Highlights

  • Araxá hosts a Mineral Resource of 111.2Mt at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb₂O₅.
  • Measured and Indicated resources increased 155% to 75.2Mt and now account for around 68% of the total resource.
  • On 2 September 2026, St George commenced pilot-scale beneficiation test work at the CIT-SENAI Facility in Belo Horizonte.
  • Environmental permitting has also commenced, while St George is establishing a dedicated rare earths processing centre in Minas Gerais.

St George Mining Limited (ASX:SGQ) is moving its Araxá Project in Brazil through a broader development phase, with work now progressing across resource definition, metallurgy, pilot-scale processing and environmental approvals.

Araxá is located in Minas Gerais, an established mining region with existing infrastructure and a long history of niobium production. St George acquired the project in 2025 and has since expanded both the scale and geological confidence of the rare earths and niobium resource.

The company’s latest substantive update came on 2 September 2026, when it announced the commencement of pilot-scale beneficiation test work. The program follows earlier laboratory-scale metallurgy and is intended to provide larger-scale operating data for the project’s proposed processing pathway.

Resource Upgrade

The August 2026 Mineral Resource update materially increased the scale of Araxá.

The total JORC Resource now stands at 111.2Mt grading 3.57% total rare earth oxides and 0.57% niobium pentoxide, using a 2% TREO cut-off.

Contained metal comprises approximately 3.98Mt of TREO, including around 760kt of NdPr oxides, together with approximately 630kt of Nb₂O₅.

Measured and Indicated resources increased by 155% to 75.2Mt and now represent about 68% of the total resource.

This higher-confidence component is important because future mine planning and development studies require a substantial proportion of Measured and Indicated material.

The Measured category alone totals 33.2Mt at 3.81% TREO and 0.63% Nb₂O₅, while Indicated resources total 42.0Mt at 3.50% TREO and 0.54% Nb₂O₅.

Pilot Plant

The 2 September update marks the next step in processing development.

St George commenced a pilot plant beneficiation program at the CIT-SENAI facility in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The work builds on flotation test results announced in June 2026, which produced a high-grade niobium concentrate and a tailings stream enriched in rare earth elements.

Moving from laboratory-scale tests into pilot-scale operation is significant because it allows the company to assess process behaviour using larger sample volumes and more continuous operating conditions.

The program is expected to provide information on recoveries, concentrate grades, material handling and process stability.

Results from the beneficiation test work are expected during the December 2026 quarter.

Processing Strategy

Araxá is unusual because it contains both niobium and high-grade rare earth mineralisation.

St George is therefore assessing a flowsheet designed to recover value from both commodities rather than treating either as a secondary consideration.

The company is also developing its own pilot plant facility in Brazil, with first operation targeted for January 2027.

On 27 August 2026, St George announced plans for a dedicated rare earths processing centre in Minas Gerais.

The initiative is intended to support mineral-processing development, product qualification and Downstream rare earth activities within Brazil.

This strategy could help St George build technical capability locally while reducing reliance on offshore test facilities as Araxá advances.

Permitting Progress

Development work is also progressing on the regulatory side.

On 25 August 2026, St George lodged the Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Impact Report for Araxá with Minas Gerais regulator FEAM.

The submission formally commenced the state’s three-stage licensing process.

The first two stages cover the Preliminary Licence and Installation Licence, which are required before construction can proceed.

St George expects these initial licensing stages to take around 12 months, subject to regulatory assessment and consultation.

An Operating Licence would be required following construction before commercial production could begin.

Permitting is therefore becoming increasingly important as the company moves beyond resource drilling into project-definition work.

Funding Position

St George strengthened its Balance Sheet during June 2026 through a major Capital raising.

The company secured approximately AUD 60 million to accelerate development of Araxá.

Funds were allocated toward drilling, metallurgy, feasibility work, environmental studies, pilot-scale processing and general project advancement.

A stronger funding position is important because expenditure typically rises as a mining company transitions from exploration into feasibility and permitting.

Resource drilling alone is no longer the primary cost centre.

Engineering, process design, environmental studies, land access and pilot-scale testing all require increasingly significant Investment before a development decision can be considered.

Strategic Partners

Araxá has also attracted several strategic relationships.

St George has established alliances covering rare earths processing, niobium development and downstream technology.

Earlier in 2026, the company partnered with Boston Metal on niobium processing opportunities.

It has also been working with international counterparties on rare earth separation and potential downstream applications.

These relationships are relevant because rare earth and niobium Supply chains are highly specialised.

Unlike bulk commodities, successful commercialisation often requires product qualification, customer-specific specifications and detailed understanding of downstream processing requirements.

Strategic partnerships can therefore become an important part of project financing and market development.

Exploration Potential

Despite the larger August resource, Araxá remains open for further growth.

Drilling throughout 2026 has repeatedly intersected thick rare earths and niobium mineralisation from surface.

The company has also identified additional mineralisation beyond the current resource footprint, including areas east of the existing model.

St George is targeting a maiden Mineral Resource for East Araxá during the December 2026 quarter.

This means the current 111.2Mt resource may not represent the final scale of the project.

However, development studies will increasingly need to balance additional resource growth against the need to define a practical initial mining and processing configuration.

Final Takeaway

St George Mining is moving Araxá into a more technically advanced phase.

The project now hosts 111.2Mt at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb₂O₅, with 75.2Mt already classified as Measured and Indicated.

The 2 September 2026 commencement of pilot-scale beneficiation work adds a new layer of technical de-risking after earlier laboratory metallurgy.

At the same time, permitting has formally started and St George is developing dedicated rare earths processing capability in Brazil.

For St George Mining (ASX:SGQ), the next key milestones will be pilot plant results, East Araxá resource growth, permitting progress and further definition of the commercial processing route.

These workstreams will determine how effectively the company can convert Araxá’s large rare earths and niobium inventory into a viable development project.