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St George Mining Unveils Major Rare Earths Discovery at Araxá Project in Brazil

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By Colin Hay - 
St George Mining ASX SGQ Major Rare Earths Discovery Araxá Project Brazil
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St George Mining’s (ASX: SGQ) ambitions to be a key link in the US rare earths and critical minerals supply chain have been boosted by the confirmation of a major discovery at the Araxá project in Brazil, which it acquired in February.

Drilling at the project’s East Araxá target has confirmed thick intervals of high-grade mineralisation from surface in the first three follow-up reverse circulation (RC) drill holes.

St George says the results de-risk the project, thought to be the highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare-earth elements (REE) deposit in South America, and is confident that East Araxá now offers significant resource upgrade potential.

Auger Drilling Discovery

The latest assays from East Araxá come in the wake of the discovery of near-surface high-grade REE across a 1,000 square metre area in auger drilling St George previously conducted.

They also follow St George entering into a strategic alliance with US manufacturing company REAlloys earlier this month to commercialise the Araxá resource.

REAlloys will complete test work on REE oxalate from Araxá, which has the potential to trigger a long-term offtake agreement for Araxá-sourced product through the relationships REAlloys enjoys with various US government organisations and industrial companies involved in defence, aerospace, and electronics.

Higher REE Grades

Notably, the magnet and heavy REE grades at East Araxá are higher than those recorded in the existing JORC-compliant Araxá mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 40.6 million tonnes at 4.13% Total Rare Earth Oxides.

“We are delighted with the results from the follow-up deeper drilling at East Araxá, which have confirmed the continuity and depth extent of this near-surface, high-grade rare earths and niobium discovery,” executive chair John Prineas said.

“Our multi-rig campaign is continuing with diamond drilling focused on expansion and resource definition of the existing MRE and the RC rig progressing with resource definition at East Araxá.”