The South African Department of Mineral Resources has granted Frontier Rare Earths a new prospecting right near its Zandkopsdrift project.

The new prospecting right covers a total area of 750km² and is located in the Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

The firm has planned a comprehensive exploration programme for the new area and work is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Frontier Rare Earths CEO James Kenny said that currently there are two significant rare earth deposits being evaluated in the Namaqualand region of South Africa, including the Zandkopsdrift deposit.