St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) has reported 199.5m of continuous rare earths and niobium mineralisation from surface at its Araxá Project in Brazil.
The company says the latest assays from 23 diamond drill holes confirm extensive ‘high-grade’ mineralisation from surface, with AXDD120 delivering the thickest intercept to date at 199.5m @ 2.86% total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.44% niobium pentoxide (Nb₂O₅) from surface.
“The remarkable result for AXDD120, which delivered almost 200m of continuous mineralisation from the surface, highlights the tremendous scale and consistent high grade of the mineral system at Araxá,” Executive Chairman John Prineas says.
“Importantly, this result is not isolated. Many drill holes in our program, including seven drill holes in the latest batch of results, have returned more than 150m of mineralisation from surface.”
The AXDD120 hole includes 60m @ 3.96% TREO and 0.52% Nb₂O₅ from surface, 15m @ 3.30% TREO and 0.97% Nb₂O₅ from 36m, and 28.8m @ 1.76% TREO and 0.70% Nb₂O₅ from 116.2m.
Other significant intercepts include AXDD127 with 121.55m @ 3.47% TREO and 0.39% Nb₂O₅ from surface, AXDD115 with 96m @ 4.19% TREO and 0.31% Nb₂O₅ from surface, and AXDD131 with 80.5m @ 4.62% TREO and 0.33% Nb₂O₅ from surface.
The company has completed approximately 14,500m of drilling in the current campaign at Araxá, with eight of the 23 holes drilled outside the current mineral resource estimate (MRE) footprint, extending the known mineralised area by up to 200m to the north.
AXDD120 entered fresh rock at 198m depth, reinforcing the substantial vertical extent and potential scale of the weathered mineralised profile. End of hole mineralisation of 1m @ 4.80% TREO from 198.5m confirms the mineral system remains open at depth.
The latest results continue to demonstrate a favourable magnet rare earth profile, with neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) ratios in broad intervals typically around 20% to 26%. Notable ratios include AXDD126 with 171.4m @ 1.71% TREO and 26.0% NdPr, and AXDD112 with 151.35m @ 1.08% TREO and 25.4% NdPr.
Niobium mineralisation continues to strengthen the dual commodity opportunity, with the best broad intercepts including 90m @ 0.54% Nb₂O₅ from surface in AXDD117, 145.75m @ 0.49% Nb₂O₅ from surface in AXDD123, and 171.4m @ 0.48% Nb₂O₅ from surface in AXDD126.
Prineas says the latest drill results will be incorporated into the MRE upgrade scheduled for Q3 2026.
“The latest drill results also extend the mineralised footprint to the north of the current MRE, with eight of the 23 holes drilled outside the current resource area — expanding the footprint by 200m to the north,” he says.
The drilling program at the main Araxá deposit will soon pause as activities shift to East Araxá, following St George’s discovery 1km east of the main deposit. The company expects resource definition drilling at East Araxá to result in a further MRE upgrade in the December 2026 quarter.
According to the company, Araxá hosts the largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earths resource in South America and the second-highest grade rare earths resource in the Western world. The project comprises a 70.91Mt resource at 4.06% TREO and 0.62% Nb₂O₅ using a 2% TREO cut-off.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: St George Mining
