Fortuna boosts mineral resource at Séguéla gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire
Fortuna Mining announced Tuesday updated mineral reserve and resource estimates at its Séguéla mine in Côte d’Ivoire, including the discovery of over 500,000 gold ounces in new inferred resources.
The Séguéla mine officially entered production in May 2023, and subsequently ramped up to normal rate of production during the third quarter.
Fortuna’s CEO Jorge Ganoza said 2024 exploration programs successfully grew inferred resources to 677,000 gold ounces, including the contribution of four new mineral deposits. These include 294,000 oz. for Kingfisher and 61,000 oz. for Badior, as well as an additional 141,000 oz. of underground resource at the Sunbird deposit.
Meanwhile, total proven and probable gold reserves are reported at 1 million oz., while measured and indicated resources exclusive of reserves are reported at 396,000 oz.
According to the company, the primary drivers for changes in mineral reserves and resources are production related depletion and the addition of new inferred resources from ongoing exploration drilling activities.
“These new resources come from a growing pipeline of deposits that are planned for further expansion and definition drilling in 2025 as we look for opportunities to replace annual production related depletion and expand reserves,” Ganoza said in a news release.
Fortuna estimates the Kingfisher deposit contains an inferred mineral resource of 4 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.29 g/t gold, while the Badior deposit contains an inferred resource of 470,000 tonnes at an average grade of 4.05 g/t gold.
“The Kingfisher deposit has emerged as an important discovery which remains open along strike and at depth, providing excellent potential for additional growth,” Paul Weedon, senior vice president of exploration, said.
“There remains a host of further exploration targets ranked for priority drill testing as we continue to explore the ultimate potential scale of our property package of 62,000 hectares.”
In 2024, the Séguéla mine is expected to produce at the upper range of 126,000 to 138,000 oz., the company said.