Court lets prosecutors permanently seize seven chrome-laden trucks

South Africa's Asset Forfeiture Unit permanently seized seven trucks found fully loaded with chrome ore after the North West High Court granted a forfeiture order on 25 June 2026. "The forfeiture order stems from an illegal chrome mining operation conducted in Marulakop Village," National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya said.

A raid a year in the making

The trucks were seized during a raid on 13 July 2025 at Marulakop village in North West province, where seven suspects were arrested at the scene while others managed to flee. None of those arrested could produce legal authorisation for the mining or transport of chrome ore, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors frame it as a deterrent

North West director of public prosecutions Rachel Makhari said the NPA remained committed to combating organised crime and illegal mining, framing the forfeiture as part of a broader campaign to raise the cost of participating in illicit chrome extraction and transport. Removing the vehicles used to move stolen ore is intended to disrupt the logistics chain that illegal miners rely on to get chrome to buyers.

Part of a bigger enforcement push

The Marulakop case follows a pattern seen elsewhere in South Africa's chrome belt during 2026, including a R4.5m asset forfeiture in Limpopo's Sekhukhune district in May and ongoing Hawks operations targeting illegal chrome mining networks in Thabazimbi. Officials estimate the country loses about 10% of its annual chrome production — roughly 600,000 tonnes — to illegal mining each year.

Why it matters

Illegal chrome mining undercuts the formal royalties and export duties the state is trying to enforce through its proposed chrome export tax and ITAC permitting regime, while also creating unsafe, unregulated pits. Successful forfeitures such as the Marulakop case give prosecutors a template for targeting the vehicles and logistics networks that make illicit chrome exports possible, even where individual miners are harder to prosecute.

Sources

• TimesLIVE: Blow to illegal chrome mining as court allows AFU to seize seven trucks, 02 Jul 2026

Photo: Chromite ore of the type seized from trucks in an illegal mining case in North West province, South Africa. Weinrich Minerals, Inc., Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.