Name of the Project
New Simberi gold project.

Location
Northernmost island in the Tabar group of islands in the province of New Ireland, in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Project Owner/s
New Simberi is jointly owned by Australia-based gold mining company St Barbara Limited(50%), Lingbao (30%) and Papua New Guinea's Kumul Mineral Holdings (20%). 

Project Description
The project aims to enlarge the current mining and processing facilities to allow for the processing of fresh sulphide ore and the extension of the life-of-mine to 13 years.

The mining rate is set to increase from the current 10-million to 12-million tonnes a year to about 20-million tonnes a year. Operations will shift from processing easily recoverable oxidised ore, which yields gold doré through the conventional carbon-in-leach (CIL) and electrowinning process, to handling fresh ore. This will require enhancements to the comminution circuit to handle the harder material, and the addition of a flotation circuit to produce a gold-rich concentrate. The flotation tailings, which contain nonsulphide material, will continue to be processed through the existing CIL circuit to extract any remaining gold.

Total gold production is estimated at 2.2-million ounces from the 2026 to 2028 financial years, based on proved and probable reserves.
The expansion includes the development of extra power generation facilities and the building of a new wharf capable of handling larger vessels to transport the gold concentrate to external buyers.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Applying a discount rate of 8%, the project has a net present value of $717-million and an internal rate of return of 63%, with a payback of 3.6 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial project capital is estimated at $235-million, with pre-expansion growth capital of between $40-million and $60-million to be invested between 2026 and 2027. This will fund early works, including a camp upgrade, road construction and a reverse osmosis plant.

Planned Start/End Date
A final investment decision is expected in the second quarter of the 2026 financial year or early in the third quarter of the 2026 financial year.

Latest Developments
St Barbara announced a binding agreement on September 10, which stipulates that it will sell its remaining interest in New Simberi, as well as the Tabar Islands exploration licences, to China's Lingbao Gold Group for A$410-million in cash and two net smelter return royalties. 

The consideration for the assets includes a A$43-million cash repayment representing St Barbara's share of construction capital for New Simberi and the signing of a binding agreement between the companies, a 2.75% net smelter return royalty on future gold and silver production from the project and a 1.5% net smelter return royalty on future minerals production from the Tabar Islands licences.

The transaction is expected to conclude in the March 2027 quarter, following which St Barbara's cash position will be A$880-million, consequently allowing for a full focus on the 15-Mile Processing Hub project and the Touquoy restart project while retaining a royalty portfolio on New Simberi and Tabar Islands.

“We recognise that New Simberi is an outstanding development project and we look forward to participating in the future benefits through the royalties over New Simberi's production and through exploration of the Tabar Islands licences," St Barbara MD and CEO Andrew Strelein has said.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Pitch Black Group (process plant study); and AMC Consultants (mine planning work supporting the life-of-mine plan and the preparation of the ore reserves).

Contact Details for Project Information
St Barbara Limited (Simberi operations), tel +675 76407031 or email info@stbarbara.com.au.