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West Australian
2 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
St George drills Brazilian target amid global rare earths ambitions
St George Mining has development studies in full swing at its Araxa niobium and rare earth elements project in Brazil's premier mining state of Minas Gerais, as part of a global push to find new supplies. The company's inaugural drilling campaign is charging ahead, with 40 auger holes on a 500-metre grid completed for 512m as part of a reconnaissance program to test areas beyond the current resource envelope. A total of 404 samples have been sent for assay, with initial results expected this month. The results from the first 100 samples are slated to be available by the end of the month. St George also launched a reverse circulation drilling program last Friday, comprising a planned 2500m, focused on infill drilling for its JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of 40.64 million tonnes averaging 4.13 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO), containing 1.7Mt TREO. The resource includes 320,000 tonnes of high-demand neodymium-praseodymium at a combined grade of 7800 parts per million (ppm). The key rare earths are used to manufacture permanent magnets. A 7200m diamond drilling campaign is set to begin in three weeks to further delineate high-grade zones and provide metallurgical samples. St George has completed a 270-line-kilometre drone-borne aeromagnetic survey. Brazilian processing company Geoscan is mapping the structural features, lithological boundaries and mineralised zones to refine the geological model of the host carbonatite and locate new drill targets. St George has also advanced its environmental studies to expedite open-pit mine permitting through which the company hopes it can leverage early development of the deposit's near-surface high-grade niobium, which is up to 8.29 per cent niobium pentoxide and rare earths mineralisation up to 32.98 per cent TREO. The environmental work includes flora and cave studies, alongside ongoing air quality and noise monitoring, to further support the company's permitting obligations. Araxa's strategic location near Brazilian explorer Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração's (CBMM) world-leading niobium operations ensures access to robust infrastructure, including power and transport, and a skilled workforce, which will ease St George's development pathway. CBMM specialises in processing niobium from its pyrochlore mine near the city of Araxa and just a few kilometres south of St George's Araxa operation. St George's project hosts high-grade mineralisation, which remains open in all directions, positioning it for a significant mineral resource expansion and enhancing its status as a globally significant niobium and rare earths resource. Global demand for rare earths is surging, driven by China's April 2025 export controls on rare earths and Chinese-manufactured rare earths magnets, which until recently have supplied up to 90 per cent of global demand. In response, the United States Department of Defence has invested US$400 million (A$610 million) in MP Materials' Mountain Pass mine, the US's only operating rare earths mine. The investment, which includes a 15 per cent stake and a US$150 million (A$229 million) loan for a new processing facility, underscores Western efforts to secure non-Chinese rare earths supply chains. St George Mining's executive chairman John Prineas said: ' We are excited to be progressing development activities at a time when the geopolitical background is driving unprecedented interest to establish rare earths supply chains ex-China – as seen last Friday with a landmark multi-billion-dollar investment by the US Department of Defence in MP Materials.' In Brazil, St George participates in the MAGBRAS initiative, a Brazilian government-backed program focused on establishing a domestic supply chain for rare earth products, including permanent magnets. St George Mining is participating as a potential supplier. The company is also working with leading Brazilian scientific agency SENAI and the Federation of Industries of Minas Gerais to establish a sustainable rare earths supply chain, including for magnet production. Araxa's high neodymium-praseodymium content aligns it with the initiative and positions St George as a key supplier. It opens the possibility of government support for expedited approvals and, with an experienced in-country team, puts the project in a rare position to capitalise on favourable logistics and current global market dynamics. If the stars align favourably, the opportunity to meet critical supply chain vulnerabilities and support the clean energy and defence sectors could boost St George's profile and fortunes. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
02-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
St George flies geophysics to unlock world-class Brazilian niobium play
