St George Mining Ltd has added an industrial project specialist with extensive niobium processing expertise to its team, appointing Carlos Alberto de Araujo as an engineering expert for the Araxá Niobium-REE Project in Brazil.
Araujo managed the design, construction and commissioning of CBMM’s advanced niobium processing plant at Araxá and has also served as an industrial engineer at Araxá S.A. Fertilizantes (today known as Mosaic’s Araxá phosphate project).
His expertise in niobium, phosphate and rare earths at Araxá will support the appointment of the global Xinhai Group as St George’s preferred EPC contractor, creating a “formidable engineering team that can expedite an efficient and practical plant design to achieve a cost-effective development plan for the Araxá Project”.
Toward acquisition and development
“We are delighted to welcome Mr Carlos Araújo to our Araxá Project delivery team,” St George Mining executive chair John Prineas said.
“Mr Araújo’s extensive experience working at the neighbouring CBMM and Mosaic plants will be invaluable as St George formulates an integrated and efficient engineering solution for the Araxá Project that can deliver optimal operational performance with a high level of safety and reliability.
“The Araxá Project is located in an established mining region with access to existing infrastructure and available workforce and backed by a supportive permitting regime.
“Together with our highly credentialled in-country team – which counts decades of combined experience in mining and mineral production at Araxá – St George is favourably placed to fast-track the potential development of the project.
“A general meeting of our shareholders will be held today in Perth to consider resolutions associated with the Araxá acquisition.
“We expect a favourable outcome at that meeting, following which we will move quickly to complete the acquisition and ramp-up exploration and development work at Araxá.”
SGQ believes the Araxá Project has world-class potential, hosted within the Barreiro Carbonatite that is home to CBMM’s world-leading niobium project and Mosaics’s world-class phosphate project.
Historical drilling results have confirmed extensive near-surface mineralisation with more than 500 intersections of high-grade mineralisation grading up to 8% niobium, 33% total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 32% phosphorous.
Standout assays include:
Niobium -
- 43 metres at 1.5% niobium from surface;
- 20 metres at 2.4% niobium from surface, including 10 metres at 3.2% from 2 metres;
- 33 metres at 2.1% niobium from 4 metres;
- 14 metres at 2.9% niobium from surface;
- 13 metres at 2.8% niobium from 20 metres, including 1.2 metres at 8.3% from 26 metres; and
- 11 metres at 3% from niobium from 5 metres.
TREO -
- 60 metres at 11.1% TREO from surface, including 30 metres at 16.9% from 27.5 metres;
- 45 metres at 14.4% TREO from 15 metres, including 7.5 metres at 31.5% from 40 metres;
- 29 metres at 10.3% TREO from surface;
- 42 metres at 6.9% TREO from surface;
- 17 metres at 14.6% TREO from surface; and
- 10 metres at 14.7% TREO from surface.