The St George Mining Ltd (ASX: SGQ) share price is in focus after the company reported a 155% increase in Measured & Indicated resources at its Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil. The total Mineral Resource Estimate jumped 57% to 111.2 million tonnes at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb₂O₅, highlighting the scale and high-grade nature of the deposit.
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What did St George Mining report?
- Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) increased to 111.2Mt at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb₂O₅
- Measured & Indicated resources up 155% to 75.2Mt at 3.64% TREO, 0.69% NdPr, 0.58% Nb₂O₅
- Contained 3.98Mt of TREO including 760,000 tonnes of NdPr oxides
- 630,000 tonnes of contained Nb₂O₅ in total resource base
- High-grade subset: 830,000 tonnes of TREO above 6.29% grade, 120,000 tonnes Nb₂O₅ above 0.90%
- 68% of MRE in Measured & Indicated categories, improving confidence for economic studies
What else do investors need to know?
The updated resource positions Araxá as the largest undeveloped, hard-rock rare earths project in South America and the largest undeveloped niobium Measured Resource globally. Over two-thirds of the resource now sits in higher-confidence categories, a major step up from the previous estimate.
Drilling is continuing at East Araxá, a nearby zone not included in this new resource estimate. Any maiden resource delivered later this year from this area will be additional to the headline numbers reported today, suggesting upside potential as exploration carries on.
What did St George Mining management say?
Executive Chairman of St George Mining John Prineas said:
Today's announcement of such a major upgrade to the size and quality of the resource at our 100%-owned Araxá Project further stamps the credentials of the project as the most significant undeveloped rare earths and niobium project worldwide.
What's next for St George Mining?
Work is now underway on economic studies, including feasibility and mine planning, with technical adviser Worley on board to help progress Araxá towards development. The company is targeting the completion of a maiden resource for East Araxá during the December quarter 2026.
With metallurgical testwork progressing and the resource footprint growing rapidly, St George says it aims to build a long-life, low-cost operation positioned to supply magnet rare earths and niobium to customers outside China. As the resource base becomes better defined, further upgrades or project de-risking could emerge from ongoing studies and drilling.
St George Mining share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, St George Mining shares have risen 105%, outperforming the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 3% over the same period.
