Canadian precious metals producer Fortuna Mining is advancing its Diamba Sud gold project, in Senegal, with plans to release a feasibility study in the second quarter of this year and early works already under way, serving as key milestones in the company’s target of producing more than 500 000 oz/y of gold.

The updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for Diamba Sud, published in January this year, will inform the project’s feasibility study, ahead of a formal investment decision to be taken by mid-year, says Fortuna Mining president and CEO Jorge Ganoza.

“We are graduating from a preliminary economic assessment [PEA] to a full feasibility study, and doing so with a larger and more confidently defined resource than we had at the time of the PEA in October [2025],” he says.

The preliminary assessment already contains many elements that need to be considered at feasibility level, such as process design and ancillary facilities, thereby fast-tracking the project’s formal investment decision.

Demonstrating its confidence in the project’s economics and technical viability, Fortuna has allocated $100-million to Diamba Sud this year, of which $60-million is allocated for early works. Aligned to this, camp facilities and ancillary infrastructure are currently underway, explains Ganoza.

The company is also in the later stages of finalising detailed design and advancing feed studies to identify critical path equipment, such as a semi-autogenous grinding mill and power generators, to facilitate placing purchase orders ahead of time.

“One concern in the current environment of elevated gold prices is that supply chains for mining equipment can come under stress. Placing orders early for items we identify as ‘critical path’ is therefore critical in keeping the project on a reasonable timeline without delays,” says Ganoza.

Fortuna estimates pre-production capital expenditure for Diamba Sud at about $280-million to $300-million, accounting for added complexity and a longer build timeline associated with constructing in a country without a mature mining services cluster.

With over $700-million in available liquidity and a net cash position of about $400-million, Ganoza asserts that Fortuna is well-positioned to fund Diamba Sud’s development entirely from internal resources, with no requirement for project finance or external debt.

In terms of in-country mining services, Ganoza explains that Senegal has seen significantly less mining construction activity than fellow West African country Côte d’Ivoire, where Fortuna’s flagship Séguéla mine was built for $170-million, benefitting from the country’s more developed contractor base.

The Resource
Fortuna’s updated MRE for Diamba Sud reflects significant resource growth, with indicated mineral resources totalling 1.25-million ounces of gold, representing a 73%, or 530 000 oz, lift from the prior estimate, with a total indicated resource of 26- million tonnes averaging 1.5 g/t gold.

A key highlight of the MRE is the first-time indicated resource estimation at the Southern Arc deposit, comprising of six-million tonnes, averaging 1.91 g/t gold and containing 367 000 oz.

This establishes Southern Arc as the largest deposit discovered to date at Diamba Sud.

The deposit remains open at depth and along strike to both the southwest and northeast.

Ganoza notes that whilst Southern Arc is an “exciting discovery”, it is one of several deposits within a largely underexplored property package that presents significant potential for further discoveries.
The updated MRE incorporates results from 44 additional reverse circulation and diamond drill holes totalling 7 518 m.

“With most drilling across the project area being shallower than 200 m, and ongoing drilling continuing to intersect mineralisation beyond current resource envelopes, the potential for further resource growth remains substantial,” states Ganoza.

“We are exploring first for what makes the most sense, which is near-surface mineralisation, and pursuing lateral extents, which remain open, rather than targeting deep mineralisation immediately,” he notes, adding that it is expected for some deposits to extend significantly beyond the current 200 m depth limit.

Alongside its Diamba Sud project, a key component of Fortuna’s strategy to produce over 500 000 oz/y of gold is the expansion of its Séguéla gold mine, which has grown from its original nameplate capacity of 1.25-million tonnes of ore a year to its current capacity of 1.75-million tonnes of ore a year, through mill expansion and optimisation.