St George Mining has secured extra runway in its push to feed US rare earths demand, extending its strategic alliance with Ohio-based REalloys - a key player already supplying high-performance magnets to Uncle Sam's defence and energy labs.
The original September 2025 memorandum of understanding (MOU) with REalloys set a 120-day window to nail down a definitive offtake deal for up to 40 per cent of future production from St George’s flagship Araxá rare earths project in Brazil's Minas Gerais state.
That clock has now been reset to a full year, giving both sides extra time for deeper metallurgical test work on Araxá's rare earth oxalates and fine-tune the processing flowsheet to deliver custom products that slot neatly into REalloys’ proprietary separation tech.
St George’s Araxá project remains a standout as the biggest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earths deposit in South America. It is also the second-highest grade deposit in the western world, with a JORC resource of 40.6 million tonnes at 4.13 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO).
Magnet-critical neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) makes up over 20 per cent of the TREO, with samarium and heavy rare earth credits such as dysprosium adding strategic spice.
Pilot test work carried out almost 14 years ago, before St George took ownership, had already produced high-quality rare earths oxalate from the deposit samples, with retained samples now in REalloys’ hands for ongoing metallurgical trials.
REalloys is no ordinary partner. It runs a fully integrated North American operation, churning out neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt magnets for the Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Energy's AMES Lab and big players in aerospace, defence, robotics and electronics.
St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said: “The US government continues to push for greater security in rare earths supply chains and REalloys is at the forefront of delivering a fully integrated mine to magnet solution that is focused on North American supply chain independence. We are excited to be continuing our collaboration with an industry leader like REalloys – an alliance that has potential to provide an attractive pathway for St George to access the rapidly developing and lucrative downstream sector of the US rare earths industry.”
Realloys recently teamed up with Japan’s JOGMEC for technology transfer and magnet supply deals and partnered with the Saskatchewan Research Council on heavy rare earths refining, with 80 per cent offtake secured. These moves highlight its push to lock in secure, non-China supply chains.
It also reinforced its role in helping to secure North American supply chains for critical metals with the appointment of Stephen S. duMont, President of GM Defense, as its non-executive chairman of the board of directors.
REalloys is heading towards a NASDAQ listing via a merger with Blackboxstocks, resulting in the formation of one of America’s major listed rare earths companies, aligning perfectly with Washington's red-hot focus on rare earths independence.
Recent January proclamations by President Trump and the US Department of the Treasury have empowered agencies to negotiate import deals with price-floor safeguards, while Treasury-led G7 talks have focused on securing diversified critical minerals chains.
To keep the ball rolling, St George is busy chatting directly with US government reps about potential commercial support for Araxá, while media reports suggest that favourable Brazil-US trade discussions are advancing on critical metals, including rare earths.
With the old pilot plant in hand and a new one planned at St George's tech centre via a partnership with Brazil's CEFET university, the company has a clear technical pathway in place. Coupled with favourable logistics in the proven Araxá mining district, right next door to CBMM’s massive niobium operation, Araxá is looking increasingly de-risked and development-ready.
St George Mining appears to be carving itself a smart niche in the global rare earths scramble, leveraging Araxá's tier-one grades and deepening ties with US downstream links at a time when secure, non-China sources of supply are the No.1 priority.
The extended timeline on its strategic alliance with REalloys shouldn’t be viewed as a delay but as a strategic de-risking towards a potential long-term offtake that could anchor St George firmly in Washington’s critical minerals playbook.
With test work advancing, government doors opening and the resource already world-class, it is not hard to find serious upside in this company’s Brazil-to-USA pipeline.
Soon-to-be-delivered metallurgical test work, flowsheet results and any news on formal agreements could soon establish that St George’s Araxá project has real legs in this current geopolitically charged market.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Doug Bright
