The St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price is up almost 7% this afternoon due to a positive production update from the company and a rising gold price.
The St Barbara share price is currently 88.5 cents, up 6.63% on its previous closing price.
St Barbara told the ASX today that all three of its provinces achieved their production guidance targets amid a strong June quarter for the company.
Let's take a look at the detail.
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Big quarterly results boost St Barbara share price
St Barbara has pleased ASX gold investors today after releasing the following results:
- Total gold production of 281koz (meeting FY22 production guidance)
- Total gold production in Q4 FY22 at 86.4koz, up 40% on Q3 FY22 at 61.8koz
- Cash balance increased by 24% to $98 million compared to Q3 FY22
All three provinces reach FY22 guidance
St Barbara reported that its Leonora province in Western Australia yielded 191,459 ounces of gold. This is at the midpoint of the FY22 guidance of 180,000 to 200,000 ounces.
The Atlantic province in Nova Scotia, Canada produced 61,151 ounces, which is at the upper end of the FY22 guidance of 55,000 to 65,000.
The Simberi province in Papua New Guinea delivered 28,136 ounces, also at the upper end of the guidance of 25,000 to 30,000.
What did the ASX gold miner say?
In its statement, St Barbara said:
The company continues to build on its substantial mineral resources and ore reserves, its cash generating operations at its Gwalia mine with its readily expandable Leonora processing plant.
The recently-acquired Zoroastrian and Aphrodite assets add to St Barbara's already extensive tenement holdings in the region.
What's next for St Barbara?
St Barbara said it is making strong progress with its Leonora Province Plan.
In the Leonora region, St Barbara has the largest mineral resource base of 10.3 million ounces and an ore reserve base of 2.5 million ounces.
Its near-term expectations for growth in its mineral and ore resources include:
- Mineral resource extensions for Old Gwalia South targeted for September quarter FY23
- Inaugural Tower Hill open pit ore reserve targeted for September quarter FY23
- Inaugural Harbour Lights open pit ore reserve targeted for March quarter FY23
- Further mineral resource extension and infill drilling in FY23 at Old Gwalia South, Harbour Lights, Zoroastrian, and Aphrodite
- On track to commence underground mine portal construction at Zoroastrian in March quarter FY23
- Significant exploration potential with a land holding that more than doubled as a result of the Bardoc acquisition
- Leonora Processing Plant to be expanded from 1.4mtpa to 2.1mtpa.
St Barbara will release its Q4 FY22 report on 27 July. This will include its FY22 costs and FY23 production and cost guidance.
St Barbara share price snapshot
The St Barbara share price is down 37% in the year to date. It is down 53% over the past 12 months.
Also helping the St Barbara share price today is a boost in the yellow commodity's value.
According to Trading Economics, the gold price is currently 0.22% higher at US$1,743 an ounce. This is due to a weaker US dollar.
