Following news it is moving closer towards the potential acquisition of the Araxá niobium-rare earth elements project in Brazil, St George Mining has ticked off another key component.
The John Prineas-led junior told the market it had signed a technical collaboration agreement with two Brazilian state-based scientific agencies – EBRAPHII and SENAI.
St George is no stranger to SENAI – Latin America’s first rare earth element permanent magnet maker – after signing multiple memorandums of understanding with the company last December, in a bid to develop sustainable downstream processing and production of both niobium and rare earth elements in the state of Minas Gerais.
The junior said the focus of the co-venture was designed for it to improve insight on the separation of rare earth elements from niobium to create niobium-based products and commercial rare earth elements from Araxá.
The co-venture will be a government subsidised program, with St George contributing 40 per cent of the costs.
St George has also been granted 10 years of exclusivity in relation to commericalising intellectual property from the co-venture, with it not required to pay any fees or royalties to either EBRAPHII or SENAI.
Mr Prineas said the latest agreement was yet another endorsement of Araxá’s potential.
“The technical collaboration agreement is a key step to support the development of an optimum processing flowsheet for the Araxá project,” he said.
“We are delighted to have finalised this agreement with SENAI and EMBRAPII which has the potential to provide a major breakthrough in the efficiency and sustainability of mining and processing activities at Araxá.
“Signing of this technical collaboration agreement is testament not just to Araxá’s potential but also to the quality and experience of the in-country team that St George has assembled to drive the project forward.”
Earlier this week, St George announced plans to raise $20 million, subject to shareholder approval, in order to provide funds towards a variety of activities relating to the acquisition of Araxá.
St George closed trade up 10 per cent to 2.3 cents.
