ASX Release / 1 May 2015

St Barbara sells Gold Ridge Project in Solomon Islands

St Barbara Limited signed a Deed of Sale today for the unconditional sale of the Gold Ridge Project (and a number of associated St Barbara Group subsidiaries listed below) to a Solomon Islands company associated with local landowners. Completion of the sale is due to take place on 6 May 2015. The sale is for a nominal purchase price and on confidential terms.
The parties also signed a Deed of Indemnity and Release as part of the sale in favour of the remaining
St Barbara Group companies in respect of the Gold Ridge Project. The terms of this Deed are confidential.
As a result of the sale of the five companies, the St Barbara Group will reverse a number of balance sheet reserves and provisions that will be finalised as part of the 30 June year end reporting. The net result of the divestment is anticipated to result in a non-cash profit to the Group. Following completion, the St Barbara Group will have no residual provisions for environmental or rehabilitation liabilities relating to the Gold Ridge Project.

Tailings Storage Facility and Water Treatment Plant

As advised previously, the Solomon Islands Government formally rejected GRML's latest proposal to discharge untreated water in accordance with the environmental expert report commissioned by the Government and prepared for the World Health Organization, and also rejected GRML's offer of A$1 million funding for the construction of a water treatment plant.
To this time, GRML considers that it has done everything reasonably within its power to minimise the risk of the tailings storage facility (TSF) overflowing. The independent expert advice to immediately dewater the TSF is explicit. The immediate controlled release of untreated water would minimise the risk of the TSF overflowing and its potential subsequent failure, and GRML again calls for the Government to urgently approve the dewatering plan. GRML has infrastructure in place to immediately commence the discharge of untreated water upon receipt of the applicable permission from the Solomon Islands Government.
As part of sale negotiations, St Barbara has agreed to fund the manufacture and delivery to GRML of a replacement water treatment plant. This is likely to take up to four months.

The St Barbara Group subsidiaries included in the Deed of Sale associated with Gold Ridge Mining Limited
(GRML) which owns the mine comprise:

St Barbara Limited ASX Release 1 May 2015