FACT CHECK: The stones dug out in this Nagaland Village are not Diamonds!

Of late, social media posts claiming that diamond stones have been recovered at a village in Nagaland have been going viral across the region. Various social media users of Nagaland uploaded videos and photos of some sparkling stones and claimed that they were in fact diamond stones recovered during digging at a village under Mon district of Nagaland. This led to a frenzy and soon people from far and near flocked at the village and reportedly some even sold and bought these stones at high prices believing that they were indeed diamond stones. 

One Facebook user named Doupau Guite Tupa Duat uploaded a video on 27 November, 2020 at 13:36pm in which these sparkling stones are seen and it also shows dozens of people digging a spot on a an elevated spot and recovering more such stones. “Diamond found in wanching village, mon district, Nagaland,” has been written in the caption of the video uploaded in the post that has been shared 33 times till now and viewed more than 2000 times. 

Original Link- Facebook | Archived Link

Fact Crescendo decided to find out the reality behind the claim and whether diamond stones were indeed recovered at this village in Nagaland. We found that the claim is False. Here’s how:

Fact Check Methodology

At first, we used some simple keywords and searched about the incident in Google and came across various local news reports. 

A news report published on November 28, 2020, in the news site Easternmirrornagaland.com, states in the headline itself that the sparkling stones found in Nagaland are not diamond but cost 1500-2000 per kilo and are quartz crystal.

Screenshot: Eastern Mirror Article

Original Link- Eastern Mirror | Archived Link

Quoting a geologist from the state government, the news report clarifies that diamonds are found only in areas where kimberlite rocks are present and since only sedimentary rocks are found in Nagaland, the possibility of unearthing diamonds in unlikely. 

Another news article published on the New Indian Express on November 28, 2020, clarifies that the glittering stones found in Nagaland are in fact, quartz crystals. It further states that geologists from the state government visited the place and confirmed this. 

Screenshot: New Indian Express article

Original Link- New Indian Express | Archived Link

For further clarification, we contacted the District Commissioner, Mon District, Nagaland, Thavaseelan K who stated that Geologists said these sparkling stones are in fact quartz crystals and as far as they know they are not diamonds and not valuable. 

Conclusion

The sparkling stones of Nagaland are not diamond but quartz crystals. The social media posts claiming that ‘Diamonds have been recovered at Wangching Village in Nagaland’ are false and have led to an unnecessary frenzy across the region.