PRECIOUS METALS

Vassie reverses St Barbara decline

Bob Vassie says he didn’t pick gold, it picked him. And he wasn’t initially convinced it had found the right man. His first senior executive role in the sector was running a deeply troubled company. But ASX-listed gold miner St Barbara’s corporate and operational turnaround over the past two years has shown it was a good match. Driven by firm gold prices and the quality of St Barbara’s primary asset, the deep but highly profitable Gwalia mine in Western Australia, the company’s about-face has made it one of the standout equity performers in Australia’s mid-tier gold space over the past two years.