Australian miner St George Mining has shattered its own drilling record, uncovering a massive and high-grade rare earths intersection at its flagship project in Brazil. The latest results from the Araxá operation signal a major step forward for what is fast becoming one of the world's most significant rare earths and niobium discoveries.
A Record-Breaking Drill Run
The company announced a spectacular result from its 100 per cent-owned Araxá rare earths and niobium project, located in Brazil's mineral-rich Minas Gerais state. A single vertical diamond drill hole returned an exceptional 139.45-metre intercept grading 4.05 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.55 per cent niobium pentoxide, starting right from the surface.
This remarkable run includes an ultra-high-grade section of 53.9 metres at 5.44 per cent TREO and 0.79 per cent niobium pentoxide from just nine metres down. This intercept easily surpasses the company's previous record of 115.65 metres, reported only earlier this month, underscoring the expanding scale of the mineralised system.
Consistent High-Grade Mineralisation Confirmed
Assays from an additional nine drill holes have reinforced the finding of consistent, thick, and high-grade mineralisation beginning at surface level. The results paint a picture of a vast and richly endowed deposit.
One hole intersected 80.15 metres at 5.11 per cent TREO and 0.76 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface, which contained an inner zone of 43.9 metres grading an impressive 6.18 per cent TREO and 1.05 per cent niobium pentoxide.
Another hole delivered 82.55 metres at 3.9 per cent TREO and 0.59 per cent niobium pentoxide, including 56.55 metres at 4.97 per cent TREO from 26 metres depth. A third hole completed a standout trio with 81.45 metres at 4.52 per cent TREO and 0.56 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface.
Executive chairman John Prineas highlighted a key advantage, stating, "The resource at Araxá commences from surface – a real point of difference between our deposit and other emerging niobium and rare earths developers."
Implications for a World-Class Resource
The latest drilling has highlighted extensive high-grade zones both within and beyond the current mineral resource estimate. This points to massive potential for significant resource growth at what is already South America's largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earths resource.
A critical mineralogical breakthrough has been the identification of primary pyrochlore – the host mineral for niobium – preserved within fresh diamond drill core. This discovery confirms a robust primary source of niobium beneath the enriched surface zones and suggests strong potential for grade continuity and further high-grade discoveries across the entire carbonatite complex.
The mineralisation is notably rich in the magnet rare earths critical for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines, with a neodymium-praseodymium to TREO ratio of about 20 per cent.
With the mineralised system open in all directions and at depth, St George has ramped up operations. Drilling is now continuing on a 24/7 basis, a campaign that has been indefinitely extended into 2026. The company's followers are eagerly awaiting further results that could drive a major upgrade to the project's resource estimate, solidifying Araxá's status as a burgeoning world-class asset.
