Alexkor SOC Ltd is a state-owned diamond mining entity operating in Alexander Bay on the west coast of the Northern Cape. Despite sitting on proven diamond reserves and continuing to extract diamonds, the company has operated at a sustained financial loss for over a decade — a pattern that raises fundamental questions about where the value of the extracted diamonds is actually going.
The Special Investigating Unit launched an investigation into Alexkor following allegations of diamond theft by employees and management, irregular contracts awarded to connected parties, and financial links to Gupta-associated entities during the state capture era. The investigation has examined whether diamonds were being systematically siphoned from the operation and whether contracts for services, security, and equipment were being used as vehicles for looting.
Alexkor also features in the complex land reform settlement with the Richtersveld community, which has been entitled to share in the mining operations. Allegations have emerged that this partnership has been exploited by politically connected individuals who captured the community's governance structures to redirect benefits away from ordinary community members. The SOE represents the broader pattern of state-owned entities being hollowed out for private gain while the state continues to fund their losses and the communities they are meant to serve receive nothing.