Australia's St Barbara on Wednesday announced a A$370-million investment from China's Lingbao Gold Group to advance the development of its Simberi expansion project in Papua New Guinea.

Lingbao will pay A$370-million in cash for a 50% interest in St Barbara Mining Pty Ltd (SBML). 

The deal with Lingbao follows a separate agreement announced earlier on Wednesday, in which Papua New Guinea's Kumul Mineral Holdings will acquire 20% of the Simberi gold project for A$100-million. Kumul’s stake will be funded through a limited-recourse loan from SBML, leaving SBML – and, by extension, St Barbara and Lingbao – with an 80% interest in the asset on completion.

Upon finalisation of the transactions, St Barbara and Lingbao will each hold a 50% interest in SBML, with Lingbao subscribing for new shares in the subsidiary for A$370-million. The cash will be paid to St Barbara through the settlement of intercompany loans.

Completion is targeted for late in the third quarter of the 2026 financial year and is conditional on Chinese and Papua New Guinea regulatory approvals, the renewal of the Simberi mining lease and the parties committing to a positive final investment decision for the project.

St Barbara said the agreed value implied an A$800-million enterprise value for Simberi, representing a 31% premium to the company’s current market capitalisation. The company noted that the uplift was more pronounced when considering that its valuation also reflected full ownership of its Nova Scotia development projects and a significant cash, bullion, receivables and investments position.

Lingbao, a top-ten Chinese gold producer with a fully integrated mining and smelting business, has been assessing the opportunity since submitting a non-binding expression of interest last year. 

St Barbara MD and CEO Andrew Strelein said the dual investments by Lingbao and Kumul would accelerate development of the Simberi expansion and significantly derisk the project’s funding profile. “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,” he said.

“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 re-opening and the development of the 15 Mile processing hub.”

Lingbao chairperson Wang Pinran said the Chinese group was confident in both the asset and the partnership. “We are very pleased to be making this key strategic investment in the Simberi gold project and to have the opportunity to develop the Simberi expansion project with St Barbara and Kumul,” he said.

He highlighted Simberi’s “high-quality project” status, supported by 2.5-million ounces of reserves and 5.8-million ounces of resources, and praised the “world standard development proposal” put forward by St Barbara.

Wang also emphasised the significance of Papua New Guinea's government participation. “The participation by Kumul demonstrates to the world the PNG government’s support and encouragement for overseas investors,” he said, adding that the partnership aims to show that Papua New Guinea is “a good place to be” for international miners.