
Are diamonds really being found in Nagaland? All you need to know
Nagaland has been in news after photos and videos of diamonds being found in Wanching, a village in Mon district of the state, went viral on social media. The video clips and photographs showed villagers gathered in large numbers, digging soil on a hillock and displaying small crystalline finds on their palms. But are those crystallines really diamonds? Not quite.
Here is all you need to know about Nagaland’s diamond rush
1. The rush started early this week. The district administration is trying to solve the mystery as the stones were found near the surface and not deep underground.
2. The state government had also deployed a team of geologists to look into the issue.
3. The team of four geologists constituted by the geology and mining department on Saturday has reportedly affirmed that the glittering rocks are not diamonds but just quartz crystals. The team that was supposed to reach the district by November 30 or December 1 reached early to investigate after all the media buzz around the rocks.
4. The state is known to have latent gold and diamond store due to the ‘ophiolite’ rocks on its crust. According to geologists, ‘ophiolite’ refers to slices of what used to be ocean floors before thrusting with the continental crust more than 65 million years ago to form Himalayan peaks of today.
5. As per an Indo-German study published in an issue of journal ‘Current Science’ three years ago, the Indo-Myanmar ranges contain a manganese-consisiting mineral called “manganilmenite” which is found in the ophiolite rocks and hence can potentially be a site for micro diamonds. Micro diamonds are minuscule-sized diamonds with size less than one millimeter.
6. Bibhuranjan Nayak of the CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology in Bhubaneswar, one of the authors of the study said that manganese-rich manganilmenite is a rare element and is known to be diamond indicators.
Also Read | CBI raids 45 premises in 3 states, including Bengal over ‘coal mafia’, bribery cases
7. Professor GT Thong from Nagaland University’s department of geology had disputed the diamond claim and asserted that the glittering stones are not diamonds. They are just quartz crystals that are commonly found in Nagaland, he said adding that some people were trying to misguide poor villagers by spreading this false narrative in the district.
8. The village council too doubted the diamond claim and had prohibited the villagers from posting any photos or videos relating to the stones on the internet. The council has also restricted the entry of outsiders in the village, especially of the diamond hunters.

Bilaspur airport in Chhattisgarh upgraded, now 72-seater aircrafts can land
- The Chhattisgarh government claimed it took the initiative taking the sentiments of Bilaspur residents into account and got the approval for the airport's up-gradation from the civil aviation department.

AAP to contest polls in 6 states including, Himachal Pradesh, UP, Gujarat

India's Covid-19 recovery rate hits nearly 97%: Govt
- India's present active caseload now composes of just 1.62% of India's total positive cases.

Maharashtra: Thane records 260 fresh Covid-19 cases, two more fatalities

Farm stir: Jan 26 violence a conspiracy, says SAD; demands international inquiry

SC asks Centre to fix timeline for judicial appointments: All you need to know

Cold wave keeps grip on Kashmir; Srinagar records -5.6°C

Delhi Police issues notices to 20 farm leaders, asks them to reply within 3 days

Republic Day violence: Amit Shah to visit injured police officers today

Conmen defrauding people through online dating apps, warns Interpol

70% of India's Covid-19 cases from Maharashtra, Kerala: Harsh Vardhan
- Harsh Vardhan said that 147 districts in the nation have not seen a case of Covid-19 in last 7 days.

Odisha couple forced to perform symbolic last rites of son with rare disorder

India reports 11,666 new cases in 24 hours, active cases below 1.74 lakh

Farmers' protest: NH-24, route connecting Delhi with Ghaziabad opened
- Announcing the decision to end the protest, BKU (Bhanu) president Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh told reporters that he was deeply pained by whatever happened during the tractor rally in Delhi on Republic Day.
