Fortuna targets deeper Lindero pit after gold hits

Fortuna Mining has begun drilling beneath the planned bottom of its Lindero open pit in Argentina's high-Andes, bolstering its case for expanding the operating mine's reserves. A hole named LDH-272 yielded 350 meters of gold grading 0.96 gram per tonne, with 98 meters averaging 0.91 gram below the pit design. Situated approximately 260 km from Salta, in Argentina's Puna region, Lindero constitutes 32% of National Bank's production forecast and 28% of its estimated net asset value for the year.

Analyst Mohamed Sidibé of National Bank noted that the extensive intersections reinforce the potential inclusion of below-pit material in a revised pit and reserve estimate. Fortuna intends to ascertain the extent to which deeper material can be integrated into the expanded pit and revised mining schedule, with updated resource and reserve estimates anticipated in the first quarter of the following year.

The company's diamond drilling program has been expanded to 8,534 meters across 31 holes this year, following promising initial results focused on bolstering confidence in inferred resources beneath the southern section of the planned pit, where earlier drilling had identified higher-grade gold. The reported intervals exceed the 0.54-gram average grade of Lindero's current reserves, although drilling alone does not guarantee economic mining.

The company has not defined true widths due to the circular nature of the mineralization associated with a porphyry intrusion. Fortuna aims to finalize its geological model and pit design by year-end, incorporating the newly discovered resources. Lindero's proven and probable reserves, as of December 31, 2025, amount to 64.4 million tonnes of gold grading 0.54 gram per tonne, containing approximately 1.1 million ounces. The mine anticipates producing between 281,000 and 305,000 gold-equivalent ounces this year.