St Barbara Limited
St Barbara Limited sold its Leonora assets (Gwalia mine) to Genesis Minerals for ~A$600M cash in Apr 2023, after a proposed 2022 merger with Genesis did not proceed as structured, and retained Simberi (Papua New Guinea) and its Atlantic Operations in Nova Scotia, Canada. Per its 31 December 2025 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement, Atlantic Operations carry 62.5 Mt @ 1.0 g/t Au for 2.1 Moz of Mineral Resources (Measured 790 koz + Indicated 1,050 koz + Inferred 220 koz) and 36.5 Mt @ 1.1 g/t Au for 1.3 Moz of Ore Reserves across Beaver Dam, 15-Mile, Cochrane Hill and the Touquoy stockpiles. The Touquoy Restart took a Final Investment Decision on 24 Apr 2026 (permit conditions approved 13 Apr 2026), and the 15-Mile Processing Hub entered permitting on 19 Jun 2026, with its Mineral Resource restated upward to 2.5 Moz on 28 Jul 2026. The sale of 50% of the Simberi holding company to China's Lingbao Gold Group closed on 2 Apr 2026, so St Barbara holds 50% of New Simberi; Papua New Guinea's Kumul Mineral Holdings has agreed to buy a 20% interest, which had not completed as of 10 Sep 2026 and would reduce St Barbara's interest to 40%. On 10 Sep 2026 St Barbara also agreed to sell its remaining Simberi interest to Lingbao for A$453M (A$410M cash plus A$43M of construction funding) and royalties, targeted to complete in the March quarter of 2027, after which the Atlantic Operations would be its only operating business. The Simberi Expansion Feasibility Study (10 Dec 2025) reported total resources of 138Mt @ 1.3 g/t Au for 5.8Moz Au and 3.5 g/t Ag for 15.4Moz Ag, a 13-year mine life (to 2039) producing 2.1Moz of gold, and a post-tax NPV (8% discount) of US$1,023M at US$3,000/oz Au and US$30/oz Ag, rising to US$1,811M at US$4,000/oz Au and US$50/oz Ag (IRR 79-243% depending on price case). FY2025 revenue was A$215.52M (+9% YoY), with a net loss of A$93.78M; FY26 AISC guidance is A$4,000-4,400/oz.
Notable vs. Peers
- Financials score of 10/10 is stronger than the peer average of 6.5/10.
- All-in sustaining cost of $2,772/oz is 55% higher than the peer producer average of $1,794/oz.
- Trading within 7% of its 52-week high — strong recent price momentum.
Lifecycle Milestones
Construction Milestones
5 of 5 reached- Dec 1996 · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
- Feb 2008 · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
Milestones are recorded only from a company's own dated disclosure. A milestone with no date shown is one we can confirm was reached but for which no date was disclosed — we don't estimate one. "Not yet reached" means exactly that, not that a date is missing. An "Expected" line likewise only ever reflects the company's own guidance (e.g. a study or permit decision targeted for a stated quarter) — most not-yet-reached milestones have none, and that absence means no such guidance has been disclosed, not that one is overdue.
Not in place: grid power.
Combined view across 2 projects. Figures below are only combined where the underlying basis genuinely matches -- see the notes under each.
- 81.6%Atlantic Operations, Nova Scotia (Beaver Dam, 15-Mile, Cochrane Hill, Touquoy)
- 79%Simberi Gold Project
- 13 yrsAtlantic Operations, Nova Scotia (Beaver Dam, 15-Mile, Cochrane Hill, Touquoy)
- 13 yrsSimberi Gold Project
Shown as separate totals, not summed together: these projects' studies used different discount rates, so a single combined NPV would not be a real number.
Jurisdiction (40%)9/10
Nova Scotia: Fraser PPI 2025 is 74.03 of 100 (rank 32 of 68), which maps to 9 on this site's scale. St Barbara's rating is anchored to its Atlantic Operations in Nova Scotia, Canada, a Tier-1 jurisdiction. It retains Papua New Guinea exposure through its 50% Simberi interest until the Lingbao sale completes.
Infrastructure (40%)10/10
A confirmed mill, confirmed road access, confirmed grid power, and a confirmed tailings facility at Atlantic Operations, Nova Scotia (Beaver Dam, 15-Mile, Cochrane Hill, Touquoy).
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No producing mine within 50 km in our reference list (nearest listed: Valentine (Equinox Gold Corp.), 566 km). That list doesn't cover every mining district yet, so a longer distance isn't scored as remote.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
A disclosed corporate action (not an acquisition or merger)
A corporate action of this kind says nothing about takeover susceptibility, so it isn't scored.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score:0/10
Nearest producing mine: Valentine (Equinox Gold Corp.), 566 km
10 next to a producing mine, 8 at 20 km, 5 at 50 km, 0 beyond 200 km.
Weight 22.5% · 46% here - Lifecycle stageSub-score:5.5/10
Stage: Production
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 31% here - JurisdictionSub-score:9/10
Canada: jurisdiction score 9/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 14% here - CommoditySub-score:10/10
Primary commodity: Gold
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 9% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
CEO of St Barbara Limited, appointed July 2023.
Chief Financial Officer of St Barbara Limited, effective 1 Sep 2023, succeeding Lucas Welsh. Joined St Barbara as General Manager, Finance and Procurement in Oct 2020. 20 years of finance experience in multinational listed mining companies across nickel, gold, copper, uranium and zinc, including with Gold Fields, Minara Resources, Xstrata, BHP Billiton, Glencore, Downer and Orica. Named an Exceptional Woman in Mining (2017) and a Top 100 Global Inspirational Woman in Mining (2018); former AusIMM board director and Chair of its Audit & Risk Committee. CPA, GAICD, FAusIMM.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
Institutional ownership is high but almost entirely passive index and sector ETFs; only a tiny stake from the specialist Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund. No qualifying insider transactions were found in the two-year record at all.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
St Barbara's business is being reshaped around its 100%-owned Atlantic Operations in Nova Scotia, Canada (Beaver Dam, 15-Mile, Cochrane Hill and the Touquoy mine), where the Touquoy restart received a final investment decision on 24 April 2026 and the 15-Mile processing hub entered permitting in June 2026. It holds 50% of the New Simberi gold mine in Papua New Guinea after selling half to Lingbao Gold in April 2026, and on 10 September 2026 it agreed to sell its remaining Simberi interest to Lingbao for A$453M plus royalties, targeted to complete in the March quarter of 2027 subject to approvals. On that current attributable basis, measured and indicated resources total 4,600,000 oz of gold (1,655,000 oz measured, 2,945,000 oz indicated), inclusive of reserves, plus 360,000 oz inferred, of which Atlantic holds 1,840,000 oz. The 15-Mile hub's updated pre-feasibility study (28 September 2026) shows a post-tax NPV5% of US$1.11B (CAD 1,565M) and an 81.6% IRR at US$3,000/oz gold over a 13-year life, with initial capital of C$289M.