SGQ hits record 207m rare earths intercept from project in Brazil

Our rare earths and niobium Investment St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) just delivered its biggest drill hit yet at its Araxá rare earths-niobium project in Brazil.

The record hole returned 207m at 2.60% total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.30% niobium - FROM SURFACE.

The result was part of a batch of results of ~37 diamond drill holes, and SGQ confirmed the assays will feed into another resource upgrade due this quarter.

There were some ultra high grade zones in there too, including 20.0m at 12.65% TREO from surface (we had to double check that one wasn't a typo)

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As a reminder, SGQ’s project is already the largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earth resource in South America - the same hard rock geology as the two biggest Western producers, $11BN MP Materials and $14BN Lynas.

And today's results continue to suggest that it still has room to grow.

Much of the drilling was infill inside the existing resource area, which should help lift more of the resource into higher-confidence categories.

Although from today’s results, there are six holes which landed outside the current resource, extending the footprint up to 140m to the north...

... and 13 holes hit high-grade mineralisation DEEPER than the resource is currently modelled.

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All that high-grade material sitting right at surface supports a simple, low-strip open pit operation - which is exactly what SGQ's economic studies are currently assessing.

SGQ says shareholders can expect news of the resource upgrade "in the coming weeks", with economic studies through the rest of the year.

And here is a look at the resource area with today's drilling:

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For a reminder on what SGQ has already shown and looking to develop:

SGQ's resource is already the largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earth deposit in South America...

... and the second highest grade REE deposit globally in the Western world.

The project’s resource is comparable to the two biggest hard rock carbonatite assets in the world owned by $11BN MP and $14BN Lynas:

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What’s next for SGQ?

🔄 Drill results from expansion drilling

SGQ has 4 rigs turning 24/7 at its project right now.

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We are hoping the current drill programs lead to another resource upgrade on the project soon and SGQ confirmed today that it is targeting another upgrade this quarter.

🔄Met testing and pilot plant

There is also ongoing met testing which we saw the initial results of today.

This detailed a one month pilot plant study on niobium flotation which is expected in July and then in late Q4 2026 SGQ's own large scale pilot plant (under construction at CEFET-MG in Araxá) is scheduled to be operating

🔄 Downstream processing updates - now on FOUR fronts

Here are the processing pathways we are tracking with four different companies across four different jurisdictions.

For rare earths processing:

• 🔄 With REAlloys (US) - Testing SGQ's rare earth product to see IF it meets specifications for US military-grade permanent magnets
• 🔄 Nanum Nanotecnologia (Brazil) - Cerium/lanthanum separation to upgrade NdPr concentration by removing lower-value rare earths early in the processing cycle
• 🔄 Tecnicas Reunidas (Europe) - Applying proprietary technology to SGQ's ore samples to design an optimal chemical flowsheet

And most recently - for the niobium:

• 🔄 With Boston Metal (US/Brazil) - testing processing tech on SGQ’s niobium resource.

We also note SGQ:

• Has signed an agreement for a joint pilot plant trial (building on a prior 9-month trial that successfully produced rare earth product at over 99% purity with 86% recoveries)
• Is participating in the MAGBRAS Initiative - a program with major automakers like Stellantis working toward building Brazil's first permanent magnet-making facility

Beyond all of that, we are also looking out for the following (specifically that economic study):

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