Commanding plights

SCOOPING up gems from the beaches that form part of one of the world’s richest diamond deposits ought to be about as profitable as, well, scooping up diamonds from a beach. Yet South Africa’s state-owned diamond miner, Alexkor, has managed to make a hash of it. Over the past decade it has posted losses more often than profits and has needed frequent bail-outs.

Evidence of its staggering incompetence can be found in nearby Port Nolloth, a town of a few thousand souls who huddle between icy Atlantic winds and the Namaqua desert, yet drive a surprising number of luxury German cars. This is because as many as half of the diamonds it mines there fail to make their way onto Alexkor’s income statement, according to diamond-industry insiders. (The government says that only 10% are stolen.)