St George Mining has delivered a maiden resource estimate for its Araxa carbonatite-hosted niobium and rare earths deposit from the world’s premier niobium-producing region in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The estimate comprises a globally significant deposit containing 280,000 tonnes of niobium pentoxide and 1.7 million tonnes of total rare earths oxides (TREO), which are both in high global demand.
The JORC-compliant estimate was completed by independent geological consultancy E2M Ltd, a division of Sahara Natural Resources.
The full resource definition embraces 41.2Mt at 0.68 per cent (or 6800 parts per million) niobium pentoxide and 40.6Mt at 4.13 per cent (or 41,300ppm) TREO.
St George says it sees significant potential to expand the resource. Proven high grades in the dataset have run as high as 8.29 per cent niobium pentoxide and up to 32.98 per cent TREO, with mineralisation remaining open in all directions.
The company says the deposit’s potential could be greater by an “order of magnitude” scale. Its significant exploration potential is supported by intercepts below 100 metres from surface and also in deeper fresh rock which have not been included in the resource estimate.
St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said: “Drilling at our project has intersected phenomenal grades exceeding 80,000ppm niobium oxide – or 8% Nb2O5 – and around 330,000ppm or 33% total rare earth oxide. It is no wonder that with these drill results the resource estimate now defined at the project also represents among the highest grade niobium and rare earth deposits in the world today.”
Additionally, 100 per cent of the Araxá resource lies within a weathered profile and 95.8 per cent of it is above 100m depth from surface.
This points to the maiden resource being almost all free-dig, which should translate into a low-cost, open pit mining operation that may also deliver handsome early grade runs and cash flow before the company transitions to unweathered rock.
This combination of factors is further enhanced by the resource’s high magnet rare earth oxides (MREO) content, with the combined neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium making up 19.09 per cent of the estimated TREO resource.
St George envisions a favourable development route through the project’s location in a region very familiar with mining that offers good logistics and a skilled workforce.
The company already has an engineering, procurement, construction and finance contract in place to facilitate the financing that is necessary to realise large-scale renewable energy projects.
St George is already planning further drilling for resource expansion, to increase some or all of the existing resource categories and to support its mine development studies to establish a mine at the project.
The mine development drilling would also logically comprise infill and extension drilling and include phases of metallurgical, engineering and later wall sterilisation drilling.
Additional later short-hole drill testing will be required to establish the extent and optimal pattern for a future pre-mining, high-density grade control drill program.
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By Doug Bright
