Newly minted S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) gold stock St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) is marching higher today.
St Barbara shares closed yesterday trading for 57 cents. In early morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for 58 cents apiece, up 1.8%.
For some context, the ASX 300 is down 0.1% at this same time.
If you've been paying close attention to the boards, you might have noticed that St Barbara shares joined the ASX 300 at market open this Monday. That came as part of the S&P Dow Jones Indices quarterly rebalance, after the gold miner's market cap more than doubled over the past year.
Now, here's what's grabbing investor interest today.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX 300 gold stock lifts on investment approval
The St Barbara share price is marching higher after the miner announced that the transaction with the Lingbao Gold Group's investment in the New Simberi Gold Project, located in Papua New Guinea, has been approved.
The ASX 300 gold stock said that all outstanding conditions precedent regarding the Initial Life of Mine Plan, the Construction Work Program, Budget for New Simberi, and the finalisation of agreements with Kumul Mineral Holdings have now been satisfied.
Lingbao and St Barbara also committed to making a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the New Simberi Gold Project at completion, which is targeted for 1 April.
St Barabra expects to book a gain on sale of around $500 on the Lingbao transaction.
Lingbao is acquiring its interest in the New Simberi Gold Project for $370 million in cash. The ASX 300 gold stock said that the retention of its equivalent interest realises a total value of at least $740 million, which is around $500 million more than its expected carrying value for the Simberi business unit prior to Lingbao's investment.
What did management say?
Commenting on the investment approval boosting the ASX 300 gold stock today, St Barbara managing director and CEO Andrew Strelein said, "The satisfaction of the final conditions precedent on the Lingbao Transaction allows St Barbara and Lingbao to now move forward to completion."
Strelein added:
We anticipate that the Kumul deal will also close on the 1 April 2026 with only two PNG government approvals now required. Any delay with those final approvals does not impact the timing of the completion of the Lingbao Transaction.
This is a pivotal moment for St Barbara as we unlock significant immediate value for the company, while opening up a new future for our business as we move to execute the New Simberi Gold Project and deliver value to our shareholders and to our stakeholders in PNG.
With today's intraday gains factored in, shares in the ASX 300 gold stock are up 164% in 12 months.
