Gold rush in Pitas, Sabah

 

Golden dreams dashed?: The rocks found at a construction site in Pitas district.

KOTA KINABALU: The saying that “all that glitters is not gold” may hold true for people in Sabah’s poverty-stricken northern Pitas district after gleaming rocks were discovered at a road construction project there.

This has led to a “gold rush” over the past few days.

However, prominent geologist Dr Felix Tongkul suspects that the glittering rocks could likely be the mineral pyrite (sulphide with a metallic lustre) or chalcopyrite (copper iron sulphide) that is commonly referred to as “fool’s gold”.

Tongkul said based on the photos that went viral over social media, it was likely to be fool’s gold although this needed to be ascertained by experts from the Minerals and Geosciences Department.

State Minerals and Geosciences Department acting director Webster Wong said on Tuesday that it was sending a team to analyse the rocks found on a hilly slope of a road construction site in Kampung Boluuh Bongkol in Pitas.

Kota Marudu police had to step in to cordon off the area to stop people from disturbing the construction site following the discovery of the rocks.

Villagers have been digging in the area for two or three days now, even through the night, forcing authorities to close off the area.

When contacted, Kota Marudu district police chief Supt Zairolnizal Ishak said there was no untoward incident, adding that reports had been lodged over the rush for the rocks.

“The initial information we got is that it is not gold. The matter is being investigated by the Sabah Minerals and Geosciences Department,” he said.

The “gold discovery” has triggered a spate of posts that went viral over social media.

The rocks were first spotted on Monday by workers at the site and the news quickly spread, with villagers turning up from near and far to get their hands on them.

Although gold is mined in the south-eastern Sabah area, geologists like Tongkul said Pitas was not an area for the metal. - Star