St George Taps US Advisor to Boost Araxá Rare Earths
MiningJan 28, 2026
United States | South America
St George Mining has appointed Ervin Graves to lead US government and private sector engagement for its Araxá rare earths project in Brazil.
The move comes as US policymakers and financiers increase deployments into critical minerals globally, including recent major funding and loan packages and a multilateral focus on supply-chain partnerships. SGQ’s mandate for Graves is to advance discussions on commercial arrangements and public–private partnerships to support project development.
Araxá is a carbonatite-hosted deposit described by the company as the largest and highest-grade in South America and the second-highest grade REE deposit in the Western world. Three drill rigs are operating 24/7, assays are pending for 32 holes, the campaign has been extended into 2026 and a resource upgrade is expected later this quarter.
Corporate links and downstream plans include an expanding partnership with US magnet maker REAlloys, pilot-plant collaboration with CEFET, participation in the MAGBRAS initiative, and prior demonstrations of >99% purity rare earth product with high recoveries. The company is advancing environmental, geotechnical and development studies and targets permitting by Q4 2026.
Near-term catalysts are drill results that expand the resource footprint, clarification of downstream processing strategy (notably US-facing options), pilot trials and progress on permitting and offtake discussions.
St George Mining
SGQ
St George Mining Limited (ASX:SGQ) is a West Perth-based exploration company targeting critical minerals like niobium, rare earths, lithium, nickel, and copper. Key assets include the Araxá Project in Brazil—acquired in 2025 with a maiden resource of 41.2 Mt at 0.68% Nb2O5 and 40.6 Mt at 4.13% TREO—and Western Australia's Mt Alexander project.