# St George Mining starts pilot-scale test work to advance Araxá niobium and rare earths flowsheet in Brazil Canonical Atlas analysis: https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c Original source: https://www.proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/1097944/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare-earths-flowsheet-in-brazil-1097944.html Publisher: proactiveinvestors Original announcement: 2026-09-02T00:46:26.075Z Analysis by Minestarters Atlas Atlas analysis published: Unknown date Atlas analysis updated: Unknown date - Company: St George Mining Ltd - Ticker: SGQ - Exchange: Unavailable - Region: Minas Gerais, Brazil - Primary commodity: Niobium - Secondary commodities: Rare earths - Document categories: Metallurgy, Resource update, Permitting - Extracted: 2026-09-02 00:48:31 UTC Narrative sentiment: 0.60 · Bullish ## Minestarters Atlas summary St George Mining has commenced pilot-scale beneficiation test work at the Araxá project in Brazil, targeting niobium and rare earth products. The program uses nine tonnes of saprolite material and aims to optimize a flowsheet involving grinding, magnetic separation, and flotation. The company is also constructing its own large-scale pilot plant at the Araxá campus, scheduled for completion in December 2026. Reasoning: The company is advancing from bench-scale to pilot-scale testing for a significant niobium and rare earth resource, representing a key de-risking milestone. - Positive factor: Pilot-scale testing underway - Positive factor: Established infrastructure and proximity to major producer - Positive factor: Strong historical recovery results mentioned - Positive factor: Environmental permitting has commenced - Negative factor: Pilot plant completion not until late 2026 Facts used in scoring: 6 ## Classification and evidence **Pilot Scale Complete** Polarity: positive Definition: Pilot or demonstration plant testing completed under continuous operation. Why it applies: The company is starting pilot-scale beneficiation test work using nine tonnes of material. Evidence · text > has started pilot plant beneficiation test work **Resource Update** Polarity: neutral Definition: Revised estimate for an existing resource — compare to prior to assess progress. Why it applies: The document provides updated resource figures for the Araxá project. Evidence · text > The project hosts a JORC mineral resource of 111.2 million tonnes ## Extracted facts Stored fact records: 6. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record. ## Metallurgical Results (6) ### flotation [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c#fact-metallurgical-facts-0) niobium Historical result Needs review: historical\_restatement #### Identity - Commodity: niobium - Ticker: SGQ #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: flotation - Processing Route: grinding, magnetic separation and flotation - Sample: near-surface saprolite material #### Recovery - Recovery: 86 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Review - Needs Review: Yes - Review Reason: historical\_restatement - Historical: Yes #### Dates - Event date: 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Historical recovery of 86% TREO mentioned as a benchmark for the current pilot program. - Positive factor: High recovery achieved in previous work Evidence · text > achieved overall total rare earth oxide recovery of 86% ### flotation [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c#fact-metallurgical-facts-1) rare\_earths Historical result Needs review: historical\_restatement #### Identity - Commodity: rare\_earths - Ticker: SGQ #### Test Work - Program Status: detailed - Test Type: flotation - Processing Route: grinding, magnetic separation and flotation - Sample: near-surface saprolite material #### Recovery - Recovery: 86 % - Recovery Basis: actual\_test #### Review - Needs Review: Yes - Review Reason: historical\_restatement - Historical: Yes #### Dates - Event date: 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Historical recovery of 86% TREO mentioned as a benchmark for the current pilot program. - Positive factor: High purity achieved in previous work Evidence · text > achieved overall total rare earth oxide recovery of 86% ### Fact 3 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c#fact-metallurgical-facts-2) niobium #### Identity - Commodity: niobium - Ticker: SGQ #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Part of the measured and indicated resource component. - Positive factor: Significant contained metal Evidence · text > 75.2 million tonnes sits in the measured and indicated categories at 3.64% TREO and 0.58% Nb2O5 ### Fact 4 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c#fact-metallurgical-facts-3) rare\_earths #### Identity - Commodity: rare\_earths - Ticker: SGQ #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Part of the measured and indicated resource component. - Positive factor: Significant contained metal Evidence · text > 75.2 million tonnes sits in the measured and indicated categories at 3.64% TREO and 0.58% Nb2O5 ### Fact 5 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c#fact-metallurgical-facts-4) niobium #### Identity - Commodity: niobium - Ticker: SGQ #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Residual portion of the total resource. - Negative factor: Inferred category Evidence · text > hosts a JORC mineral resource of 111.2 million tonnes at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb2O5 ### Fact 6 [Link to this fact](https://atlas-staging.minestarters.com/news/st-george-mining-starts-pilot-scale-test-work-to-advance-araxa-niobium-and-rare--1af27910-8f4f-4e05-af78-9efc313d2d7c#fact-metallurgical-facts-5) rare\_earths #### Identity - Commodity: rare\_earths - Ticker: SGQ #### Review - Needs Review: No - Historical: No #### Dates - Event date: 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z Reasoning: Residual portion of the total resource. - Negative factor: Inferred category Evidence · text > hosts a JORC mineral resource of 111.2 million tonnes at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb2O5 ## How Atlas produces this analysis Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.