SGQ hits 199m intercept from surface at its rare earths-niobium project

Our rare earths and niobium Investment St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) just put out its biggest intercept yet from its rare earths-niobium project in Brazil.

SGQ hit a monster 199.5m intercept with grades of 2.86% total rare earths oxide (TREO) and 0.44% niobium FROM SURFACE.

And the hole actually ended in minerealisation - the last 1m had 4.8% TREO grades - which means the deposit could actually be getting bigger (and higher grade) at depth too…

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Here is where today’s hit came from relative to the current resource footprint:

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That was the highlight result from today’s announcement which reported 23 assay - eight of which were drilled outside the current resource, extending the mineralised footprint up to 200m to the north.

That's important because the current resource is only modelled to depths of 120-160m and AXDD120 has now returned mineralisation all the way to ~200m from surface.

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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 $14BN MP and $17BN Lynas:

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SGQ says these results will feed into a resource upgrade due this quarter, which then becomes the platform for economic studies currently underway on a potential mine.

Since the last resource update SGQ has drilled over 44 new holes that aren’t in the current resource estimate.

So we are hoping the resource upgrade is a big one - SGQ is targeting another upgrade to the resource in Q3.

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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