Rio Tinto lifts suspension on $473m Zulti South mineral sands project

Rio Tinto approved a $473m investment in the Zulti South project at Richards Bay Minerals on 2 March 2026, lifting a suspension that had been in place since January 2020 and setting up construction to begin in the first quarter of the year. The 30-month build is expected to deliver initial commercial production in the fourth quarter of 2028.

"Securing the future of RBM"

"Lifting the suspension on Zulti South means securing the future of RBM. This project is not about expansion; it represents our commitment to sustaining jobs," said Werner Duvenhage, managing director of Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium Africa Operations and RBM. The framing reflected the project's role in extending Richards Bay Minerals' mine life to 2050 rather than growing output beyond current levels, positioning the investment as essential to the operation's survival rather than discretionary growth capital.

A Chinese construction partner

Rio Tinto named China Harbour Engineering Company as its strategic execution partner for the project. "We are honoured to be chosen as Rio Tinto's strategic execution partner for Zulti South. Our relationship is founded on trust, performance, and shared values," said Wu Di, the company's vice-president, underscoring the increasingly global mix of contractors now common on large African mining infrastructure projects.

Why the project had been shelved

Zulti South had sat suspended for six years amid uncertainty over its economics and RBM's broader operating environment in KwaZulu-Natal, a period during which the mineral sands market saw significant price volatility. Approving the project now signals renewed confidence in long-term demand for RBM's ilmenite, rutile and zircon output, even as other mineral sands producers such as Kenmare in Mozambique have cut costs in response to weak near-term prices.

What it means for South Africa

Richards Bay Minerals is one of KwaZulu-Natal's largest industrial employers, and a project explicitly framed around sustaining rather than merely growing jobs carries particular weight in a region reliant on the mine's economic footprint. With construction under way and first production targeted for late 2028, Zulti South becomes one of the more significant committed mining investments in South Africa's near-term project pipeline.

The scale and framing of the investment also illustrate how mining majors are increasingly willing to revisit shelved African projects once commodity price conditions and local operating environments improve sufficiently to justify the capital.

Sources

• Rio Tinto: Rio Tinto approves Zulti South investment of $473 million and lifts project suspension, 02 Mar 2026
• TimesLIVE: Richards Bay Minerals secures future for Zulti South, 02 Mar 2026

Photo: Richards Bay, South Africa, home to Rio Tinto's Richards Bay Minerals mineral sands operation. Ossewa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.