Most companies listed on the JSE are worth something because of what they earn, what they own, or how fast they’re growing.
But one JSE small cap trading at just 101c a share is worth something almost entirely different: a court case.
Randgold & Exploration Company Limited (JSE: RNG) has spent years pursuing a massive legal claim against JSE heavyweight, Gold Fields (JSE: GFI). If it wins, shareholders could make a fortune.
But if it loses…well, the shares may be worth almost nothing.
So, what’s the story – and why has a major bank recently appeared as a major shareholder of this JSE stock?
A dispute that started nearly 20 years ago. The legal battle began in 2008, when Randgold launched a lawsuit in the Johannesburg High Court against Gold Fields.
The company claims that shares belonging to it were wrongfully taken during earlier corporate dealings involving the JCI group and individuals associated with it.
Two sets of shares are central to the claim:
• Shares in Randgold Resources, a gold producer that later merged with Barrick Gold in 2019.
• Around 94 million shares in Aflease, another mining company.
Randgold argues that these shares were misappropriated and that Gold Fields ultimately benefited from the transactions. Gold Fields strongly denies the allegations and is defending the case.
After years of legal wrangling, the case has still not gone to trial.
Why the numbers are so striking
Randgold is a tiny company. It has about 74.6 million shares in issue, and at 101c each, the whole business is worth roughly R75.3 million.
That’s a very small number compared to what the lawsuit could theoretically deliver.
If the company won just R1 billion after costs and legal reductions, that would work out to around R13 per share – just under 13x the current price. A R3 billion award would be roughly R40 per share. R5 billion would be around R67.
That gap between the current share price and the potential outcome is why some investors treat the stock like a lottery ticket.
Why investors aren’t getting excited yet
Despite those numbers, the share price has stayed low – and there are good reasons for that.
The case is very old. The events at the centre of it happened more than 20 years ago, and even the lawsuit itself is now 17 years old. Legal cases like this are expensive, unpredictable, and slow.
Winning is also harder than it sounds. Randgold needs to prove not just that shares were taken, but that Gold Fields is specifically liable for the loss. And even a favourable ruling might not deliver the full amount, since courts can split damages between multiple parties, and earlier settlements could reduce what’s left.
A big bank enters the picture
Something else recently caught investors’ attention.
On 24 February 2026, Investec (JSE: INL) disclosed that it now holds a 28.3% stake in Randgold – a substantial position in such a small company.
That said, it doesn’t automatically mean the bank is making a bold bet on the lawsuit. Large financial institutions hold shares for all sorts of reasons: custody arrangements, structured deals, collateral against loans.
The disclosure raises eyebrows, but it doesn’t necessarily tell us much about where the case is headed.
A story that’s still unresolved
Randgold’s value has almost nothing to do with gold production or commodity prices. It rises and falls almost entirely on what might happen in a courtroom.
If the case collapses, so does most of the investment case. If the courts eventually rule in the company’s favour, the payoff could dwarf the current market value many times over.
For now, investors are waiting – as they have been for nearly two decades – on the outcome of one of SA’s longest-running corporate disputes.
But it’s worth watching to see what happens next.
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