St George Mining has launched into advanced geophysics surveys at its Araxá niobium-rare earths project in Brazil's mining heartland of Minas Gerais. The company is flying its high-tech surveys in a quest to expand its project to become a globally significant niobium resource. St George has deployed a high-resolution magnetics drone alongside passive seismic surveys to confirm the extent of its mammoth resource potential at Araxá, as an ongoing 10,000-metre drilling blitz winds up. First assay results from the massive drilling program are expected imminently as the rare earths hopeful pushes to ignite Araxá as a globally significant niobium player in the world-class Barreiro carbonatite complex. The company's geophysics program is designed to pinpoint high-grade mineralised zones and map structural controls at Araxá to build on a recent 41.2-million-tonne maiden resource grading 0.68 per cent niobium oxide and 40.6Mt at a large 4.13 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO). The starter resource already positions Araxá as a standout in the critical minerals space, with less than 10 per cent of the project area drilled and mineralisation open in all directions. St George says it is confident it will unlock substantial additional value as results flow in. Historical drilling at Araxá has already delivered some juicy, thick intercepts, including a thick 60-metre section running an impressive 11.1 per cent TREO from surface alongside niobium hits such as 20m at 2.4 per cent from surface. High-grade zones at Araxá have reached as high as 8 per cent niobium and a staggering 33 per cent TREO, underscoring the project's potential to rival global peers such as its neighbour at Barreiro, the CBMM niobium mine, which has a massive 896Mt resource running at 1.49 per cent niobium. The company has already kicked off a high-resolution drone-based magnetic survey, focussed on tightly spaced 25m lines, to deliver detailed maps of the project's basement rocks. St George says the mapping will help delineate lithological boundaries, structural corridors and high-grade mineralised zones at the world-class carbonatite. A parallel LiDAR survey will generate a precise digital elevation model, enhancing geological interpretation and logistical planning for the next round of step-out drilling. Araxá's standout features include its free-dig near-surface resource, which sits almost entirely within 100m depth. With mineralisation starting largely at surface and more than 500 historic high-grade niobium intercepts, the deposit looks primed for low-cost, open-pit mining potential, akin to that of its world-class neighbour. St George's robust local infrastructure and access to a skilled workforce enabled it to secure government backing for expedited approvals and assemble a top-tier in-country team, including several former CBMM executives. The company remains confident it can upgrade the resource to higher confidence categories while simultaneously expanding its resource footprint as management looks to put its foot to the floor to quickly develop the project. With assay results on the horizon and geophysical data set to refine exploration targeting, St George Mining is working flat out in its mission to transform Araxá into a cornerstone of Brazil's critical minerals supply chain. A plethora of activity means a strong flow of news to the market, which remains niobium-hungry despite broader rare earths price weakness. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
How are charging technologies developing in mining?
Much of the mining industry's electrified future rests on advancements in charging technologies. Developments in fast, dynamic and hybrid charging solutions are enabling battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to become an increasingly familiar sight in underground and surface mines. Mining Technology's parent company, GlobalData, notes that there are almost 400 mining BEVs in operation globally as of the first quarter of 2025. To power these fleets, major miners are exploring innovative charging technologies for operational efficiency and reduced carbon emissions. However, interoperability across vehicle types and charging infrastructure has yet to be achieved at scale. If charging solutions become standardised, fully electrified operations across the global mining industry can become a reality. As mining vehicles transition away from diesel and become electrified, operational speed remains a priority for miners to meet or surpass production targets and avoid downtime of critical assets – a need that is met by fast charging. Ben Ting, chief commercial officer of Echion Technologies, confirms that 'the industry benchmark for fast charging is one hour out of a 24-hour day'. Echion is a spin-out of the University of Cambridge and supplies niobium-based anode materials with backing from strategic investor CBMM, the world's biggest niobium miner. Research finds that fast charging, the most commonly used technology in underground mines, enables improvements in productivity by optimising the timing of charging periods, such as when workers are on shift breaks. However, a flaw in the efficiency of fast charging technology is that BEVs typically remain stationery during the charging process. 'The ultra-class BEVs in mining have over a megawatt-hour (MWh) worth of batteries, and there is a lot of prep involved in charging them – parking the truck up, getting a big cable, safely connecting and disconnecting it,' explains Ting. 