The $200-million acquisition of the 190 km2 Bambadji advanced gold exploration project, in Senegal, from major gold and copper producer Barrick Mining and IAMGOLD, enables Canadian precious metals miner Fortuna Mining to consolidate one of the biggest concession holdings in one of the most productive geologic gold belts of West Africa, says Fortuna Mining CEO and director Jorge Ganoza.

Located immediately adjacent to Fortuna’s advanced feasibility-stage Diamba Sud gold project, the Bambadji property consolidates about 60 km of prospective strike along the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone – a Tier 1 gold corridor hosting several significant mines.

“We are looking to build a two- to two-and-a-half million-tonne-a-year processing plant and mine, capable of producing, in the initial four years an average of 160 000 ounces to 180 000 ounces of gold a year,” he explains.

The acquisition includes an extensive, high-quality exploration dataset comprising geochemical, geophysical and lithological information, together with historical auger, reverse circulation and diamond drilling.

Historic drilling and fieldwork, amassing over 200 km of drilling along the 60 km belt – initially undertaken by Barrick Mining – has identified several styles of gold mineralisation across Bambadji.

“Barrick has discovered multiple gold prospects within the Bambadji property, with the same geological and structural controls that host some of the largest gold mines in the belt, giving Fortuna high-priority targets to start drilling,” says Ganoza.

Primary Programmes

Fortuna has adopted an $8-million budget for two programmes at Bambadji to accelerate its exploration process, of which the first is to mobilise drill rigs to areas where there are drill-defined targets.

Reaching this milestone will enable Fortuna to report on its mineral inventories by year-end.

“The expectation is that we can achieve an initial first addition to our mineral inventory, when we publish consolidated resources and reserves in the first quarter of 2027.”

The second programme aims to explore the multiple targets that have been identified, but not yet drill tested.

“We needed to conduct additional work, develop drill targets and begin testing them as soon as possible.”

To successfully continue the ongoing flow of mineralisation test results, Fortuna has retained, as part of the Bambadji acquisition, several ex-Barrick geologists who offer a strong degree of familiarity with the ground and the targets, states Ganoza.

Fortuna also benefits from Bambaji's displaying the same geology as Diamba Sud, which Fortuna has been exploring since 2023.

Existing Portfolio

Ganoza says the $400 million Diamba Sud Project has identified 1.15 million ounces of gold in reserves, while government permits are nearing full approval.

“We plan for the mine to be fully operational by mid-2028.”

He adds that, through a transparent, collaborative dialogue with the Senegalese government – including the technical director of local content and the director of the government institute for transparency in mineral resources – Fortuna can clearly demonstrate the mutually beneficial nature of this investment.

“The Senegalese government is using its natural resources as a lever to achieve its development goals,” he adds.

With the Séguéla plant expansion and the Diamba Sud Project, Fortuna expects to deliver 60% of its growth over the next 18 months, taking production from the current 300 000 oz/y of gold equivalent ounces (GEO) to over 500 000 oz/y GEO.

Additionally, Fortuna has the necessary resource ounces, alongside Diamba Sud, which is in the late stages of permitting.

Further, as part of its growth strategy, the company has approved a $100-million investment for the expansion of its Séguéla mine, in Côte d'Ivoire.

“That equates to a 30% expansion that should move Séguéla to produce upwards of 200 000 ounces of gold a year,” concludes Ganoza.