St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) has extended its strategic alliance with US-based REalloys at the wholly owned Araxá Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the goal of finalising potential offtake agreements for the company’s rare earths.
REalloys is conducting metallurgical testwork on the rare earth oxalates from the Araxá Project using its proprietary technology. The results of this testwork will provide guidance for the optimization of the processing flowsheet for production, with the aim of producing a suitable product for REalloys’ magnet making operations.
Realloys has a fully integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain, producing magnet materials for various US Government organisations and US-based companies involved in defense, aerospace, and electronics.
Executive Chairman John Prineas says that the strategic partnership is “an alliance that has potential to provide an attractive pathway for St George to access the rapidly developing and lucrative downstream sector of the US rare earths industry”.
“The Araxá Project boasts a world-class, hard-rock rare earths resource with scale that makes it well-positioned to be a potential supplier of rare earths product for ex-China supply chains being established in Brazil, the US, and other countries.”
The deal is one of several that Realloys has made in recent months as they look to bolster their mining, processing, and manufacturing capabilities and help to secure rare earths supply chains in the US.
St George is also positioning to be a significant player in the US rare earths industry, with the Araxá Project. At 40.6 million tonnes at 4.13% total rare earth oxides, Araxá is the largest carbonatite-hosted rare earth deposit in South America, and so the company is positioning to be a key supplier of feedstock into the North American rare earths processing and manufacturing sector.
The strategic agreement between St George and REalloys is meant to drive future commercialisation of the rare earths from Araxá, with the view for REalloys to secure a long-term offtake agreement for up to 40% of production.
St George is developing critical minerals projects in both Brazil and Western Australia.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: St George
