Meekatharra Operations “Low grade stockpiles were depleted during the year and the  treatment plant placed on care and maintenance pending a review  of Paddys Flat underground resources and progress on establishing  new open pit positions”. Treatment Plant Paddys Flat Production and Sales Statistics Period 12 months to 30 June 2004 2003 Ore mined (tonnes) nil 483,041 Ore milled (tonnes) 1,711,300 2,284,599 Grade milled (g/t) 0.84 1.47 Recovery (%) 82.2 89.7 Gold produced (ounces) 37,985 96,611 Gold sold (ounces) 40,232 98,080 Mill throughput totaled 1.71 million tonnes, a decrease  on the previous year due to campaign milling (two weeks  operating – one week standby) during the second half of the year and cessation of operations in mid-May 2004. Mill feed comprised low grade material exclusively from  Paddys Flat stockpiles No. 1, 2 and 3. Production of 37,985 ounces was close to the original 40,000 ounce  estimate, allowing for the normal vagaries  of reprocessing stockpiled material. The original concept of developing the low grade Batavia  open cut to supplement throughput was deferred. On cessation of operations, trapped gold in the grinding  circuit, pump hoppers and leach tank was recovered and  the gold-in-carbon inventory reduced to minimum levels. Milling operations are suspended pending  fi  nalisation of the Paddys Flat development strategy and establishment  of additional open pit resources. A small maintenance  (and security) crew is completing a thorough mechanical  audit of the plant and refurbishing as appropriate. Capital expenditure during the year was minimal. The original strategy of completing  fl  ow sheet circuit  modi fi  cations to accommodate the processing of both soft  open cut and harder Paddys Flat underground ore was  deferred in favour of a reduced throughput strategy  aligned with current known resources. Rehabilitation of the depleted Paddys Flat low grade  stockpile location was essentially complete with only minor  seeding outstanding. The development of Paddys Flat underground resources is  likely to be integral to the recommencement of production  at Meekatharra. During the year, as part of the feasibility study, the  Company completed a 30 hole (9,700 metre) drill  programme at Prohibition and the adjoining Red Spider. The down plunge drilling increased the resource inventory  by 170 percent to 270,000 ounces of gold. The combined  resource estimate, calculated by independent Cube  Consulting Pty Ltd using ordinary kriging, is 2.35 million  tonnes at 3.6 g/t (at a 1 g/t cut-off) and 0.77 million tonnes  at 5.2 g/t for 128,000 ounces at a 4 g/t cut-off. The estimate includes Red Spider, a new and well de fi  ned  structure parallel to and shallower than Prohibition. The geological setting suggests Prohibition and Red Spider  will continue to depth. A review of the increased, multi-zoned Prohibition resource  and the updated Vivians resource identi fi  ed signi fi  cant  opportunities to reduce underground development metres  and resultant costs by repositioning the main Prohibition  decline closer to the ore zones, and reducing the  development necessary between Prohibition, Vivians and  Consols resources. A base case pre feasibility study has now been completed. Cube Consulting has reviewed the high grade Vivians and  Consols ore positions and identi fi  ed targets for investigation. St Barbara Mines Limited Annual Report 2004