'All these things added up take too long within dynamic mine environments where it is important to keep moving all the time.' Another common method is battery swapping, which is the exchange of a depleted battery for a fully charged one. However, this still requires dedicated stations and careful parking alignment. This is where dynamic charging comes in, charging BEVs while they are in operation. This is typically achieved by attaching trucks to a catenary, the best of which can currently deliver 6–8MWh of power, according to Ting. Charging efficiency also varies between BEV sizes. Hitachi Energy global transportation segment manager Bruce Warner previously told Mining Technology that charging technology is quite mature for smaller vehicles but for larger trucks will 'take time and investment to bring it to a state where it can be widely used', citing dynamic charging as a promising solution. ABB global eMine mining solutions manager Nic Beutler tells Mining Technology that 'while the capital costs can't be ignored, they are becoming easier to justify. 'Modularity and scalability are overlooked benefits, as mines won't have to overhaul everything at once. They can start small, prove the concept and scale incrementally as the fleet electrifies.' Indeed, emerging charging solutions currently represent an upfront investment risk, but there are efforts to build out and standardise solutions for wholesale industry electrification. A key barrier to increased industry adoption is a lack of interoperability between charging technologies, infrastructure and vehicle types. The Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN) association, which promotes a combined charging system as a global standard for electric vehicles (EVs), has been collaborating with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) on this bottleneck. 'The result is a clear road map structured around three complementary technologies,' explains CharIN technical project manager Daniela Soler. These are the Ruggedised Megawatt Charging System (R-MCS) for high-power static charging; the Dynamic Charging Interface (DCI), which supports charging while in motion; and the extreme Megawatt Charging System (X-MCS), aimed at ultra-fast original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-agnostic charging for large haul trucks. With these advancements, CharIN is targeting 'automation, durability and scalability', but interoperability remains the top priority, says Soler. 'Mining fleets are diverse, often with equipment from multiple OEMs, operating across different sites in different climates. If each OEM or site requires its own proprietary charging system, the cost, complexity and risk increase heavily.' ICMM director of innovation Bryony Clear Hill adds that 'standardisation supports the deployment of high-power chargers and dynamic energy transfer systems essential for large mining vehicles, especially in demanding environments.' Digitalisation is another important piece. As Beutler highlights: 'Right now, many charging systems are reactive – plug in, charge, then move on. What is needed is more intelligent infrastructure that is aware of fleet scheduling, power network loads and a mix in supply, even with renewable energy inputs.' As more charging solutions, both digital and physical, become available to miners, there is a higher chance of oversaturation in the market. Ting maintains that 'standardisation should come after experimentation. Despite the mining industry wanting high-level certainty, many different approaches should be tested to then zone in on what should be the standard.' Alongside broader initiatives, major miners have been pursuing pilot projects and fast charging remains a popular avenue. Ting highlights Australian mining giant Fortescue as a leader in this area. At the end of 2024, the company received an A$10m ($6.48m) grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to develop 6MW fast chargers for heavy BEVs, building on its previous prototypes. Across the Pacific in Canada, Newmont's Borden gold mine is transitioning into the world's first all-electric underground mine – a mission enabled by fast charging stations and power reticulation systems with additional power lines and a one kilovolt supply. Hybrid solutions are also emerging, allowing miners to reap the combined benefits of fast and dynamic charging. Elonroad CEO Karin Ebbinghaus states that with better charging, 'there is less need for big batteries, and so mining vehicles will become cheaper, as batteries are quite often the most expensive part of a vehicle'. The company offers dynamic charging stations for miners and estimates that industry electrification stands at only 0.5%. Hybrid charging is 'brand new for mining', comments Ting. 'There is a lot of interest in trials, particularly from the smaller miners, so that they can be second movers.' In the meantime, major OEMs continue to push more charging solutions out into the market. Most recently, at MINExpo 2024, Caterpillar unveiled its Dynamic Energy Transfer system, which includes a power module, electrified rail system and a machine system to transfer energy to an operating truck. Also at MINExpo 2024, Komatsu showcased its first battery-electric load haul dump truck with ground-level battery swap capabilities and its collaboration with ABB on the eMine™ Robot Automated Connection Device, which automatically connects and disconnects mining EVs to charging stations. 