St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has made payment of the deferred cash consideration due to Itafos Inc under the second and third instalments of the sale agreement relating to the acquisition by the company of the 100% interest in the Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The payments – totalling US$11 million – have been made earlier than scheduled and satisfy all the remaining deferred consideration payable by St George under the sale agreement. As a result, all security held by Itafos over the project and related groups assets will be released.
St George considered the fast-tracked payment – US$6 million was due at the end of November 2025 and US$5 million in late August 2026 – a prudent application of some of the monies raised in the strongly supported A$50 million institutional placement, completed in October 2025. The institutional placement was part of a broader A$72.5 million equity raising to provide St George with the funds to advance Araxá towards a final investment decision on a mine development.
The fast-tracked settlement announced today of the final two deferred payments to Itafos confirms St George’s unencumbered, 100% ownership of Araxá and underscores the company’s commitment to advancing development of this globally significant rare earths and niobium project.
“The completion of these final payments to Itafos marks the successful conclusion of what has been a highly strategic and transformative acquisition for St George,” executive chairman John Prineas said.
“We now hold full and unencumbered ownership of the Araxá project – a world-class rare earths and niobium asset located in the heart of Brazil’s globally dominant niobium-producing district – and are well funded to advance this tremendous development opportunity towards a final investment decision.
“This acquisition has positioned St George as a leading participant in the global critical minerals supply chain. With ownership fully consolidated, we are now focused on accelerating development and unlocking the significant value potential of this exceptional project.”
On 1 April 2025, St George announced a maiden resource for the project – the largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted REE resource in South America and second-highest grade REE resource in the Western world. The JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate is 40.6Mt @ 4.13% TREO.
A major, fully funded drill program comprising auger, reverse circulation and diamond drilling is underway at Araxá to expand and upgrade the resource. Early results of the drill program have included high-grade rare earths and niobium assays that are outside the current MRE footprint. St George expects to report more results from the drill program over coming weeks.
In parallel, St George has embarked on technical workstreams and entered into downstream partnerships with a view to adding value to rare earths and niobium produced at the Araxá project. One of the downstream partnerships includes MagBras, a public-private initiative to establish a rare earths magnet-making facility in Brazil.
