Leaked emails show former St Barbara chairman Tim Netscher rebuffed a September invitation from Silver Lake chairman David Quinlivan to discuss a potential gold mining deal because his company was busy and could not justify the “distraction”.

Relations between the two companies have soured over St Barbara’s plan to sell its flagship Gwalia mine to Genesis Minerals at a price that was about 10 per cent lower than Silver Lake’s $650 million offer for the same asset.