St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) has delivered one of the strongest performances on the Australian market, with its share price surging 440% year-to-date, firmly positioning the Company as a standout beneficiary of the accelerating global critical minerals boom.
Figure 1: Performance of SGQ stock in 2025 [ASX]
This extraordinary re-rating reflects sustained exploration success, consolidation of 100% ownership at the Araxá Rare Earths and Niobium Project, strong institutional funding, and mounting geopolitical urgency to diversify rare earth supply chains away from China. Together, these factors have propelled St George into the spotlight as a strategically important developer of high-grade rare earth and niobium resources.
Figure 2: Aerial view of the Barreiro carbonatite complex highlighting the Araxá Project (outlined in red), alongside the neighbouring CBMM niobium operation and the Mosaic phosphate mine. [St George Mining]
Strategic Investment from Australia’s Leading Mining Billionaire
St George Mining’s strong momentum has attracted backing from one of Australia’s most influential resources investors. In October 2025, Australia’s richest person, iron ore billionaire Gina Rinehart, expanded her exposure to rare earth elements through a strategic investment in St George Mining Limited.
Figure 3: Gina Rinehart [Image credit: Matt King/Getty Images]
Rinehart’s private company, Hancock Prospecting, invested A$11.5 million in a capital raising by St George Mining, recognising the growing strategic importance of non-Chinese rare earth supply. The investment came amid escalating geopolitical tensions and increasing global efforts to diversify critical mineral supply chains away from China.
The investment places St George alongside globally significant rare earth producers MP Materials in the United States and Lynas Rare Earths in Australia, in which Hancock Prospecting holds 8.5% stakes respectively. These companies represent cornerstone assets in Western rare earth supply, underscoring the strategic nature of Hancock Prospecting’s rare earth portfolio. Significantly, St George’s Araxa Project is a hard-rock carbonatite rare earths deposit – the same style of deposit as the miners operated by MP Materials and Lynas.
The growing focus on rare earth elements such as neodymium and dysprosium, which are essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, advanced electronics, and defence applications, has driven strong re-ratings across the sector. Hancock Prospecting’s investment highlights increasing confidence in the Araxá Rare Earths and Niobium Project as a globally relevant development-stage asset with scale, grade, and long-term strategic value.
Critical Minerals Demand Reshapes Global Markets
Rare earth elements are now recognised as essential inputs for clean energy systems, advanced electronics, defence platforms, and electric vehicles. According to Mordor Intelligence, the global rare earth elements market was estimated at 196.63 kilotons in 2025 and is expected to grow to 260.36 kilotons by 2030, at a CAGR of 5.80%.
Brazil occupies a strategic position in this transition. IMARC estimates the Brazilian rare earth elements market reached USD 198.75 million in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 628.40 million by 2033, at a CAGR of 13.25%. Brazil holds the third-largest rare earth reserves globally, totalling 21 million metric tonnes, backed by substantial mineral potential, improving infrastructure, and government initiatives aimed at strengthening its critical minerals sector.
Figure 4: Rare earth’s market growth and Brazil’s strategic role
Rare Earth Elements: Essential to Modern Technology
Rare earth elements underpin a vast range of technologies:
- Screens, lighting, and glass: Yttrium, europium, and terbium enable red-green-blue phosphors used in LED lighting, flat-panel displays, and televisions. Lanthanum is a major component of optical glass and can comprise up to 50% of digital camera lenses, including smartphone cameras.
- Catalysts: Lanthanum-based catalysts refine petroleum, while cerium-based catalysts are used in automotive catalytic converters.
- Magnets: Neodymium-iron-boron magnets are very strong permanent magnets known and are essential for EV motors, wind turbines, hard disk drives, and advanced automotive systems. Samarium-cobalt magnets are suited to high-stress applications – for example, in F-35 fighter planes.
- Batteries: Nickel-metal hydride batteries used in hybrid vehicles contain 10–15 kilograms of lanthanum per vehicle.
- Steel alloys: Cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and praseodymium are used to remove impurities and improve alloy performance.
This diversity of applications underscores why secure, scalable rare earth supply has become a national priority for many countries.
Figure 5: Uses of Rare Earth Elements in modern world technology.
The Araxá Project: A Globally Significant Resource
St George Mining completed the acquisition of 100% ownership of the Araxá Rare Earths and Niobium Project in February 2025. The Project is located in Minas Gerais, Brazil, adjacent to CBMM’s world-leading niobium mining operations, within a region that has supported large-scale mining for more than four decades.
