Fool’s Gold Rush

Yanique Cole and her family in Top Land, Chester Castle, Hanover are anxious to have things return to normal, as a throng, some with pickaxes, machetes and other implements, lured by the prospects of unearthing gold, continue to destroy their freshly dug pit for the past week.

People from surrounding districts and other parishes have also descended on the Top Land property hoping to secure a portion of the precious metal, despite the government’s Geology and Mines Division advising that what has been unearthed is in fact Pyrite otherwise called “Fool’s Gold”.

Reports are that Cole, whose family had employed the services of a back hoe to dig a septic pit last Tuesday;  were surprised, when after digging for a while they unearthed some blue coloured soil and upon further investigation discovered that something sparkled in the soil, which looked very much like gold.

It was then that word spread and people began to flood the area, with the numbers increasing daily. Despite the word from the geology division, the people are still not convinced that what is being dug up is not gold.    The family argues that the work has been set back as while they want to continue to dig the pit to be connected to the toilet in the house; their work has been hampered by the ever growing crowd.

“A real gold dis nobody can tell me nutten” was the response of one man.  One woman who had gathered what she claimed to be good quantity said she had already secured a buyer and was hoping to make some good money.

The family has however accepted the fact that what they have discovered may not be the real deal after carrying out their own, unscientific tests and in the meantime is hoping that the people will let up so they can have the pit covered and get on with their lives.

Although its chief uses are in the preparation of sulfuric acid, sulfur trioxide, and sulfites, sulfur dioxide, Pyrite is also used as a disinfectant, a refrigerant, a reducing agent, a bleach, and a food preservative, especially in dried fruits.