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Kropz Elandsfontein (Pty) Ltd runs the Elandsfontein phosphate mine on South Africa’s West Coast. Its parent, Kropz plc, is listed on London’s AIM market and counts African Rainbow Capital as its cornerstone investor. Kropz describes Elandsfontein as the country’s second-largest phosphate deposit, with rock that is low in cadmium and other heavy metals, which suits it to making fertiliser.
- Registered name
- Kropz Elandsfontein (Pty) Ltd
- Type
- Private company (rock phosphate mining)
- Fields funded
- Accredited fields listed in each bursary call
- Website
- kropz.com
- jacqueline@kropz.com
- Phone
- +27 21 930 0927
A bursary only for the Saldanha Bay area
The Elandsfontein bursary is tied to where you live. According to Kropz’s bursary page, you must reside in the Saldanha Bay Municipal area, be enrolled at an accredited university or college for the year of funding, and study one of the accredited fields the company lists in that year’s call.
The window is short and falls late in the year. The most recent round ran from 22 October to 20 November 2025, and Kropz has told applicants to return in November 2026 to apply for the 2027 academic year. Anyone living in Vredenburg, Saldanha, Langebaan, Hopefield, Paternoster or the surrounding Saldanha Bay towns should diarise that month.
How the mine fits into Kropz’s plans
Kropz also holds the Hinda phosphate project in the Republic of Congo, one of the world’s largest undeveloped sedimentary phosphate reserves, with a reported mineral resource of 675.8 million tonnes at 10% phosphate. The company says Elandsfontein and Hinda together could supply 4% to 5% of the rock phosphate traded internationally, and that it eventually wants to move into producing plant nutrients itself.
The Elandsfontein operation has had a difficult start. Its recent financial reports record losses during the ramp-up, a restructuring of its debt in 2024 and bridge loans drawn down in 2026. Applicants should keep this in mind and apply for other bursaries in the same year rather than rely on a single mine’s programme.
Community commitments
The bursary sits within the mine’s 2022 to 2026 Social and Labour Plan, which Kropz publishes in English and Afrikaans. The company has also created the Greenheart Foundation, a non-profit entity through which it directs social, charitable and environmental work in the areas where it operates.
Kropz Elandsfontein opportunities on BursariesAfrica
Students from the West Coast can also look at the Bergrivier Municipality bursary, which covers the neighbouring Piketberg and Velddrif area.
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