St George Mining Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Spanish engineering firm Tecnicas Reunidas S.A. to unlock the potential of its Araxá project in Brazil.
The partnership provides St George access to the engineering services of Tecnicas Reunidas. Under the agreement, Tecnicas Reunidas will conduct intensive processing test work on high-grade rare earths samples from the Araxá niobium-rare earths elements project.
Tecnicas Reunidas is a recognised leader in European rare earths processing and currently heads the EU-funded PERMANET Project.
This initiative involves 12 countries and 32 partners, all working to establish the first sovereign European value chain for permanent magnets, a critical component in electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure.
The partnership will focus on testing St George’s ore using RARETECH, a proprietary technology designed to refine rare earths mineralisation into high-value mixed rare earth carbonates (MREC) and oxides.
Should the chemical and metallurgical test work demonstrate the viability of RARETECH for the Araxá project, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith the terms of a licence agreement for use of that technology at the project.
St George Executive Chairman John Prineas said: “We are very excited to be working with Tecnicas Reunidas to further assess the optimal processing route for the Araxá rare earths and to potentially access the vast European market for rare earths.
“Our Araxá project already boasts the largest hard-rock rare earths deposit in South America, and is larger than the leading rare earths mine in the US – the Mountain Pass mine in California that has attracted significant funding from the US government and US private companies.”
By tapping into Tecnicas Reunidas’ expertise, St George aims to design a bespoke processing flowsheet that could eventually lead to the construction of a full-scale industrial plant.
The engagement of Tecnicas Reunidas has potential to open European markets for St George’s Araxá rare earths in addition to the strategic alliances already underway in the US with REalloys and in Brazil with MagBras.
