Lab Fab, Latin America’s first producer of rare earth magnets, plans to process domestic raw materials from the Araxá project.
Brazil is emerging as a promising new player in the rare earth industry, as the South American country boasts immense but largely untapped reserves (PDF) of these critical resources. The state’s supply chains are now progressing further. Located in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais is the Araxá rare earth and niobium deposit, recently acquired by Australian miner St George. The company has announced that these resources could soon be processed domestically in Brazil. To this end, St George has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lab Fab, Latin America’s first producer of permanent magnets made from rare earths. Lab Fab is owned by the regional SENAI department of Minas Gerais, an organization that trains professionals in fields such as mining and chemical engineering.
Lab Fab is expected to begin production later in 2024, with plans to double its initial annual capacity of 100 tonnes of permanent magnets within the first three years. The necessary raw materials will come not only from Araxá but also from additional Brazilian deposits, as the partnership with St George follows earlier collaborations with other mining companies (as we previously reported).
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