'It is a new way of thinking with new technologies, so tests in different environments are crucial,' says Ebbinghaus. 'In a large ecosystem, the OEMs and power grid companies also need to be involved. It is about bringing new people together for discussion, which can be a challenge.' Hill emphasises that 'success in developing charging technologies hinges on collaboration between stakeholders to advance the electrification of mining'. Charging advancement in mining is on an upward trajectory, with Ting asserting that hybrid solutions in particular hold exceptional promise. 'Most mines will run on a hybrid system with onboard charging,' he says. 'There is a real opportunity for greenfield sites in designing and planning the mine with charging infrastructure in mind from day one.' Ebbinghaus concurs, urging stakeholders to continue building on the progress that has been made so far. 'The industry has already spent a lot of funding on researching autonomous and electrified operations, and now it is time to combine them and focus on charging infrastructure.' Of course, charging solutions are just one piece of the wider puzzle of mining electrification, and must develop alongside other clean energy mining solutions such as batteries and renewable power sources from on-site microgrids. 'Mines will increasingly rely on predictive charging schedules, energy-aware routing and coordination with renewable supply,' confirms Beutler. Industry progress in charging could also serve as a blueprint for other sectors such as ports and heavy rail, as Soler points out. CharIN expects R-MCS and DCI systems to be deployed in mines in the short term, with X-MCS on a longer time frame that could see it rival or even surpass diesel refuelling across different industries. 'Ultimately, charging will move from being a technical challenge to becoming a strategic advantage, one that enhances productivity, lowers emissions and future-proofs mining operations,' Soler concludes. "How are charging technologies developing in mining? " was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
West Australian
24-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Local support helps St George put Brazil mine on critical minerals map
St George Mining will start a reverse circulation drilling program within days at its Araxa niobium-rare earths project in Brazil, as the company builds local community and government support to develop Araxa into a globally significant project. It expects to follow the reverse circulation program with a 10,000-metre, 16-week diamond drilling campaign in July. The company has launched a major auger, reverse circulation and diamond drilling program for the Araxa project. The upcoming work will focus on resource expansion and upgrading the project's inferred resource to at least the indicated category. Scout augur drilling is already underway, with 16 holes drilled for about 211m. St George has negotiated government support for expedited project approvals and has assembled an experienced in-country team and established relationships with key parties and authorities in Brazil to drive the Araxa project through exploration work and development. The company says it has been buoyed by the significant support it has received from the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais and the local Araxa community. St George executives met last week with local council representatives and community leaders in Araxa to deepen their relationship and understand community requirements. The company announced at the meeting that it will fund a range of health and wellbeing, education, environmental and other local projects. St George signed a co-operation agreement in October last year, which recognises that the company proposes to make a significant investment in Minas Gerais. The recognition opened the way for the state to help the company develop the project through expedited permitting approvals and other initiatives. The agreement also recognises St George's contribution to establishing domestic supply chains for the critical minerals required for Brazil's clean energy transition. Minas Gerais is Brazil's fourth biggest state, and its capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte , is a major urban and financial centre. Most of the state's GDP comes from mining and related activities. The broader region around St George's project has a long history of mining multiple commodities, including commercial niobium production, and provides ready access to infrastructure and a skilled workforce. The world-leading Araxa niobium mining operation, owned and operated by privately held Brazilian company Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM), also sits close to Araxa city and shares the name with St George's Araxa project. CBMM's giant niobium project contains 896 million tonnes at 1.49 per cent niobium pentoxide. Its main open pit is centred within the Barreiro carbonatite complex, about 2.7 kilometres