Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX:SLR) has cancelled investor meetings this week about its $656 million bid for gold miner St Barbara Limited (ASX:SBM), fuelling suggestions that it could be about to walk away from the target. Royal Bank of Canada was arranging meetings with Silver Lake investors for this week, with various executives of the company in Australia this month for the Macquarie Australia Conference that was held recently. Sources close to Silver Lake played down the cancellation of the meetings, saying there was no clarity on the status of the deal.

However, some have interpreted the move as a signal that the company has cooled on the target. Raleigh Finlayson's Genesis Minerals Limited (ASX:GMD) told the market on May 15, 2023 that it would accelerate an earlier agreed deferred payment and add an extra five million of its own shares to the offer, adding up to about $6.2 million. Previously, Genesis Minerals was offering a further 52.2 million shares to St Barbara, but only when its Tower Hill deposit produces its first ore.