St BarbaraLtd. said July 18 that it has repurchased an additional US$40million in aggregate principal of its U.S. 144A senior secured notes.

The notes were repurchased at a 3.3% premium to par valueand settlement is expected to occur by July 20.

The note repurchase will reduce future interest expense byabout A$4.7 million per annum.

St Barbara will pay interest accrued on the repurchasednotes for the period since interest was last paid in mid-April up to the dateof repurchase.

Net payments are anticipated to amount to about US$43million, consisting of principal repayment and accrued interest.

St Barbara's aggregate cash balance following the repurchasewill be about A$90 million.

The notes have a coupon rate of 8.875% per annum andmaturity date of April 2018.

St Barbara booked record annual gold production for the current financial yearafter its Gwalia mine in Western Australia and its mine in PapuaNew Guinea delivered better-than-expected output.