OSX 10.8 - Arduino Due - Serial ports not showing

webmaki:
I don't find anything that resembles Arduino and no additional entries show up after plugging in the Arduino.

Did you hit CMD-R to refresh the entries?

webmaki:
But how likely could the cable 'not work' but still provide electricity to the Arduino?

It is extremely likely that the cable is only designed to provide power and no data signals.