St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) says assays from drilling at the company’s 100%-owned, world-class Araxá rare earths-niobium project in Brazil have confirmed thick, high-grade mineralisation both to the west and east of the existing Mineral Resource Estimate, highlighting potential for a significant resource increase.
Diamond drill hole AXDD001 intersected a very wide interval of high-grade mineralisation approximately 230m to the west of the current JORC-compliant MRE. The intercept comprises:
- 98.4m @ 3.07% TREO and 0.43% Nb₂O₅ from surface including
- 10.4m @ 5.48% TREO and 0.48% Nb₂O₅ from 4.6m including
- 12m @ 4.04% TREO from 25m
- 10.4m @ 5.48% TREO and 0.48% Nb₂O₅ from 4.6m including
Assays for six new reverse circulation (RC) drill holes have significantly expanded the footprint of the recent high-grade rare earths and niobium discovery located 1km east of the existing MRE, now known as East Araxá. Results include drill hole AXRC014 that intersected:
- 25m @ 4.42% TREO and 0.95% Nb₂O₅ from 25m including
- 11m @ 5.55% TREO and 1.29% Nb₂O₅ from 35m including
- 2m @ 10.89% TREO and 1.62@ Nb₂O₅ from 47m
- 11m @ 5.55% TREO and 1.29% Nb₂O₅ from 35m including
The new East Araxá discovery continues to return exceptional grades of magnet rare earths, with NdPr ratios up to 30% of TREO.
All new drill holes have returned thick, high-grade intervals of rare earths and niobium mineralisation from or near surface, underscoring the significant potential for the current drill campaign to deliver a large increase to the existing MRE.
At 40.6Mt @ 4.13% TREO, the Araxá MRE is already the largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted REE resource in South America and second-highest grade REE resource in the Western world.
“These are exceptional results that deliver on two key objectives of our current drill program – to grow the existing MRE and to define the scale of our major new discovery to the east,” executive chairman John Prineas said.
“The success of AXDD001 in proving mineralisation 230m beyond the current resource boundary is a fantastic development, demonstrating that the MRE remains open and has significant growth potential. The broad intercept of nearly 100m from surface speaks to the significant volume of mineralisation here.
“To the east, the results from the second batch of RC holes continue to build the case for a second, very large-scale deposit. Particularly encouraging is the high proportion of magnet rare earths we are seeing in this new zone – a great discovery at a time when governments and private enterprise outside of China are looking for new reliable sources of supply for these sought-after rare earths.
“We are consistently hitting thick zones of high-grade mineralisation from surface within a favourable weathered saprolite horizon, which points towards the potential for a simple, low-cost open-pit operation. We look forward to reporting further results from our ongoing drill program as we continue to unlock the immense value of this globally significant project.”
St George this week announced a $72.5 million equity raising that included a $22.5 million contribution from Hancock Prospecting. The raising will enable St George to progress Araxá towards a mine development final investment decision.
