Villagers Dig Out Diamond-like Stones in Nagaland

By BHADRA GOGOI

 DIMAPUR, Nov 26 - An area at Wanching village in Mon district of Nagaland bordering Myanmar may have deposits of diamond, throwing up “glittering” prospects.

 A video showing hundreds of villagers digging a small hill in the village to unearth “diamond” went viral today. The villagers reportedly dug out diamond-like stones from the hill.

According to sources in Mon, the villagers are camping in the area and trying to dig out the precious metal. However, the quantity and quality of the stones found in the area could not be confirmed immediately.

“Reports apparently of #Diamond found in #Wanching village #Mon district #Nagaland,” Director General (Prisons and Jails) of Nagaland Police Rupin Sharma, who was also the State DGP, tweeted today.

Meanwhile, Mon Deputy Commissioner Thavaseelan K told this correspondent over phone that some stones have been found in the village area. He said it was still not known whether these stones are diamond or any other metal.

He added that the Nagaland Geology and Mining Department is sending a team to study the stones. “It can be confirmed whether these stones are diamond or any other crystal metal only after the team finds out what exactly they are,” the DC said. According to an Indo-German study published in the journal, Current Science, the “ophiolite” rocks of Nagaland – that is a part of the Indo-Myanmar ranges – may potentially hold “microdiamonds” – diamonds of small size, less than one millimetre.

Indications of occurrence of “microdiamonds” have come from the presence of a manganese-bearing mineral called “manganilmenite” in the ophiolite rocks in the Pokphur area of Nagaland, authors of the study – Bibhuranjan Nayak of the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology in Bhubaneswar, and Franz Michael Meyer of the Aachen University in Germany – said.