“I haven’t seen or touched a diamond in my life,” said Skhumbuzo Mbhele. Many have never even seen the final, polished product. Most of the people who have shown up have no idea what an uncut diamond looks like. “I heard that people are digging diamonds here, so I said, ‘No, let me come and take a try,” Mduduzi Maphumulo said as he paused from his digging. A man holds a stone he hopes to be a rough diamond after digging it up in Kwa-Zulu Natal province in South Africa. Once word got out that a local herdsman had dug up what he thought was a precious stone, thousands of fortune seekers flocked to the small rural village in Kwa-Zulu Natal. It started with one chance discovery, but quickly turned into a mass-treasure hunt. As CBS News correspondent Debora Patta reports, the lack of any previous finds in the area hasn’t stopping thousands of poor people from trying to dig their way to a better life. The crowds poured in after a man reported finding a crystal-like stone in a field.Īfrica does produce most of the world’s diamonds - but not in the region that’s been inundated by treasure hunters this week.

Johannesburg, South Africa - A tiny village in South Africa has been overrun by thousands of people searching for diamonds. ▶ Watch Video: South African village is scene of diamond rush style influx after crystal type stone discovered

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Diamond rush in south africa