Fortuna Mining (NYSE: FSM; TSX: FVI)reported record production results for the fourth quarter and full year 2024 from its five operating mines abroad. For the full year of 2024, Fortuna produced a record 369,637 ounces of gold and 3.7M ounces of silver for a record 455,958 gold equivalent ounces, including lead and zinc by-products. Fortuna is a Canadian mid-tier producer of precious metals with mining assets abroad.
Fortuna also released its ambitious exploration plans in 2025. The mining company has a total mineral exploration budget of $41.0 million for 2025, compared to an estimated $44.0 million invested in 2024. Brownfields represents 53 percent, and greenfield initiatives, including $8.3 million for Diamba Sud, represents 47 percent of this year’s budget.
Fortuna’s consolidated brownfields exploration budget for 2025 totals $21.6 million, which includes 84,000 metres of reverse circulation, diamond core, and air core exploration drilling. The gold and silver producer has reserved the larger portion of this drilling for high value opportunities at the Séguéla Mine.
The mining company’s brownfields exploration program budget for 2025 at Séguéla in Cote d’Ivoire is $13.5 million, which includes 73,000 metres of exploration drilling, supporting resource upgrade drilling primarily at the Sunbird underground project, and infill and expansion of the Kingfisher deposit, along with continued target generation.
The company’s brownfields exploration budget for Lindero in Argentina is $3.4 million, which includes 5,000 metres of exploration drilling at Arizaro, following up on recent reinterpretations driven by additional geochemical sampling, and alteration mapping completed in 2024.
Fortuna’s brownfields exploration program budget for 2025 at Caylloma in Peru is $4.8 million which includes $2.2 million for 9,000 metres of resource extension drilling, in addition to $2.6 million for 1,600 metres of drill testing regional targets.
The precious metals developer has allocated $0.2 million for its brownfields exploration program budget for 2025 at Yaramoko in Brukina Faso. This number reflects reduced exploration activities. However, the Company will continue to pursue opportunities for extensions of mineralization through underground development in the deeper levels of the 55 zone and the QVP deposits.
Greenfields exploration will continue in Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal advancing generative programs across several projects supported by a budget of $19.3 million, including continued active corporate development.
Exploration activities in Mexico will focus on project generation and target testing across several emerging projects, with a total of $4.9 million budgeted, which includes 8,000 metres of planned drilling.
The exploration budget for Côte d’Ivoire is $3.6 million, the majority of which will be spent on advancing exploration activities at Tongon North with 12,000 metres of drilling planned, as well as $1.2 million for early-stage target generation at the Guiglo project.
The greenfields exploration budget for Senegal is $10.5 million, including $8.3 million at the Diamba Sud Gold project, which includes 35,000 metres of drilling for continuing target generation and testing as well as further resource infill and extension drilling. A budget of $2.1 million will be used to support exploration at the Bondala and Morichou projects.
More information is posted on www.FortunaMining.com.