south of St George's Araxa project, which is nestled in the northern arc of the complex. St George has also established partnerships with leading Brazilian government-funded scientific and industry agencies to research innovative production processes and technologies that could be applied to its proposed Araxa mining operation. And the company has embraced the MAGBRAS Initiative that aims to establish Brazil's first manufacturing facility to produce permanent magnets, which are a vital component in electric motors and power-generating systems. St George believes these relationships underpin its integration with government, the local community and the business sector in Brazil, which will ultimately deliver the smooth development of the Araxa project. St George acquired 100 per cent of its Araxa project in February. The largely de-risked project has world-class potential and extensive high-grade niobium and rare earths mineralisation already confirmed by extensive previous drilling. The company announced a globally significant inaugural mineral resource estimate for Araxa in April of a combined 41.2 million tonnes of measured, indicated and inferred niobium mineralisation averaging 0.68 per cent niobium pentoxide. It also delivered a combined measured, indicated and inferred resource of 40.64Mt at 4.13 per cent total rare earths oxides (TREO). Mineralisation at Araxa extends from surface, with more than 500 intercepts of high-grade niobium at better than 1 per cent niobium pentoxide, the principal ore mineral of niobium metal. The pentoxide content has reached grades of up to 8 per cent. The deposit also contains rare earths grading as high as 33 per cent TREO. Importantly, while historical drilling was assayed predominantly for niobium and rare earths, it was not analysed for a full suite of metals, least of all for critical metals. Accordingly, St George proposes resampling and assaying some historical drill holes to determine their potential critical elements content. The company has an in-country team led by regional specialists Thiago Amaral and Adriano Rios, who have a longstanding relationship with the communities in and around Araxá. Management's vision is that the development of its Araxa project will put the city and Minas Gerais state on the world map as a globally significant source of strategic minerals essential for the world's energy transition. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
11-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
St George kicks off drill assault on mammoth Brazil niobium play
St George Mining has launched a major drilling assault at its giant Araxá rare earths project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the company deploying three drill rigs for a substantial 10,000-metre program over the next three or so months. St George's sizable undertaking follows a recently unveiled globally significant maiden resource at Araxá, comprising 40.64 million tonnes (Mt) at 4.13 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 41.2Mt at 0.68 per cent niobium pentoxide. The campaign will be carried out alongside a high-resolution airborne magnetic survey, which is set to kick off next week. The 10,000m drilling program aims to significantly expand this resource base by combining auger, reverse circulation and diamond drilling to target the Araxá mineralisation, which remains open in all directions. The company says untested high-grade zones below 100m depth were not included in the resource. Historical drilling intersected more than 500 high-grade intercepts, including standout results such as a massive 60m at 11.1 per cent TREO, a substantial 43m grading 1.5 per cent niobium and a higher-grade 20m running 2.4 per cent niobium. Impressively, all these hits started at surface. The company's imminent drone-based airborne magnetic survey will cover the entire project area to define the carbonatite-hosted deposit's geological model and pinpoint the extent of its niobium and rare earths targets. Araxá's standout features include its free-dig near-surface resource, which sits almost entirely within 100m depth and is ideal for low-cost open-pit mining. Located in Brazil's mining-friendly Minas Gerais state, the project sits adjacent to CBMM's world-class niobium mine, which has a massive 896Mt at 1.49 per cent niobium. St George's robust local infrastructure and access to a skilled workforce enabled it to secure government backing for expedited approvals and assemble a top-tier in-country team including several former CBMM executives. The project also stacks up well against global peers such as Lynas Rare Earths' Mt Weld mine, with its massive 106Mt at 4.1 per cent TREO, and MP Materials' Mountain Pass, which holds 40.6Mt at 5.9 per cent TREO. Araxá's 40.64Mt at 4.13 per cent TREO translates to a whopping 1.7Mt of contained TREO, including 320,000 tonnes of high-value neodymium and praseodymium and 280,000t niobium, which could be just the beginning. With auger drilling already underway, the company is hoping the latest drilling results will further uncover what looks to be the next world-class mine to emerge from the fabled Brazilian carbonatite complex. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
