Chrome mining contractor Solly Madibela, known as MySol, said mining contractors usually wait 90 days to be paid. He spoke during an interview of more than three hours on the Podcast and Chill network.
Madibela went on the show to answer claims made a week earlier by his former associate Benjy Maponya. The two men give different accounts of how their business arrangement ended.
“You get paid in 90 days,” Madibela said of mining contracts, according to Business News South Africa.
He said this means a contractor must pay for diesel, salaries and machines while waiting for the money. He put the price of one large excavator at about R14 million.
A Volvo Construction Equipment customer profile, published in March 2025, said Madibela founded MYSOL in 2018. It said he started with hired machinery and aimed to mine 200,000 tonnes of chrome a month with his own fleet by 2025.
The same profile said he took delivery of 18 articulated haulers and several excavators in September 2024. In the interview, Madibela said he worked about 15 years in mining before he started his own company.
Madibela said his company employs more than 2,500 people and works with 181 small community contractors. Business News South Africa said it could not check these numbers.
He said he buys machines worth R2 million to R3 million for small contractors and gives them a three-year contract. Part of each invoice is then kept back until the machine is paid off, after which the contractor owns it.
His example was R300,000 to R500,000 taken from a R2 million invoice. He also said he pays full university or college costs for 20 learners a year. He said he trained 200 excavator operators for about R5 million.
Madibela said his joint venture partner was liquidated three months into a contract. He said the client’s rules do not allow it to use a liquidated supplier, so the contract was ended and put out to tender again.
He said the South African Revenue Service audited his company three times in the past year. He said he hired a former SARS auditor and that his office team is always working on the next audit.
Madibela also said extortion and kidnapping are real risks for business owners who are well known. He said he travels with security.
He argued that chrome should be washed and smelted in South Africa instead of being sent overseas as raw ore. Shanghai Metals Market analysis said China took a record of nearly 12.5 million tonnes of South African chrome ore in 2025, up 23.8%.
The same analysis said South Africa plans an export permit for chrome ore. It said a tax of up to 25% on unprocessed ore has been discussed, but the timing is not clear.
Briefly News reported on 8 October that Madibela had obtained a court interdict against the Podcast and Chill network and Maponya. The report said the order bars publication of the disputed statements and any claims linking him to crime. It did not name the court or give the date of the order.
Source: this article is based on reporting by businessnewssouthafrica.co.za. Image: businessnewssouthafrica.co.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.