St George Eyes Rare Earths Processing Hub in Brazil to Capture Midstream Value
Key Takeaways
- St George Mining has signed a Protocol of Intent with the Lima & Pergher Group's START division and the State of Minas Gerais to jointly assess establishing a rare earths processing centre in Uberlândia, targeting operations by 2030.
- The initiative is anchored by the Araxá Project — South America's largest high-grade carbonatite rare earths resource — with a Measured & Indicated resource of 75.2Mt at 3.64% TREO containing approximately 520,000 tonnes of NdPr oxides.
- St George was the first rare earths company to deliver product to MagBras, Brazil's first rare earth magnet-making facility, establishing an early commercial relationship in the country's emerging magnet supply chain.
- START brings over 40 years of chemical processing experience, a 500,000 sq m industrial complex, and 4,900 employees in Uberlândia — substantially reducing infrastructure risk for the proposed Centre.
- No capex figures or financial commitments have been disclosed; the Centre remains subject to a definitive agreement, final investment decision, and licensing approvals before construction can proceed.
St George moves to pioneer a rare earths processing centre in Brazil’s Minas Gerais
St George Mining has entered a collaboration agreement to jointly assess establishing the Minas Gerais Rare Earths Processing Centre, positioning the company beyond mining into midstream processing. The Protocol of Intent brings together three parties: St George; the Lima & Pergher Group acting through its START chemical and industrial division; and the State of Minas Gerais (acting through SEDE and Invest Minas). The initiative was announced at EXPOSIBRAM, Brazil’s largest mining conference in Belo Horizonte. The strategic objective is to support a fully domestic Brazilian mine-to-magnet supply chain with entirely Brazilian feedstock and in-country processing. This is an assessment and framework stage — the Centre is not yet built or funded and remains subject to final investment decision.
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What the collaboration covers
The Centre will focus on the midstream rare earths supply chain, refining diverse feedstocks including rare earths concentrate, mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) and oxalate to produce magnet-making materials. The facility could support 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, establishing an early relationship in Brazil’s emerging magnet supply chain.
The collaboration divides responsibilities across the three parties as follows:
| Party | Role | Key Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| St George | Feedstock + technical | Araxá feedstock, flowsheet designs, technical personnel, downstream tech licensing connections |
| START (Lima & Pergher) | Host + processing | Land, low-cost electricity, chemical processing expertise, construction/operation management |
| State (Invest Minas/SEDE) | Government support | Licensing assistance, supplier liaison, State tax incentives applications |
St George will share rare earths processing flowsheet designs with the parties, provide technical personnel to assist with Centre design, and negotiate with downstream counterparties for access to rare earths processing technologies, including through licensing. START will consider allocating land, providing access to low-cost electricity, contributing technical expertise for design and construction, and managing construction and operation. The State will provide institutional assistance in monitoring approval and licensing procedures, promote relationships with suppliers and service providers, and support applications for State tax incentives.
Why Uberlândia and START matter
The proposed location is Uberlândia, home to START’s existing large industrial complex. START brings more than four decades of chemical processing experience and operates one of the largest chemical operations in Brazil. The facility credentials and strategic advantages include:
- Facilities cover more than 500,000 sq m, employing more than 4,900 people
- Established industrial zoning and experience hosting chemical/mineral processing (supports licensing)
- In-place infrastructure: roads, low-cost electricity, waste management, utilities
- Access to START chemical products and service providers
- Skilled workforce experienced in chemical/processing operations
- Central location — easily accessible for Araxá and other Minas Gerais rare earths projects
Uberlândia’s long history of industrial processing, chemical production and manufacturing provides a proven environment for large-scale operations. The location makes it easily accessible for delivery of product from the Araxá Project as well as other rare earths projects in Minas Gerais, positioning the Centre as a regional processing hub.
Fabio Pergher, Chairman and President, Lima & Pergher Group
“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.”
The Araxá resource underpinning the strategy
The processing initiative is anchored to the platform asset: the Araxá Project, described as the largest high-grade carbonatite-hosted rare earths resource in South America. The Mineral Resource Estimate was announced 11 August 2026 and represents a 155% increase in Measured & Indicated resources. The resource table below uses a 2% TREO cut-off:
| 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 |
| M&I | 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 |
The Measured & Indicated resources amount to 75.2Mt @ 3.64% TREO and 0.58% Nb₂O₅, containing approximately 2.7Mt of TREO including 520,000t of NdPr oxides. The Inferred portion should not be included for economic considerations. The entire Mineral Resource Estimate is potentially amenable to open-pit mining based on depth and geometry, as it lies within approximately 120m of surface. No ore reserve or detailed mine design has been reported.
The globally significant scale and grade of this resource substantially de-risks development of the project and provides confidence for reserve modelling in the feasibility study work currently underway.
John Prineas, Executive Chairman
“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. 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.”
Understanding the mine-to-magnet supply chain
The rare earths value chain has three stages: mining (upstream), separation and refining (midstream), and magnet making (downstream). Midstream processing is the strategic bottleneck globally. Most rare earths mining projects outside China ship concentrate overseas for processing, exposing supply chains to geopolitical risk and transport costs. Domestic in-country processing matters for supply chain security and value capture.
NdPr oxides — neodymium and praseodymium oxides — are key inputs for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence applications. These are the high-value rare earth elements that drive project economics.
St George is positioning across multiple links of the chain, not just as a miner. The company will provide feedstock from Araxá, contribute technical expertise to Centre design, and connect downstream partners for technology licensing. This vertical integration potential increases the addressable value St George can capture from the Araxá resource.
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What comes next for St George investors
The parties will jointly assess the Centre and consider forming a new company to jointly own and operate it. The target commencement of operations is by 2030, subject to final investment decision and licensing approvals. Each party will bear its own costs during the assessment phase. Financial contributions for construction and operation will be agreed as part of any final investment decision. Any decision by the parties to establish the Centre will be subject to a definitive agreement that will be subject to further negotiation.
St George is continuing discussions with several potential offtake counterparties in the US, Asia and Europe. These discussions will continue in tandem with evaluation of the Centre. A number of potential international counterparties are already expressing interest to support the Centre through a range of commercial arrangements including the licensing of processing technology.
The collaboration with the State of Minas Gerais builds on the cooperation agreement St George entered into with Invest Minas in October 2024 for support in progressing regulatory approvals for the Araxá Project.
Key next steps and milestones to watch:
- Joint feasibility assessment of the Centre
- Potential formation of new operating company
- Definitive agreement negotiation
- Final investment decision + licensing approvals
- Target operations by 2030
This is an early-stage, conditional initiative. No financial contributions or capex figures have been disclosed. The Centre has potential to directly create a substantial number of jobs and further enhance the rare earths supply chain in Minas Gerais, but material financial commitments and commercial terms remain to be negotiated and agreed at final investment decision.
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