Fortuna Mining has appointed Lycopodium Minerals Canada to undertake a study to assess processing plant expansion options at the Séguéla gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.

The study will evaluate options to increase throughput at the Séguéla processing plant and optimise metallurgical performance to unlock additional production potential from the operation.

Last month, Fortuna reported updated mineral reserves and mineral resources for Séguéla, confirming that the reserve life of mine has been extended to seven and a half years.

This expansion is intended to accommodate resource growth, including the potential future inclusion of underground mineralisation from the Sunbird deposit into the mine plan.

Fortuna also reported that an underground mining study supporting the potential conversion of up to 3.6 million tonnes of indicated mineral resources – averaging 4.34 grams per tonne containing 502,000 gold ounces – at the Sunbird project into mineral reserves, is due to be completed in December 2025.

This potential conversion from the Sunbird deposit is expected to be a key input into future mine planning at Séguéla.

By aligning processing capacity with potential underground feed from Sunbird, Fortuna aims to ensure that possible future increases in mineral reserves can be efficiently treated on-site, subject to study outcomes and subsequent approvals.

The study into processing plant expansion options will evaluate practical and cost-effective solutions to increase Séguéla’s processing plant throughput beyond its current 1.75 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacity to between 2mtpa and 2.5mtpa.

The study is targeting more than 200,000oz of gold per year, aligning with Fortuna’s strategic objective to maximise value from the Séguéla mine.

It is scheduled to commence immediately, with completion targeted in the second quarter of 2026.

Fortuna Mining president and CEO Jorge A. Ganoza said: “Initiating the Séguéla plant expansion study is a key step in unlocking the next phase of growth for the mine and fully capturing the opportunities created by our exploration success.

 “Awarding the study to Lycopodium reflects our confidence in their deep understanding of Séguéla and their ability to deliver practical, innovative solutions.

“Together with continued progress at our Diamba Sud Gold Project in Senegal, this work advances Fortuna toward our objective of achieving approximately 500,000oz of annual gold equivalent production within the next three years.”