St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has provided an update on its proposed acquisition of the advanced, high-grade niobium-REE Araxá Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Araxá is located in the world’s premier – and dominant – niobium production region and benefits from access to infrastructure and a skilled workforce.
Drilling by previous explorers at the project has confirmed significant niobium and rare earths element mineralisation.
St George is aware of misinformation circulating in online chat rooms and social media regarding Araxá – particularly claims that an active tailings dam is located within the project area and that significant high-grade mineralisation discovered at the project is beneath the tailings dam.
This information is false and not correct.
CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração), which supplies more than 80% of the world’s niobium from mining operations near the project, operated – until 1985 – a tailings dam (Dam B4 and sometimes referred to as Dam 4 in CBMM’s English-language publications) on tenement 832.150/1989 that forms part of the project.
CBMM, which is responsible for managing Dam B4, has progressively rehabilitated and integrated Dam B4 into the environment. A photo of the current status of Dam B4, sourced from CBMM’s website, is shown below. Importantly, the significant niobium intersections at the project – being more than 500 intercepts of greater than 1% Nb2O5 – that St George will use to underpin a potential maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource are located on tenement 831.972/1985. Any JORC-compliant mineral resource will not extend into the tenement that hosts historical Dam B4, located on tenement 832.150/1989.
No other tailings dams – neither historical nor presently active – are within the project area or proximal to the project. Advice from highly credentialled, independent technical consultants indicates that an open-pit mining operation could be established on tenement 831.972/1985 with no impediments posed by the rehabilitated Dam B4. These positive findings are preliminary in nature and subject to final geotechnical studies, which are currently underway.
Walm Engenharia, a well-known engineering firm that has advised several mining companies in the State of Minas Gerais, including CBMM, is preparing this study on behalf of Itafos Inc (and for St George, post completion of our acquisition of the Project from Itafos Inc).
To further nullify some of the misinformation around the Araxá project, St George has compiled a FAQ (see the full ASX announcement) to assist shareholders.
St George looks forward to updating shareholders on progress with the Araxá acquisition in line with the schedule laid out in its ASX Release of 6 August 2024 ‘St George to acquire advanced high-grade niobium Araxa Project’.
