Frontier Rare Earths is advancing the Zandkopsdrift project in South Africa as a critical-minerals development combining rare earths with battery-grade manganese, with French processing technology forming part of its planned production route.
The project has been recognised as a strategic non-EU project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. Frontier, which is headquartered in Luxembourg, has entered into a technology-supply agreement with French rare-earth specialist Carester and obtained a US$20 million investment from South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to fund the definitive feasibility study.
Zandkopsdrift is designed around a production model in which manganese revenue would materially offset the cost of producing rare earths. Frontier’s updated development case estimates that battery-grade manganese revenue could cover approximately 90% of rare-earth production costs.
Rare-earth and manganese production plan
The definitive feasibility study is scheduled for completion in the first half of 2027, while first production is targeted for 2030. The project is planned with an indicated 25-year mine life. Annual output is expected to include approximately 3,038 tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium oxide, alongside 114 tonnes of dysprosium oxide and 25 tonnes of terbium oxide.
The planned production mix includes both light and heavy rare earths. Dysprosium and terbium are used to increase the thermal resistance of permanent magnets, with applications including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics and defence systems.
Carester technology and European supply considerations
The involvement of Carester is central to the project’s planned processing configuration. The French company has signed an agreement to supply rare-earth processing technology to Frontier for Zandkopsdrift. The development is linked to European efforts to strengthen access to critical mineral supplies, particularly for heavy rare earth elements. Processing capacity for dysprosium and terbium remains heavily concentrated in China, making these materials an area of particular concern for European industrial policy.
Frontier’s Luxembourg headquarters and the project’s recognition under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act give Zandkopsdrift a direct connection to European critical-mineral supply objectives, while the planned processing technology would be supplied from France.
Project economics tied to manganese by-product
The updated development case places significant emphasis on manganese as a source of project revenue. Frontier has indicated a neodymium-equivalent net production cost below US$15 per kilogram, while market values were above US$100 per kilogram at the time of the project update.
The economic model therefore relies on manganese revenue to absorb a substantial portion of the costs associated with rare-earth production. The approach forms part of the project’s development structure alongside the planned separation technology supplied by Carester. The project’s financial case remains subject to the results of the definitive feasibility study. The study is expected to confirm recovery rates, reagent consumption, water availability, energy costs and the integration of Carester’s separation technology before the development advances toward its targeted 2030 production start.
