St George Mining Limited (ASX: SGQ) (St George or “the Company”) has signed an agreement to assess a new rare earths processing centre in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
The Company entered the agreement, known as a Protocol of Intent, with the Lima & Pergher Group and the State of Minas Gerais.
The parties will jointly assess the potential to build the Minas Gerais Rare Earths Processing Centre, referred to as the Centre.
The parties announced the agreement this week at EXPOSIBRAM, Brazil’s largest mining conference, held in Belo Horizonte.
A Three-Way Collaboration Agreement
The Protocol of Intent involves three parties:
- St George, through its Araxá Project
- Lima & Pergher Group, acting through its chemical and industrial division, START
- The State of Minas Gerais, acting through the State Economic Development Department (SEDE) and the Minas Gerais Integrated Development Institute (Invest Minas)
The agreement sets a framework to assess the Centre as a new rare earths processing hub.
It also covers the foundation of a long-term commercial enterprise spanning the joint construction and operation of the Centre.
Figure 1: Signing ceremony for the Minas Gerais Rare Earths Processing Centre at the St George booth at EXPOSIBRAM. Left to right: Milena Andrade Pedrosa, Invest Minas President; Mila Batista Leite Corrêa da Costa, Secretary of State – SEDE; Thiago Amaral, Executive Director of St George Brazil; Sophie Davis, Australian Ambassador to Brazil; John Prineas. [Source: St George Mining]
What the Processing Centre Would Do
The objective of the Centre is to support a fully domestic Brazilian mine-to-magnet supply chain.
That means entirely Brazilian feedstock and in-country processing.
The Centre would focus on the midstream rare earths supply chain, refining a range of feedstocks:
- Rare earths concentrate
- Mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC)
- Oxalate
The Centre would produce magnet-making materials for downstream end-users.
That includes MagBras, which is building Brazil’s first rare earth magnet-making facility.
St George was the first rare earths company to deliver product to MagBras for metallurgical testwork.
The Company will continue to support MagBras through product from the Centre or the Araxá Project, building on the cooperation announced in July 2025.
Executive Chairman on the Collaboration
John Prineas, St George Mining’s Executive Chairman, commented on the agreement.
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with the State of Minas Gerais with this exciting plan to strengthen Brazil’s domestic rare earths supply chain.”
“Minas Gerais has several emerging rare earths producers – including our best-in-class Araxá Project – with the potential for the State to be the world’s leading rare earths producer. The establishment of rare earths processing in Minas Gerais can further propel the State to be a global force in rare earths production.”
“We are honoured to have been selected by the State to partner on the potential establishment of a rare earths processing centre which could have the capability to separate rare earths, refine rare earths and produce materials for rare earths magnet making. This is an opportunity to establish midstream rare earths processing in Minas Gerais that will build out Brazil’s mine-to-magnet supply chain.”
“The support from the State will significantly de-risk this initiative and further underscores the strong government and community support for development of the Araxá Project.”
“We are also delighted to be collaborating with START, which is a company that is a leader in its field and can contribute substantially to the successful execution of this strategy,” said Mr Prineas.
Fabio Pergher, Chairman and President of Lima & Pergher Group, also commented.
“Our experience in chemical processing spans more than four decades over which we have established a major chemical and industrial operation in Uberlândia, always with a view to sustainable development.”
“We look forward to working with St George on this strategically important initiative that could create a stable and resilient permanent rare earths magnet value chain in Brazil.”
“Through this partnership, we will be able to further contribute to establishing Minas Gerais as a world leader in rare earths while also creating employment and economic stimulus in the State,” said Mr Pergher.
Why Uberlândia Was Chosen
The proposed Centre would sit within START’s existing industrial complex at Uberlândia, Minas Gerais.
START already operates one of the largest chemical operations in Brazil at that site.
- 500,000 sq m of facilities at the Uberlândia complex
- 4,900 people employed across the site
The location offers several advantages, according to the Company:
- Established industrial zoning and processing experience that supports licensing approvals
- Existing infrastructure, including roads, low-cost electricity and waste management
- Access to START’s chemical products and service providers
- A skilled local workforce with chemical and processing experience
Figure 2: Part of START’s industrial complex at Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. [Source: St George Mining]
How the Collaboration Is Structured
The agreement sets out separate roles for each party.
