PERTH, June 24, 2026, 05:07 (AWST)
Northern Star Resources’ A$500 million share buyback would reach its stated share-count ceiling before the headline cash amount if the stock remains near Tuesday’s close, a calculation based on the gold miner’s latest filing shows. The shares finished at A$20.62, down 2.7%, valuing Northern Star at about A$29.4 billion. The ASX cash market was closed ahead of its normal 10 a.m. Sydney opening.
Under the current notice, Northern Star had acquired 6,169,044 shares for A$125.78 million through June 19, leaving room for another 16,455,390 shares. Spending the remaining A$374.22 million within that limit would require an average purchase price of A$22.74 — 10.3% above Tuesday’s close. At a constant A$20.62, the remaining shares would cost about A$339.3 million, leaving roughly A$34.9 million undeployed.
That distinction matters because investors often treat a buyback as recurring demand and a possible floor under the stock. Northern Star’s current ceiling of 22.62 million shares amounts to only about 1.6% of issued capital. Managing Director Stuart Tonkin cited the “compelling value we see in our share price” when launching the programme, though the company also said purchases were discretionary and that it might not use the full amount. NSR Ltd
The programme is 27.3% complete by share count and 25.2% complete by cash spent. Its average acquisition price is about A$20.39, putting Tuesday’s close just 1.1% above cost. The latest tranche averaged A$20.87, meaning those shares were already about 1.2% underwater at the close.
Tuesday’s fall was not solely company-specific. Spot gold lost 1.4% to $4,131.24 an ounce as a stronger U.S. dollar and rising interest-rate expectations weighed on bullion. Northern Star fell 2.74%, compared with a 2.47% drop for peer Evolution Mining and a 0.33% decline in the S&P/ASX 200.
Even after gold’s retreat, Northern Star’s operating spread remains wide on its last reported figures. Its March-quarter realised gold price was A$5,283 an ounce, against an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,709. AISC is an industry measure that includes operating expenses and the capital required to maintain production. The A$2,574-an-ounce gap was roughly 49% of the realised price, and the company generated A$301 million of underlying free cash flow.
That helps explain why investors are focused less on the immediate gold margin and more on execution, spending and governance. Elliott Investment Management disclosed a stake worth more than A$1 billion and called for a board overhaul and formal strategic review, citing seven outlook misses in four years. Barrenjoey analyst Daniel Morgan said: “Elliott’s pressure is going to make Northern Star act faster.” Reuters
Chairman Michael Chaney has acknowledged that the company’s share-price performance did not meet the board’s expectations and said internal and external chief executive candidates had been interviewed. He described the stock as “discounted relative to our assessment of the Company’s underlying value,” but said it was not the right time to run a sale process.
But a weaker gold price or another throughput miss at the existing KCGM mill could overwhelm the benefit of retiring at most 1.6% of the shares. Northern Star said in March that achieving the lower end of its annual production target would be challenging, with the result particularly dependent on KCGM milling performance. Its best estimate remained production above 1.5 million ounces.
The next hard check comes with June-quarter results on July 29. Investors will be watching the buyback pace, KCGM performance and cash generation for evidence that the board’s valuation case can survive another volatile stretch for gold.
