China’s Lingbao Gold Group has entered into agreements to acquire a 50% stake in Australia-based St Barbara’s fully owned subsidiary, St Barbara Mining (SMBL), for A$370m ($245.57m) in cash.
Upon completion, SMBL will hold an 80% interest in the Simberi gold project in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and an unincorporated joint venture (JV) over the Simberi gold project, known as the Simberi JV, will be established.
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In a parallel development, St Barbara has signed agreements with Kumul Mineral, under which Kumul will acquire a 20% stake in the Simberi gold project for A$100m.
Following the transactions, St Barbara and Lingbao will each own 50% of SBML.
This structure ensures that St Barbara is fully funded for its anticipated share of capital costs, materially reducing risk for the Simberi expansion project and speeding up the path to a final investment decision (FID) and increased production.
Additionally, the development is de-risked through the strategic partnership with Lingbao, which brings extensive international gold mining expertise including commercial-scale gold concentrate smelting operations.
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By GlobalDataThe agreements are subject to approval from Chinese and PNG regulators, the extension of the Simberi mining lease, and both parties committing to a positive FID for the Simberi gold project.
Completion is targeted for late in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.
Lingbao managing director and CEO Andrew Strelein said: “The investments by Lingbao and Kumul in Simberi will help us accelerate the development of the Simberi expansion project and the delivery of its value to our shareholders and key stakeholders in PNG.
“This is a high-quality brownfields project with low capital intensity, a highly competitive operating cost structure and long-life resource that has potential to grow in the future. With Lingbao we have a committed, experienced and well-funded partner. In addition, we welcome Kumul to the project as a co-investor.
“St Barbara is now fully funded for its expected share of the development costs of the Simberi gold project and to advance its Atlantic assets in Canada, including the Touquoy reopening and the development of 15 Mile Processing Hub.”
