St Barbara (ASX:SBM) struck gold from an ongoing drill program at the Simberi operation in Papua New Guinea, according to a Thursday filing with the Australian bourse.

Drilling at the project's Sorowar-Pigiput trend yielded up to 31 meters at 6.1 grams per tonne (g/t) grade of gold from 35 meters, including 4 meters at 37.8 g/t gold from 54 meters, the filing said.

The company's shares surged almost 9% in recent Thursday trade, hitting their highest since August 2022.

Price (AUD): $0.43, Change: $+0.04, Percent Change: +8.97%