By Lebone Rodah Mosima
A dump truck driver who was paid R12 500 for transporting and dumping five loads of zircon weighing about 60 tons and worth R1.6 million has been sentenced to an effective 10 years in prison.
On Wednesday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it had secured the sentence against 36-year-old Siphamandla Mdletshe in the Richards Bay Regional Court after he pleaded guilty, in terms of Section 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, to the theft of a mineral product.
The zircon belonged to Richards Bay Minerals (RBM), and the offence occurred in March 2024 in the KwaMbonambi area of KwaZulu-Natal.
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“In his plea explanation, Mdletshe stated that he was employed by a contractor at RBM as a dump truck driver. During his employment, he was approached by a fellow employee who proposed a scheme to make extra money,” the NPA said.
“The employee instructed Mdletshe to transport and dump loads of zircon at a designated location in a forest, in exchange for payment of R2 500 per load.”
Mdletshe agreed to the arrangement and transported and dumped five loads at the specified location.
The case formed part of a broader police investigation into the theft and illegal trade of minerals belonging to RBM.
SAPS said the investigation began after members of the Tactical Joint Operational Centre discovered an abandoned truck loaded with zircon in the KwaMbonambi in March 2024. Police subsequently pursued an intelligence-driven investigation into an alleged criminal network involved in the theft and illicit trade of minerals.
Eleven suspects were eventually arrested, with SAPS saying the offences under investigation included theft of minerals, money laundering and racketeering.
According to the NPA, the SAPS National Task Team deployed to Richards Bay recovered approximately 500 tons of zircon, valued at R26.5 million, from a warehouse in Isipingo. The recovered mineral included the approximately 60 tons stolen by Mdletshe.
Mdletshe was arrested in the North West Province in August 2025.
“Although he elected to plead guilty to the charges against him, his ten co-accused are expected to return to court on 27 October 2026 for a pre-trial conference,” the NPA said.
The theft comes against a history of security problems around RBM that have previously disrupted production and investment at the mineral sands operation.
Rio Tinto, which owns 74% of RBM, initially approved the Zulti South mineral sands project in 2019, but construction was put on hold after a series of security incidents.
In June 2021, Rio Tinto went as far as halting mining and smelting operations and declaring force majeure on customer contracts after what it described as an escalation in the security situation.
That period also included the killing of RBM general manager Nico Swart in 2021. At the time, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy said police were investigating his murder and warned that violent crime affecting mining operations could threaten investment.
In March this year, Rio Tinto approved the restart of Zulti South, lifting a suspension that had been in place since January 2020. The company committed $473 million to the project, which is intended to extend RBM’s mine life to 2050 and maintain supplies of zircon, rutile and ilmenite as the Zulti North orebody declines.
RBM managing director Werner Duvenhage said at the time that the decision to proceed reflected “improved security conditions and strengthened community partnerships”.
In aggravation of sentence in Mdletshe’s case, Advocate Mandlenkosi Mtukushe argued that the theft of mineral resources was highly prevalent within the jurisdiction and constituted a form of economic sabotage that negatively affected the country’s economy.
“During sentencing, the court found substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment,” the NPA said.
“The court took into account that the stolen zircon had been recovered and returned to the complainant, that Mdletshe had demonstrated remorse by pleading guilty, and that no person had suffered physical harm during the commission of the offence.”
Mdletshe was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The NPA welcomed the sentence, saying the theft of mineral resources had a significant impact on South Africa’s economy and undermined the mining sector.
“This sentence serves as a clear message that those involved in the illegal theft and trade of mineral resources will be held accountable through the criminal justice system,” the NPA said.
