Within two years, the company has paid off A$400 million debt. As at March 2017, it had close to A$100 million cash and no debt thanks to record production levels, reduced costs and clear growth plans at its two operating mines and beyond.

“It’s clear we’ve had an absolutely stellar year,” managing director and CEO Bob Vassie said.

“We were coming off a very low base, and it was a massive turnaround but for so many areas to repeat that performance and break new records is so pleasing.”

St Barbara has just embarked on its next challenge – maintaining its performance while adding sensible growth that would diversify its production base and add value to shareholders.

“The challenge is to get the growth right, we don’t want to destroy any value,” Vassie said.

In organic terms, the company is investing further in its two key operations, Simberi in Papua New Guinea and at its cornerstone low-cost, high-grade Gwalia mine in Western Australia’s Goldfields (below, right), where the recently-approved A$100 million “future-proofing” extension project is now underway.

It expected to spend up to A$22 million to June 30 on exploration in both in Australia and PNG, and beyond that, has struck an exploration joint venture with Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining (AU:NCM) and made strategic investments in two junior explorers to add to its development pipeline.

The company has taken its prudent approach to its Simberi operations and despite reducing costs, has hedged a portion of future production to lock in a healthy margin.

The Simberi operations had been subject to a strategic review but just over six months ago, St Barbara opted to keep the improving mine and look at further growth in the region, both through its own exploration programmes and the joint venture with Newcrest on nearby islands.

Production at the Simberi gold mine in Papua New Guinea has grown significantly and in the past 12 months alone has seen all-in sustaining costs fall more than A$325 an ounce and record production levels achieved, including 30,430oz at an AISC of A$1,025/oz in the March quarter.

“We’ve gone from 40,000oz to 80,000oz a year – and last year we targeted production of 100,000oz and did 110,000oz and we’re on track to beat that this year,” Vassie said.

“We’ve increased the ounces and brought our AISC to something that can be envied in WA, and when you’re mining 1.1g/t gold in the middle of the pouring rain at a remote operation with higher logistics costs and diesel power, that’s just an incredible performance.

“We’re happy to be operating in PNG and we’re doing better every year, it’s a good jurisdiction for us and we’re happy to try to create a longer operation there.”

Despite Simberi’s improvements, the jewel in St Barbara’s crown remains the low-cost, 120-year-old Gwalia mine (pictured below), where Vassie is excited not only by the mine’s growing potential through the extension project but also the area’s untapped exploration potential.

The mine was started in 1897 by Herbert Hoover, who went on to become the 31st president of the US, and more than a century later St Barbara is yet to find the end of the orebody which is known to continue to 2,200mbs in a straight line from the original surface outcropping.

Last financial year Gwalia produced 267,166oz and in the March quarter produced 64,916oz at a mined grade of 11.3g/t gold at an AISC of A$786.

“The operating cash flow was about A$240 million in FY16. It’s a wonderful mine that’s over 100 years old and it’s still going. It’s extremely valuable,” Vassie said.

“Gwalia Deeps is hugely important to St Barbara and this $100 million extension will extend the minelife.

"It allows us to introduce air and other infrastructure into the mine and allows us to go deeper – we haven’t found the end of the orebody yet.

“We’re really future-proofing to go as far as we need to find the gold.”

Under the programme, St Barbara will construct two raise-bore ventilation shafts, which will allow the current mining at 1,540mbs to extend to 2,000mbs.

The company has also embraced a “simple but innovative” paste aggregate fill initiative to keep the waste underground for stope fill, increasing efficiency and reducing the ventilation construction’s impact on ongoing production.

It’s also at Gwalia where Vassie is most eagerly awaiting upcoming exploration results, from a 3D seismic geophysical programme designed to identify extensions of the lode system and potential further Gwalia-style mineralisation.

“We’ve got 320sq.km in the Leonora region and we haven’t explored it with modern means because in the past money was going elsewhere,” Vassie said.

“We’re using the deep penetrating seismic to isolate structures to see if we have a similar deposit alongside of us, before we start burrowing down to the centre of the earth at Gwalia.

“They are the exploration results I’m most keenly anticipating.”

Meanwhile the company is continuing to assess other inorganic growth opportunities.

“You should not overlook early stage exploration opportunities because that’s where mines come from,” Vassie said.

The company took a A$3.3 million, 9.5% stake in Peel Mining (AU:PEX) and a $1.5 million, 5% stake in Catalyst Metals (AU:CYL) earlier this year and Vassie said although it early days in the growth journey, more deals could follow.

St Barbara is already running the ruler over a number of early-stage Australian gold projects. The company is also looking at potential opportunities that are further advanced, either in development-stage or operation.

“Our preference is to stay in gold and in Australia, but we will look at opportunities in other jurisdictions where there are really good opportunities and the jurisdiction is reliable,” Vassie said.

“We don’t have to rush to do anything.”

The equities market is paying attention to St Barbara’s performance, growth and potential and the company was able to brush off the recent rebalance of Van Eck’s junior gold miners ETF, the GDXJ, a long-anticipated change that hurt the share price of some peers.

“Our biggest shareholder (Van Eck) went from an 18.3% holding to 9.7% [due to the fund rebalance],” Vassie said.

“We did drop a bit on the big movement day but the gold market did too and then we bounced back.

“We’ve brushed it off and I was pleased by that.

“And it’s for a very good reason – when you’re operating at free cashflow yields of 20-25% that is very strong – everyone looks at the cash we’re pumping out and how the balance sheet is going, and there was no reason to fear that rebalance.”

It’s not only shareholders who have stuck with St Barbara – Vassie is also proud of the company’s gender policies that have seen a 100% return rate from women who went on maternity leave since 2009.

St Barbara received the gender diversity programme award last month at the Minerals Council of Australia’s inaugural Victorian women in resources awards.

Vassie said the company was addressing the pay equity gap, had established a women’s network and was developing strategies to address domestic violence issues, particularly in PNG where he said the company could help make a difference.

“Generally we’ve had a good year in terms of production and safety and our strong balance sheet positions us well,” he said.

“We want to cap off that performance with some wise growth.”