Fortuna Mining (TSX: FVI) expects to recoup the cost of building its Diamba Sud gold project in Senegal within about a year of pouring first gold, according to a feasibility study released Monday.
Using a gold price of $3,500 an ounce, the study puts the project’s after tax net present value at $1.0 billion on a 5% discount rate, with an estimated internal rate of return of 60%. At $4,000 an ounce gold, the NPV rises to $1.3 billion, the IRR to 72%, and the payback shortens to 11 months.
The proposed operation is a conventional open pit mine feeding a carbon-in-leach plant over a 9.4 year mine life. The mine would draw on probable reserves of 20.5 million tonnes grading 1.75 g/t gold, containing 1.15 million ounces. Metallurgical recovery is estimated at 91%.
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Output is slated to be weighted toward the early years, with the mine expected to average 158,000 ounces annually over its first four years before easing to a life of mine average of 116,000 ounces, for total production of just over 1.05 million ounces.
Initial capital is estimated at $397.5 million, with another $64 million in sustaining capital and $14.5 million in closure costs. The company points to a liquidity position above $800 million to cover the build.
Operating cash costs are estimated at $856 an ounce over the first four years and $1,146 an ounce across the full mine life. All in sustaining costs run $1,056 an ounce early on and $1,332 an ounce over the life of mine, which Fortuna expects will make Diamba Sud its lowest cost operation.
“Diamba Sud is a standout growth project with high returns, fast payback, and is expected to be our lowest-cost mine,” said President and CEO Jorge A. Ganoza. He tied the project to a broader plan to grow Fortuna’s annual gold production by roughly 60% to more than 500,000 ounces in 2028, alongside an expansion at its Séguéla mine.
The next steps depend on permitting. Fortuna has approved a $73 million early works budget, of which $18 million has been spent to date.
A final investment decision is expected to be made once a mining permit is granted. A positive decision would allow construction to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, after the wet season, with first gold targeted before the end of the second quarter of 2028.
Fortuna Mining last traded at $11.89 on the TSX.
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