St George Mining’s $60 Million Raise Locks Shares at Issue Price as Brazil Project Accelerates

St George Mining's A$60 million placement funds Araxá feasibility study; shares drop to A$0.10 amid dilution, with Hancock Prospecting backing and key catalysts ahead.

St George Mining has placed A$60 million in new stock to bankroll its push into niobium and rare earths in Brazil, a move that has sent its shares sliding to exactly the placement price. The explorer’s equity ended Friday at A$0.10, a 7.27% loss, reflecting the dilution from 600 million new shares that will hit the market in two tranches.

The first tranche is due for settlement on June 23, with trading in the new stock set to begin the following day. The second, larger slice – roughly 175.5 million shares worth about A$17.6 million before costs – requires shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for July 10. In a show of support, major investor Hancock Prospecting has chipped in another A$20 million, keeping its stake steady at 10.5%.

The cash injection underwrites a feasibility study and further development at the Araxá project in Minas Gerais, where management is targeting a final investment decision. Metallurgical test work has already demonstrated that the deposit can produce two concentrates simultaneously: a niobium product grading up to 40.2% Nb?O? at a recovery rate of 46%, plus a rare earths concentrate extracted from the niobium process tailings. That dual-flowsheet design is seen as a key economic advantage.

Next steps are already on the calendar. CIT-SENAI is scheduled to run a one-month niobium flotation pilot program in July, while a larger pilot plant at CEFET-MG in Araxá is expected to start up in late Q4 2026. That facility will be equipped to produce niobium concentrate, ferroniobium, mixed rare earth carbonate and rare earth oxides.

Despite the support from Hancock, the stock remains highly volatile, with a 30-day annualised volatility of 72.65%. Investors now have three catalysts to watch in the coming weeks: the first-tranche settlement, the EGM on July 10, and any drill results from the ongoing exploration programme at Araxá. All three will help determine whether the shares can climb back above the placement price or stay anchored at the new floor.