Brazilian state backs St George rare earths, niobium hunt

St George Mining has received the backing of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais via a Memorandum of Understanding to assist with fast-tracking its Araxà niobium-rare earths project in Brazil. The MoU covers assistance with regulatory approvals and will see both parties collaborate on other areas that will support the domestic supply chains for niobium, rare earths and related downstream products.

St George says the MOU highlights the importance the State is placing on the project as a sustainable supplier of critical minerals to the country.

Under the terms of the MoU, both the Minas Gerais State Economic Development Department and the Minas Gerais Integrated Development Institute (together referred to as Invest Minas) will provide assistance to accelerate the project.

Invest Minas is a State initiative designed to attract and promote economic activity in Minas Gerais. The organisation aims to streamline and accelerate the mineral exploration bureaucratic process through permitting to mine. St In return St George will make a significant investment in the project and use the local workforce and suppliers wherever possible.

St George Mining Executive Chairman, John Prineas; “The support from the State for a streamlined approvals pathway will significantly de-risk the project and should accelerate the project’s execution timeline.”

“The collaborative arrangement will also see St George contribute our expertise and network – both through the team in Perth and our newly established first-rate team in Brazil – to develop strong supply chains in Brazil for our proposed suite of critical metals products.”

The MoU is the second St George has signed in relation to the Araxà project. The first one was signed earlier in October with global trading house, SKI Hong Kong Ltd. SKI specialises in steel materials and ferro alloys, including niobium. The MoU will frame collaboration agreements around off-take, marketing and financing of Araxà and its niobium, with SKI potentially making an investment in St George in return for niobium off-take.  

Brazil is well known for its niobium mining which accounts for circa 90 per cent of global production and St Georges Araxà project puts it right in the thick of things. Araxà is immediately adjacent to CBMM’s niobium mine which produces a staggering 80 per cent of global supply. Its location also has the company in the same carbonite complex as the CBMM deposit, which management believes will provide the right geology to build a world class deposit of its own. Historic drilling at Araxà has delivered no less than 500 intercepts of high grade niobium oxide of greater than 1 per cent and ultra high-grades of up to 8 per cent niobium oxide with 33 per cent total rare earth oxide and 32 per cent phosphorous pentoxide.

Niobium’s unique properties make it an important mineral in the low-carbon economy, with applications in specialty steel manufacturing and new EV battery technologies with longer life and significantly less charge time.

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