PERTH, March 31, 2026, 04:12 AWST
- Northern Star, in filings released late Monday, said Chief Executive Stuart Tonkin turned 380,837 vested performance rights into ordinary shares. 1
- According to the company, the rights originated through its employee incentive scheme rather than an on-market buy. 1
- Northern Star recently said fiscal 2026 output should top 1.50 million ounces, and now investors are watching for quarterly results due April 22.
Northern Star Resources Ltd disclosed late Monday that CEO Stuart Tonkin exercised 380,837 vested performance rights, turning them into ordinary shares. The move, as outlined in regulatory notices, was valued at roughly A$7 million. 1
The timing is crucial here: Australian gold miner Northern Star is still in damage control mode after its March 13 warning about the challenges of reaching even the lower end of its fiscal 2026 (FY26) production target. The company has promised more specifics in its March-quarter update, set for April 22.
Performance rights are a form of stock-based compensation that turn into shares if vesting requirements are satisfied. Northern Star noted that Tonkin’s conversion happened under its employee incentive plan—not via a typical market purchase. The director’s disclosure indicated he retained 1,412,080 performance rights following this latest transaction. 1
Following the conversion, the company reported a total of 1.431 billion ordinary shares outstanding. Northern Star shares ended Monday’s session at A$19.51, marking a 5.18% rise for the day. 1
Northern Star and Evolution Mining have tracked bullion’s moves lately. But Northern Star’s got its own set of headaches—mine-by-mine execution issues, a twist that goes beyond gold’s drop. 2
Northern Star on March 13 reported gold sales of 220,000 ounces across January and February. The company stuck to its revised FY26 output target, guiding to more than 1.50 million ounces. That outlook comes after Northern Star trimmed its annual production forecast back in January to a range of 1.6 million to 1.7 million ounces—down from the previous 1.7 million to 1.85 million—citing a sluggish December quarter.
Tonkin insisted management isn’t going to chase FY26 targets at the expense of the new plant’s transition, saying the goal is for the business to “achieve its full potential from the start of FY27.” 3
The focus has moved to Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM), where Northern Star is pressing ahead with construction on a bigger mill. The company maintains it’s on schedule for an early FY27 launch, with roughly 100,000 ounces of high-grade ore set aside at the end of February for use next year.
Still, the risk lingers. Northern Star pointed out that results for this year hinge on the volume of ore the aging KCGM mill manages to process. The company noted there’s potential for both weaker and stronger outcomes versus its current projection. Meanwhile, Jundee is being reviewed—costs are in the crosshairs, with an eye on extracting higher-margin ounces.
Northern Star plans to lay out a fuller medium-term roadmap for production, costs, and capital later this year, Tonkin said. But first comes the April 22 quarterly report—that’s the immediate hurdle for investors.
