Australian mining company St Barbara has divested its complete stake in Catalyst Metals, securing cash proceeds of A$25.2m ($16.9m).
The move aligns with the company’s approach to actively manage its investment portfolio while avoiding discounted block trade transactions.
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The shares were sold at A$2 each, marking the end of St Barbara’s support as a shareholder which has been ongoing since March 2017.
St Barbara said in a statement: “The strong demand for the company’s stake, at no discount to market price, has been a determinative factor in selling, at a time when the market was giving minimal recognition to the company’s investment portfolio value.”
The proceeds from this sale are earmarked for enhancing the company’s balance sheet liquidity, particularly as it advances the development of its ten-year-plus plan for the Simberi mine.
Located in Papua New Guinea’s New Ireland province, the Simberi mine is an open-cut operation on the northernmost island of the Tabar group.
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By GlobalDataThe mine’s potential is underscored by an upcoming sulphide project, which could extend its life by at least ten years.
Mining activities at Simberi began in 2008, with the current operations focused on the eastern half of the island, within a 2,560 hectare mining lease (ML136).
Despite its remote location, 900km from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, the mine offers energy-efficient logistics.
It features a 2.7km aerial rope conveyor that delivers ore to the run of mine pad in front of the processing plant, supplemented by transport via mining trucks.
In May 2024, St Barbara revealed its strategy to increase gold production at its Simberi mine using AI-driven algorithms to categorise mineralisation.
The partnership with Stratum AI has resulted in the discovery of CIL-treatable sulphides that were previously considered unsuitable for the current CIL circuit.
Stratum’s AI algorithms were used to model sulphur and other oxidation indicators, enhancing the classification of oxide and sulphide mineralisation.