Invest Minas will support the initiative by:
- Liaising with government bodies
- Monitoring approval and licensing procedures for the project and processing facilities
- Promoting liaison with suppliers and service providers
- Supporting applications for State tax incentives
START will consider:
- Allocating land for construction of the Centre
- Providing access to low-cost electricity
- Providing technical expertise for design and construction
- Managing construction and operation of the Centre
St George intends to:
- Progress mining activities at Araxá and make feedstock available to the Centre
- Share rare earths processing flowsheet designs with the parties
- Negotiate with downstream counterparties for access to processing technology
- Make technical personnel available to help design the Centre
Figure 3: Roles of the three parties in the Minas Gerais Rare Earths Processing Centre collaboration. [Source: St George Mining]
Each party will bear its own costs while the potential of the Centre is assessed.
Financial contributions for construction and operation will be agreed as part of any final investment decision.
Any decision to establish the Centre will be subject to a definitive agreement, to be further negotiated between the parties.
The Resource Behind the Feedstock Plan
St George describes Araxá as a de-risked, world-class project, located next to CBMM’s niobium mining operations.
The Company’s platform for the Centre is underpinned by the updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Araxá, announced on 11 August 2026.
The MRE stands at 111.2 million tonnes at 3.57% TREO and 0.57% Nb₂O₅.
| Resource Classification | Million Tonnes (Mt) | TREO (%) | NdPr (%) | Nb₂O₅ (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 33.2 | 3.81 | 0.72 | 0.63 |
| Indicated | 42.0 | 3.50 | 0.67 | 0.54 |
| Measured & Indicated | 75.2 | 3.64 | 0.69 | 0.58 |
| Inferred | 36.0 | 3.43 | 0.66 | 0.53 |
| Total | 111.2 | 3.57 | 0.68 | 0.57 |
Figure 4: Araxá Mineral Resource Estimate at a 2% TREO cut-off, effective 11 August 2026. [Source: St George Mining]
The Measured and Indicated portion contains approximately 2.7 million tonnes of TREO, including 520,000 tonnes of NdPr oxides.
The Company describes this as a dominant resource in scale and grade among global carbonatite-hosted rare earths deposits.
St George is also in discussions with potential offtake counterparties in the United States, Asia and Europe.
These discussions are running alongside the evaluation of the Centre, with international parties already expressing interest in supporting it through commercial arrangements, including technology licensing.
Timeline and Next Steps
St George and START will consider forming a new company to jointly own and operate the Centre.
The parties are targeting the start of operations by 2030.
That target is subject to a final investment decision and licensing approvals.
The collaboration builds on an earlier cooperation agreement St George signed with Invest Minas in October 2024 to help fast-track Araxá’s regulatory approvals.
The Company recently lodged environmental approvals for the Araxá mine itself, opening a separate, parallel licensing process.
St George’s Araxá project has advanced quickly through 2026, including record drill results and high-grade niobium intercepts.
Investors’ Outlook
The processing centre agreement adds a downstream dimension to the Company’s Araxá strategy.
It follows the 11 August resource upgrade and the 25 August environmental permitting lodgement, both centred on the Araxá Project.
The table below sets out the Company’s market data.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Last Price | A$0.092 (as at 27 August 2026 |
| Market Capitalisation | A$424.29 million (as at 27 August 2026) |
| 52-Week Range | 0.039 – 0.180 |
| 1 Year | +124.39% |
| vs Sector / vs ASX 200 | +78.56% / +123.43% |
Figure 5: SGQ market data. [Source: ASX / St George Mining]
Catalysts ahead:
- Progress toward a definitive agreement on the processing centre
- Continued offtake discussions in the US, Asia and Europe
- Progress of the Preliminary Licence (LP) for the Araxá mine itself
- Maiden resource estimate for East Araxá, targeted for the December 2026 quarter
Disclaimer
This article has been prepared by Colitco in collaboration with St George Mining as part of a commercial content and investor communications arrangement. Colitco may receive compensation for the production and distribution of this content. This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial product advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. The content reflects information available at the time of publication and may not be updated. All figures, data and statements have been sourced from St George Mining official ASX announcements and publicly available sources. Readers should conduct their own independent research and seek professional financial advice before making any investment decisions. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Exploration results are not a guarantee of future resource definition or commercial production.
Luke Carlino is a seasoned Copywriter, Content Strategist, and Social Media Manager specialising in Mining, Finance, and Business journalism. With more than a decade of industry experience, he brings rigorous editorial standards and commercial acuity to every project.
