Fifteen thousand already empowered diamond mineworkers have been empowered still further – this time as diamond traders. Anglo American-controlled De Beers has extended the 26% black economic-empowerment of De Beers Consolidated Mines to also include De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa, the trader of the five-million carats a year that the mining company produces in South Africa. Ponahalo chairperson Manne Dipico, above, said at the announcement of the R2.5-billion deal in Kimberley that half of Ponahalo’s 26% shareholding in the mining and trading businesses is in the hands of the 15 000 worker complement and 45% of the remaining half is in the hands of three trusts – one for disabled people, another for historically disadvantaged women and the third for near-mine communities. The individual shareholders are “nothing” by comparison, said Dipico, a former De Beers worker, unionist and Northern Cape premier.