find in a century in the Marange area in Manicaland province about six years ago.
Following the discovery of diamonds, scores of illegal miners and dealers descended on the area, prompting Government to deploy security forces to secure the area.
The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme recently granted the country the right to sell its diamonds from Marange.
Online Reporter