en.Wedoany.com Reported - St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ, FRA:S0G, OTC:SGQMF) announced preliminary metallurgical test results from its Araxá Niobium and Rare Earth Project in Brazil, indicating that flotation beneficiation can produce separate high-grade niobium and rare earth concentrate streams from near-surface mineralization. This achievement brings the company closer to realizing the potential of a dual-commodity operation, producing both niobium and rare earth products from the same resource.
In initial open-circuit flotation tests on approximately 5 tonnes of near-surface saprolite material, the company obtained niobium concentrates with grades up to 40.2% Nb₂O₅. The best results included a concentrate grading 39.6% Nb₂O₅ with a flotation recovery of 54.3%, and a concentrate grading 40.2% Nb₂O₅ with a recovery of 46.0%. When including the preceding magnetic separation stage, total niobium recovery was approximately 50.9%. The company noted that these grade and recovery metrics are comparable to existing operations processing Araxá-style pyrochlore-type niobium deposits, where flotation recoveries typically range from 40% to 60%.
Executive Chairman John Prineas stated that these results support the potential for commercial production of niobium and rare earth products from the Araxá Project. He noted: "The initial flotation results are very encouraging for our dual-commodity approach, as they support the potential to produce commercial niobium and rare earth products from Araxá mineralization. This marks an important milestone for the project. In this early-stage flotation testing, we produced high-grade niobium concentrates with recoveries and grades consistent with niobium mining operations processing Araxá-style pyrochlore mineralization." He also mentioned that the company completed testing on five tonnes of near-surface material, which is likely the type of ore that would be mined during the initial years of Araxá operations, providing reliable results for development studies. A team of Brazilian and Australian technicians is currently conducting further work to optimize flotation performance, evaluate closed-circuit operations, and assess downstream refining pathways.
In rare earth beneficiation, the company reported encouraging results from material remaining after niobium flotation. Rare earth flotation tests produced a concentrate grading 15.7% total rare earth oxides (TREO), representing a 1.6-fold upgrade from the original feed grade of 9.8% TREO. This concentrate was recovered from niobium flotation tailings, supporting the process being developed to extract value from both commodities. Tests indicated that approximately 82% of rare earths can be recovered through the combined process, and the company expects further closed-circuit testing to improve recoveries and better define final product specifications.
The approximately 5 tonnes of saprolite samples used in this metallurgical program were collected from a shallow trench in the Central Araxá area at depths of 1 to 3 meters, averaging 0.69% Nb₂O₅ and 9.29% TREO. The material is considered representative of near-surface ore that could be mined in the early stages of future operations. The Araxá Project hosts globally significant mineral resources, including 70.71 million tonnes grading 4.06% TREO and 0.62% Nb₂O₅, plus an additional 24.56 million tonnes grading 0.52% Nb₂O₅ outside the rare earth resource envelope.
With the initial beneficiation phase complete, St George Mining has entered the next stage of metallurgical development, aimed at improving recoveries and optimizing the process flowsheet. Closed-circuit and locked-cycle flotation tests are underway at laboratories in Brazil and Canada, along with additional studies on comminution, flotation variability, concentrate refining, and ferroniobium production pathways. CIT-SENAI is scheduled to conduct a one-month pilot-scale niobium flotation program in July 2026, while St George Mining's larger pilot plant at Araxá, built by CEFET-MG, is expected to be operational by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026. This facility will be capable of producing niobium concentrate, ferroniobium, mixed rare earth carbonate, and rare earth oxides.
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