The Mining Advisory Council (MAC) will consider St Barbara’s early mining lease renewal application for its Simberi gold mine this month, following strong stakeholder support.
In April, a hearing at the Warden Court took place to discuss the future of the Simberi mining lease. It was well supported and saw a large turnout of community members.
Of the 150 people turning up to the hearing, 18 spoke in support of the renewal and the associated enhanced royalty benefits package proposed for the sulphide expansion phase of operations.
The hearing followed the acceptance and registration of Simberi’s application for early lease renewal by the Mineral Resources Authority of Papua New Guinea (MRA PNG) in December 2024.
With all questions from MRA’s review of the technical materials supporting the application now answered, the materials are ready for the next MAC meeting to take place in the last week of June.
The meeting is the final step before a recommendation is made to PNG Mining Minister Rainbo Paita for the renewal.
“The confirmation that the application for early renewal of the Simberi mining lease will be considered at the June meeting of the Mining Advisory Council is very encouraging,” St Barbara managing director and chief executive officer Andrew Strelein said.
“We appreciate the attention and priority given to our renewal application. We continue to be very grateful for the support of our renewal submission from all directors of the Simberi Landowner Association, the New Ireland Provincial Government, the Sentral Niu Ailan Local Level Government and of the Namatanai District Development Authority.
“The renewal of the Simberi mining lease is a key step towards unlocking the sulphide ore reserves at Simberi and expanding gold production to over 200,000 ounces (oz) per annum.”
St Barbara has also updated its 2024–25 financial year (FY25) production and cost guidance following recent high rainfall events at Simberi.
The company is anticipated to produce 50,000–52,000oz at an all-in sustaining cost of $4400–4700 for FY25.
Subscribe to PNG Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.
