St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ) has signed two Memoranda of Understanding with Brazilian research organisation SENAI which will enable collaboration on downstream development opportunities relating to rare earths from the Araxá project in the state of Minas Gerais.

The company is in the process of finalising its acquisition of Araxá, with the deal set to close in the first quarter of 2025.

But it is already looking ahead to how the project – which boasts large-scale niobium and rare earths mineralisation grading up to 8% Nb2O5 and 33% TREO – might be exploited in the future.

According to the first MoU, which was announced on Thursday, St George will partner with SENAI on the production of rare earth magnets at the organisation’s planned La Fab facility in the same state – which is Brazil and Latin America’s first permanent magnet-making facility.

La Fab will commence production by 2024’s end, with an initial rate of 100 magnets per annum, although this is expected to double within the first 3 years of production.

A second MoU will bring St George and SENAI together to develop sustainable methods for the processing of niobium and rare earths products.

St George’s executive chairman John Prineas said the agreements would set up a pipeline of viable projects involving Araxá.

“We continue to build a strong platform to drive the Araxá Project forward and deliver the successful development of a mining operation,” he said.

“The partnership agreements signed with SENAI will support the development of downstream opportunities for St George – further integrating our proposed Araxá operation into Brazil’s supply chains for critical metals.

“SENAI is Brazil’s leading scientific and research organisation and has an outstanding track record of collaborating with the private sector to advance business through innovative technology.”

St George has been trading flat at 2.5 cents.

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