On 1 April 2025, St George announced a maiden JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate, establishing Araxá as:
- The largest and highest-grade carbonatite-hosted REE resource in South America
- The second-highest grade REE resource in the western world
The current Mineral Resource Estimate stands at:
- Rare earths: 40.6 Mt @ 4.13% TREO
- Niobium: 41.2 Mt @ 0.68% Nb₂O₅
Exceptional Drilling Results Drive Resource Growth
Throughout 2025, St George has reported a steady stream of exceptional drilling results, confirming thick, high-grade mineralisation from surface and demonstrating that the mineral system remains open in all directions.
The Company recently announced the thickest intercept at Araxá to date, delivering:
- 65 metres @ 3.34% TREO and 0.34% Nb₂O₅ from surface
These results support a potential substantial increase in the Mineral Resource Estimate and the conversion of Inferred resources into the higher-confidence Indicated category.
John Prineas, Executive Chairman of St George Mining, said: “The Araxá Project is delivering exactly what we set out to achieve – consistent, high-grade results that expand the project’s scale and strengthen our confidence in what already is an exceptional, world-class Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE).”
He added: “Results like these are highly significant because they provide confidence to upgrade Inferred resources to the Indicated category.”
Figure 6: Cross-section illustrating high-grade TREO intercepts (1% TREO cut-off) and high-grade Nb₂O₅ intercepts (0.2% Nb₂O₅ cut-off), together with the current MRE boundary, demonstrating westward expansion of the existing Mineral Resource. [St George Mining]
Unencumbered Ownership and Financial Strength
In November 2025, St George completed the early payment of US$11 million in deferred consideration to Itafos (the vendor of the project), securing full and unencumbered ownership of the Araxá Project ahead of schedule.
This milestone followed a strongly supported A$72.5 million equity raising, including a A$50 million institutional placement, providing the Company with the financial capacity to advance Araxá towards a Final Investment Decision.
Commenting on the milestone, John Prineas stated: “The completion of these final payments to Itafos marks the successful conclusion of what has been a highly strategic and transformative acquisition for St George.”
“This acquisition has positioned St George as a leading participant in the global critical minerals supply chain.”
Government, Community, and Downstream Support
St George has secured strong support from the State Government of Minas Gerais and local communities. In December 2025, the Company hosted an Open Day and Critical Minerals Forum at Araxá, attended by more than 200 stakeholders, including Governor Romeu Zema.
John Prineas commented: “Our goal at the Araxá Project is to create value for all stakeholders by committing to the highest levels of social and environmental responsibility.”
The Company is also participating in Brazil’s MagBras Initiative, a public-private program aimed at establishing a fully integrated rare earths supply chain, including permanent magnet manufacturing within Brazil.
Figure 7: Minas Gerais Governor Romeu Zema speaking at the St George Open Day and Critical Minerals Forum in Araxá, observed by St George’s in-country leadership team, Thiago Amaral (second from left) and Adriano Rios (third from left). [St George Mining]
Investors Outlook: St George Mining Limited
St George Mining Limited has delivered exceptional shareholder returns, significantly outperforming both its sector and the broader market.
Market Snapshot (as of 12 December, 2025):
- Last Price: $0.089
- Market Capitalisation: $338,316,737
Performance:
- 2025 YTD: +440.00%
- 1 Year: +440.00%
With a world-class rare earths and niobium resource, strong government backing, robust funding, and exposure to structurally rising global demand, the Company is firmly positioned as a leading emerging player in the critical minerals sector and a key beneficiary of the global energy transition.
Conclusion
St George Mining Limited’s strong share price performance reflects more than favourable market conditions. It highlights the Company’s successful execution of a clear critical minerals strategy. By securing 100% unencumbered ownership of the Araxá Rare Earths and Niobium Project, delivering consistent high-grade drilling results, and strengthening its balance sheet through a well-supported capital raising, St George has significantly de-risked its growth pathway.
In a global environment where demand for rare earth elements is accelerating and supply security has become a strategic priority, the Company is well positioned to benefit. With a world-class resource, strong government and community support, and clear momentum toward development, St George Mining Limited stands out as a compelling participant in the critical minerals boom and a potential long-term contributor to diversified global supply chains.
