Our history

Today, St Barbara is a gold miner with operations in Canada and Papua New Guinea; but our origins are in Western Australia, where we were first incorporated and listed in 1969 as Endeavour Oil.

Golden beginnings in Western Australia

Initially, St Barbara focused its activity on mineral exploration, with gold production becoming the focus in the early 2000s from operations in Meekatharra in Western Australia. In July 2004, along with a change in management, St Barbara broadened its activity to include gold production and exploration.

In March 2005, St Barbara acquired the Southern Cross, Leonora and South Laverton gold assets in Western Australia from the administrators of Sons of Gwalia Limited. The South Laverton and Meekatharra assets were sold just over a year later.

St Barbara commissioned its new, high-grade Gwalia gold mine at Leonora in October 2008, with its King of the Hills mine commissioned in mid 2011 to provide additional feed to the Gwalia mill. King of the Hills operated from June 2011 to April 2015, producing more than 225,000 ounces of gold. It was subsequently sold in 2015 to Saracen Metals Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Saracen Mineral Holdings Ltd.

Global expansion as a gold producer and explorer

In September 2012, St Barbara expanded into Papua New Guinea, with the acquisition of Allied Gold Mining Plc. This added gold operations at Simberi, Papua New Guinea and Gold Ridge in the Solomon Islands to St Barbara’s portfolio.

In December 2012, St Barbara’s Southern Cross Operation ceased operations. It was sold in April 2013 to Hanking Gold Mining Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of China Hanking Holdings Limited.

In the Solomon Islands, torrential rain and flooding led to the suspension of operations at Gold Ridge in April 2014. Force majeure notices were issued under certain mining and supply agreements when it became clear that production could not be resumed due to factors outside the operator’s control. The Gold Ridge Project was sold to a Solomon Islands company associated with local landowners in May 2015.

More recently, in July 2019, St Barbara acquired Atlantic Gold Corporation and its operations in Nova Scotia, Canada, broadening its global reach across three countries.

In 2022, St Barbara acquired Bardoc Gold Limited, accelerating the delivery of our Leonora Province Plan.

Greater focus on Atlantic and Simberi

In June 2023, St Barbara completed the sale of our Leonora assets to Genesis Minerals Limited (GMD). The result of the sale was a well-capitalised, debt-free business, with a portfolio that has significant potential, and the people and resources in place to realise its true potential. Key priorities for the new business include development of Fifteen Mile Stream in Nova Scotia, executing on oxide life extension into FY26 in Simberi, and continued exploration of both areas.