Hancock Prospecting backs St George Mining with $20M

• Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has backed St George Mining with a $20 million investment as part of a larger $60 million capital raising.
• The total capital raised will be used to develop the Araxa rare earths and niobium project located in Minas Gerais, Brazil.
• St George Mining recently reported a 75% increase in its estimated mineral resource size to 70.91 million tonnes at the South American site.

Hancock Prospecting has committed $20 million to St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) to advance a critical minerals project in Brazil, shortly after cutting up to 200 jobs from its Roy Hill operation.

The new funding follows separate regulatory filings showing Hancock is seeking environmental approval to open a new five-million-tonne, annual-capacity iron ore mine at Round Hill in the Pilbara.

"The newly secured funding will bolster and accelerate St George’s programme of advancing the Araxa project through feasibility study work and a financial investment decision," said St George Mining Executive Chair John Prineas.

The $60 million share placement was priced at 10 cents a share and will fund drilling at the Araxa site, where mineral resources are estimated at 70.91 million tonnes.

Following the announcement, the St George Mining share price was unchanged at $0.03.

The junior exploration company originally announced its intention to acquire the Araxa project at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in 2024.

The business stated that its updated resource estimates from March include a 218 per cent increase in the measured and indicated categories to 29.49 million tonnes.