St George Mining has just put the pedal to the metal at its world-class Araxá niobium and rare earths project in Brazil, appointing Worley Engenharia Ltda, the Brazilian subsidiary of ASX-listed global giant Worley Limited, as its lead feasibility technical adviser.
The appointment marks a major transition for the company as it shifts from exploration success into a formal development phase aimed at fast-tracking a commercial mining operation.
St George has appointed Worley following a competitive selection process, favouring the group’s deep experience in the Brazilian resources sector, spanning more than 60 years.
Under the new technical services agreement, Worley and St George will collaborate to provide engineering and project management advice to support development studies for the company’s proposed niobium and rare earths mining operation at Araxá.
St George says the deal’s broad scope allows the company to access Worley’s global capabilities across every major project component, including metallurgical and process engineering, feasibility and cost studies, alongside all elements of process plant design, mine planning, tailings management, procurement and plant construction.
The company says that Worley’s global experts will work with its in-country specialists, many of whom are development veterans who have successfully built and operated mines in the region.
St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said: “As one of the world’s largest providers of engineering and project management solutions to the resources sector, Worley brings extensive and relevant expertise to support St George as we advance the potential development of our world-class Araxá project.”
Leading the charge from St George’s camp will be plant engineer Carlos Araujo, processing engineer Ricardo Nardi and director of mining operations Adriano Rios. All are former senior executives from Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), the world's top niobium producer, which sits directly adjacent to Araxá.
They are joined by St George’s Brazilian country head Thiago Amaral, also ex-CBMM, and metallurgy manager Alaercio Viera, previously of the Serra Verde rare earth mine. Specialist Engineer Juliano Bianco rounds out the local expertise, supported by the company’s Australian-based metallurgical heavyweights Gavin Beer and Peter Adamini.
St. George's push into development goes hand in hand with a major resource upgrade and recent "bonanza" drill results from Araxá.
One of the recent headline intercepts clocked 43 metres, running at 8.02 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), including 0.74 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface.
Highlighting the rich nature of the Araxá mineralisation, the hit featured a mouthwatering 21m slice grading 10.61 per cent TREO and a 4.4-metre spike at a hefty 20.14 per cent TREO. The company says its latest round of drilling confirms the system is growing and remains open to the north.
With a recent resource upgrade in the bag, the Araxá project now hosts a JORC resource of 70.91 million tonnes at 4.06 per cent TREO. This is bolstered by an additional 24.56Mt of ore using a 0.2 per cent niobium pentoxide cut-off, bringing the total niobium inventory to a massive 95.47Mt.
Looking ahead, St George is running rigs around the clock to support future reserves modelling. The company says economic findings from its development studies are slated for release in the June and September quarters, with a further resource update also expected in the September quarter.
With the heavy hitters at Worley now on the team, a recent resource upgrade, and the drill bits screaming "grade," St George is looking like a very serious contender in the global race to become the next meaningful niobium and rare earths supplier.
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By Murray Ward
