Canadian mining company Fortuna Mining is advancing one of its biggest growth projects in Africa after a feasibility study confirmed the strong economics of its Diamba Sud gold project in Senegal, highlighting the country's continued appeal to international investors despite growing resource nationalism across the continent.
The Toronto Stock Exchange-listed miner said the study values the open-pit project at an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $1 billion, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 60% and a capital payback period of just one year, based on a gold price of $3,500 per ounce.
Diamba Sud is expected to produce an average of 158,000 ounces of gold annually during its first four years, before averaging 116,000 ounces over its 9.4-year mine life.
Fortuna estimates all-in sustaining costs of $1,056 per ounce during the first four years and $1,332 per ounce over the life of the mine, making it the company's lowest-cost operation.
The feasibility study also upgrades the project's outlook from its 2025 preliminary economic assessment, extending the mine life from 8.1 years to 9.4 years while increasing average annual production and confirming 1.15 million ounces of probable gold reserves.
