Fortuna lifts Côte d’Ivoire gold ounces, extends mine life

Canadian miner Fortuna Mining (TSX: FVI; NYSE: FSM) extended the projected life of its Séguéla property in Côte d’Ivoire as it reported a 31% increase in gold reserve ounces.

Séguéla now holds 16 million proven and probable tonnes grading 3.01 grams gold per tonne for 1.54 million oz. of contained metal, Fortuna said Tuesday in a statement. At the current mining rate of 1.75 million tonnes a year, this would support a mine life of over nine years – about 18 months more than previously estimated. The figures are current as of the end of 2025.

Vancouver-based Fortuna is counting on Séguéla and the Diamba Sud project in Senegal to help it reverse a drop in output triggered by the sale of mines in Mexico and Burkina Faso last year. Tuesday’s update shows Séguéla’s reserves more than offset production-related depletion over the last two months of 2025 – with reserve tonnes climbing 23% while the average gold grade rose 7%.

“Overall, this is a positive update that solidifies the organic growth potential and exploration success at Séguéla,” Mohamed Sidibé, a mining analyst with National Bank Financial in Toronto, said Tuesday in a note. He now expects baseline production at Séguéla to range from 160,000-180,000 oz. a year for the rest of the mine’s life, with the potential to exceed 200,000 oz. from 2028.

Technical studies

Fortuna also said it’s begun technical studies to evaluate the potential of increasing throughput at Séguéla’s processing plant from its current capacity of 1.75 million tonnes a year to a range of 2 million to 2.5 million tonnes. The studies, which are expected to be completed in the second quarter, have the potential to support annual gold production of more than 200,000 ounces.

Séguéla’s longer mine life “is supported by exploration drilling completed in the second half of 2025, the results of which have not yet been incorporated into our geological resource models,” CEO Jorge Ganoza said.

Most of the increase in ounces came from the first-time inclusion of underground reserves at the Sunbird deposit, Fortuna said. Sunbird contributed 401,000 oz. at average grade of 3.6 grams gold.

Updated estimate

Exploration drilling completed last year indicates that mineralization at Sunbird remains open down plunge and down dip, Fortuna said. An updated estimate will probably be released in the second quarter.

Drilling at three other deposits – Kingfisher, Koula and Ancien – shows that mineralization remains open at depth, which provides additional potential for further underground mining expansion.

Fortuna shares dropped 0.1% to C$14.86 Tuesday morning in Toronto, giving the company a market value of about C$4.5 billion ($3.3 billion). The stock has traded between C$5.99 and C$15 in the past year.