St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has entered into a binding agreement to acquire a strategic parcel of land, which is suitable for the location of processing and related operational facilities required for the potential development of a niobium and rare earths mine at the company’s world-class Araxá Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The land being acquired comprises 166 hectares located less than 2km from of the Araxá project mining tenure and is zoned for mining and industrial use, which is the appropriate classification for St George’s proposed purpose. The land is flat-lying and cleared of trees, representing an ideal setting for installation of processing facilities to support a potential mining operation at Araxá.
St George’s drilling at the project continues to demonstrate that the mining tenure is highly mineralised across a very broad footprint, requiring the location of processing facilities away from the mining tenure to ensure that no part of the mineral deposits is rendered inaccessible.
This move also mirrors the set-up at the two existing mines at the Barreiro carbonatite – CBMM’s world-leading niobium mine and Mosaic’s large phosphate mine – which have positioned their respective processing facilities outside the richly mineralised Barreiro carbonatite.
The land acquisition marks the latest step in St George’s efforts to position the Araxá Project for a fast-tracked development.
In parallel to the drilling campaign, St George is also advancing metallurgical test work to characterise its proprietary process and flow sheet, has established strong and positive relationships with the State of Minas Gerais including around favourable tax regimes, forged strong downstream alliances in Brazil and the US with potential for offtake contracts and commenced technical studies to feed into economic study work.
“Securing this strategically located landholding is an important step in de-risking the development of the Araxá project,” executive chairman John Prineas said.
“We know we have a world-class Mineral Resource at Araxá that is only going to get bigger and better, so our attention is firmly focused on also enabling the fast-tracked development of a significant niobium-rare earths mining operation.
“The success of our expansion drilling at Araxá has been amazing, with a large resource upgrade likely. In conjunction to the drilling, we have been progressing development workstreams to ensure that we maintain an expedited pathway to development.
“Our project is in the world’s premier niobium mining address – adjacent to CBMM, which has been mining niobium for more than 40 years and supplies around 80% of the world’s niobium. Araxá’s location – in an established mining district with a community that is supportive of mining – has the potential to significantly cut timelines for development approvals.
“The favourable deposit characteristics – namely, free-digging high-grade mineralisation that starts at surface – also highlight the simple technical model which can support a rapid pathway to commencement of mining.
“Our potential speed to market is a real point of difference between St George and other emerging niobium and rare earths developers. This land acquisition ensures we maintain the momentum towards safely and responsibly becoming a near-term niobium and rare earths producer with a world-class mining operation.”
The consideration for the acquisition of the project land is 14 million Brazilian Reais (approximately A$3.8 million), payable in two equal instalments – the first upon signing of the agreement (which occurred on 13 February 2026) and the second on 30 September 2026.
St George has also acquired a parcel of land comprising 163 hectares and located 19.5km from the new project land proposed for the industrial facilities. The area comprises mature vegetation, including Atlantic forest, and will be transformed into a conservation green zone, reducing GHG emissions of the proposed mining operation at Araxá and providing all environmental needs for the operational licensing process.
The consideration for the acquisition of the land was 6 million Brazilian Reais (approximately A$1.6 million).
