St George Mining Strikes Record Rare Earths-Niobium Combo in Brazil
St George Mining has achieved its thickest intercept to date at the Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil, delivering a substantial slab of high-grade mineralisation that begins right from the surface. Fresh assays from 15 diamond drill holes include a new record intersection, revealing a massive 178.7 metres assaying 4.34 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.75 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface.
High-Grade Zones and Supporting Results
Within that interval, the company reported higher-grade zones, including 55.7 metres at 6.16 per cent TREO and 0.95 per cent niobium pentoxide from a depth of 14 metres. Notably, a thinner intercept in the same hole yielded 3.13 metres at an impressive 12.27 per cent TREO and 1.61 per cent niobium pentoxide from just 8.05 metres below surface.
The stunning 178-metre intersection was closely supported by a second diamond hole, which returned 165.3 metres going 4.28 per cent TREO and 0.61 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface. This hole also included a high-grade intercept of 4 metres going 14.14 per cent TREO and 0.77 per cent niobium pentoxide.
A third hole delivered 150.2 metres running 4.64 per cent TREO and 0.59 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface, along with 92 metres at 5.37 per cent TREO and 0.64 per cent niobium pentoxide from 46 metres. The results were further enhanced by a handy 17 metres going 12.16 per cent TREO and one per cent niobium pentoxide from 59 metres depth.
Commercial Advantages and Downstream Planning
The drilling results continue to show huge true widths from surface paired with very high grades, a unique combination that is unrivalled among emerging rare earths and niobium developers. St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas emphasised the commercial advantage of high-grade mineralisation starting from surface, as opposed to 50 metres or more below, which cannot be underestimated.
With the drill holes being vertical, St George says its true widths to date are up to 178 metres from surface, indicating a substantial, near-surface orebody. The company believes this geometry could enable far simpler and cheaper mining compared to deposits that require stripping away tens of metres of waste.
The current drilling momentum aligns with St George’s recent move towards downstream planning. Last week, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Boston Metal to trial its molten oxide electrolytic processing technology on Araxá’s potential feedstock. This initiative aims at more efficient production of ferroniobium, potentially lowering costs and carbon emissions compared to conventional flowsheets.
Resource Upgrades and Future Prospects
In early March, St George announced a major resource upgrade for Araxá, totalling 70.1 million tonnes at 4.06 per cent TREO and 0.62 per cent niobium pentoxide at a 2.0 per cent niobium cut-off grade. When coupled with an additional niobium resource of 24.56 million tonnes at 1.2 per cent TREO and 0.52 per cent niobium pentoxide, using a 0.92 per cent niobium cut-off grade, the combined resources have lifted St George’s total resource to 95.47 million tonnes.
The mineralisation in the latest diamond drill holes exhibits a high proportion of magnet rare earth elements, consistent with ratios observed across the estimated mineral resources. The neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) to TREO ratio consistently runs around 20 per cent and reached 26 per cent in two of the recent suite of diamond drill holes.
With drilling ongoing and the mineralised system remaining open in all directions, St George looks set to continue delivering giant intercepts. These persistent runs of grade to depth could prove transformative, given the evolving cross-sectional picture of mineralisation extending to bedrock in some locations.
If St George can maintain these results and convert them into a growing, cohesive resource with a sharp processing and offtakes strategy, the Araxá project is likely to emerge as a serious contender in the global race for the next meaningful niobium and rare earths supply, well ahead of many others currently in the running.
