The businessman who took on the Kebbles, former DRDGold CEO Mark Wellesley-Wood, has died at the age of 67, the mining company confirmed on Thursday.
"Noting with sadness the sudden and untimely passing of Mark Wellesley-Wood," DRDGold's board and executive extended their heartfelt condolences to his wife, Shona, and family.
The cause of death has not been made public.
He had a career spanning four decades in mining, most notably at DRDGold.
Wellesley-Wood accused Roger Kebble of fraud relating to DRDGold's Australasia activities and ousted him from the DRDGold board.
Brett Kebble, Roger's infamous son, thereafter referred to him as "a pin-striped bandit".
His death was first announced by KEFI Minerals, a gold exploration and development company with projects in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia, which said in a statement on April 29 that it "regrets the sudden passing" of Wellesley-Wood, its chair.
"Mr Wellesley-Wood was a gentleman of the highest integrity and discipline, a true professional who made a great contribution to the industry internationally over decades and to our company in recent years," said KEFI Minerals.
MiningMX.com reported that Wellesley-Wood's sudden death came as he had planned to fully embrace retirement and had recently bought a house in Scotland. The publication said he is survived by three children and a grandchild.
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