St Barbara down despite first gold pour

Melbourne-based St Barbara Ltd has poured first gold from its Leonora operation in Western Australia.

The gold miner poured some 1000 ounces of gold yesterday, a significant milestone following three years of redevelopment works of the Gwalia gold mine.

The mine is forecast to produce between 115,000 and 125,000 ounces of gold in the 2009 fiscal year at a cash operating cost of $A540 to $A570 per ounce.

At around noon today, the price of spot gold in Sydney was at $US721.70/oz ($A1086/oz), down $US41 from yesterday's close.

Despite the milestone, shares in St Barbara slipped one cent to 22c at 13:42 AEDT, in line with the overall market trend with the S&P/ASX 200 index falling 3.75 per cent to 4000.4 points.