St Barbara managing director Bob Vassie won't mind if his new exploration partner finds a massive copper deposit near Cobar in New South Wales, but gold is what he is hoping for.

The clarification is timely, after St Barbara took a 9.56 per cent stake in Cobar-focused explorer Peel Mining this week.

The district is best known for Glencore's Cobar copper mine, and Peel has been reporting impressive grades of zinc, lead, copper and silver at its Wagga Tank and Wirlong projects.

When asked why St Barbara was sniffing around what seems to be a polymetallic ore body, Mr Vassie said it was in the hope that one of those metals might be gold.

"We are very targeted on gold, and our strategy is to remain being a gold company," he said.

Growth is high on the agenda at St Barbara now the company is debt free, and the miner is taking a multi-pronged approach to finding new ounces.

St Barbara is unlocking more gold deep below its flagship Gwalia mine in WA, and has made no secret that it would like to acquire a company or asset that is close to production and capable of delivering about 250,000 ounces.

Until recently, the third prong of that growth search - partnering with small explorers on prospective geology - had not been broadly understood, and Mr Vassie said this week he would only partner with "efficient, targeted companies that are doing a good job and getting most of their money in the ground rather than wasting it".

Gwalia produced 64,916 ounces of gold in the three months to March 31, which was almost 10 per cent lower than the previous quarter, but St Barbara's other mine, Simberi, produced a record 30,430 ounces in the quarter, helping the company to maintain full-year guidance of between 255,000 and 265,000 ounces of gold.

St Barbara shares were 8¢ higher at $2.61 on Wednesday, while Peel Mining shares were 18 per cent higher at 26¢.