‘Spectacular’ widths and high grades propel St George as next niobium producer
Already comparable in scale and grade to world leaders in rare earths, SGQ adds record niobium findings to the project’s mix. Pic: Getty Images- Record thick drilling result of 178.7m from surface paired with very high REE and niobium grades
- Deposit style likened to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass and Lynas Rare Earths’ Mt Weld
- Project economics boosted by prospect of high-performance niobium revenue stream
Special Report:Drill results described by St George Mining as “spectacular” have reinforced its Araxá project in Brazil as the world’s most significant undeveloped rare earths and niobium project.
The company’s drill campaign at the REE-niobium project in Minas Gerais has been advancing 24/7 for more than six months, aiming to further define and expand the resource estimate.
Araxá was already comparable in scale and grade to the two world REE mines outside of China – Mountain Pass of MP Materials in the US and Mt Weld of Lynas Rare Earths in Australia.
St George Mining (ASX:SGQ)said new results of up to 178.7m at 4.34% total rare earth oxides and 0.75% niobium pentoxide from surface pointed to the potential for the resource to be even larger.
Within this result in hole AXDD086 (the thickest mineralised interval at Araxá to date) were higher-grade sections including 3.15m at 12.27% TREO and 1.61% Nb2O5 from 8.05m, and 55.7m at 6.16% TREO and 0.95% Nb2O5 from 14m.
Other broad results included 165.3m at 4.28% TREO and 0.61% Nb2O5 from surface in AXDD092, 150.2m at 4.64% TREO and 0.59% Nb2O5 from surface in AXDD088 and 163.65m at 3.29% TREO and 0.45% Nb2O5 from surface in AXDD080.
Ultra-high grades of up to 28% TREO and 6.5% Nb2O5 have shown up in the latest assays.
Commercial advantage
Results to date positioned Araxá as a significant development opportunity, according to SGQ executive chairman John Prineas.
And the commercial advantage of high-grade mineralisation starting from surface – as opposed to 50m or even more than 100m below surface – could not be underestimated.
The world-class niobium component of the Araxá resource was “a potentially tremendous value driver” for the project, Prineas said, with St George “well-placed to be the world’s next niobium producer”.
Niobium is a high-performance metal used to strengthen steel, improve superalloys for aerospace and create superconducting magnets.
Diamond drill holes as well as other significant drilling in the current campaign, with the latest marked with red labels. Pic: SGQ
Drilling into a long history
“Another important point of difference in favour for our Araxá project is that the mineralisation is carbonatite-hosted, which is the same deposit style as the two largest producing rare earths mines outside of China – the Mountain Pass mine of MP Materials and the Mt Weld mine of Lynas Rare Earths,” Prineas said.
“This is a well understood style of rare earths mineralisation with a long history of commercial production.”
The total niobium inventory associated with the Araxá mineral resource is 95.47Mt, in a region with a long history of commercial niobium production.
Watch: St George partners with Boston Metal
High-performance boost
In a boost to project economics, the studies for a potential mining operation at Araxá are based on niobium being produced separately to rare earths, creating two revenue streams.
“Neither the US nor China have domestic primary production of niobium, which leaves St George in an enviable position to benefit from very favourable market dynamics,” Prineas said.
“The drilling results continue to show huge true widths from surface paired with very high grades. This unique combination is unrivalled among emerging rare earths and niobium developers.
“The free-digging high-grade mineralisation from surface also adds to the potential expedited pathway to development of the Araxá project as it supports a simple open-pit mining operation.”
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