Fortuna’s Séguéla Output Falls After Equipment Shortfall and Blockade

Fortuna Mining’s Séguéla mine in Côte d’Ivoire produced 33,744 ounces of gold in the third quarter, down 19% from 41,683 ounces in the preceding quarter, after interruptions constrained mining and postponed access to higher-grade ore. The company attributed the setback to lower equipment availability from a mining contractor and a temporary blockade by artisanal miners. 1

The disruption is important because it was principally a mining-volume and ore-access issue rather than a reported processing-plant failure. Séguéla treated 402,440 tonnes during the quarter at an average grade of 2.67 grams per tonne, with metallurgical recovery of 90.75%. But reduced material movement and delayed access to higher-grade zones limited gold output. 1

Fortuna said government law-enforcement intervention ended the blockade and normal operations resumed. Corrective measures by the contractor had restored mining volumes to planned levels by September. That gives the company a better operating base entering the final quarter, although it does not erase the lower output already recorded in Q3. 1

Management expects Séguéla’s fourth-quarter production to recover to first-half levels as mining normalizes and access to higher-grade ore improves. That is a forward-looking target, dependent on the restoration holding through the quarter and on the anticipated ore sequence being available as planned. The company now expects Séguéla to finish 2026 at the lower end of its 160,000-to-170,000-ounce guidance range. Nine-month production was 117,443 ounces, leaving the final quarter particularly consequential for where the mine lands within that range. 1

The mine’s performance also weighed on Fortuna’s wider quarterly result. Group production totaled 69,665 gold-equivalent ounces, compared with 72,217 in Q2 and 72,462 in the third quarter of 2025. Nine-month group output was 214,754 gold-equivalent ounces against full-year guidance of 281,000 to 305,000 gold-equivalent ounces. Gold-equivalent measures combine metals using conversion assumptions and are not equivalent to physical gold production. 2

Other operations partly offset Séguéla’s decline. Lindero produced 26,024 ounces of gold in Q3, up from 20,829 ounces in Q2, while Caylloma contributed 9,897 gold-equivalent ounces, compared with 9,705 in the prior quarter. Those gains were insufficient to prevent a sequential reduction in consolidated production, underscoring Séguéla’s significance to Fortuna’s near-term delivery. 2

The quarterly release does not change the status of Séguéla’s planned plant expansion. Fortuna had already approved the project in July, with a US$109 million budget for a 30% expansion. The project is intended to lift annual throughput to 2.3 million tonnes and recoveries to 94%, supporting a production target above 200,000 ounces of gold a year from the second half of 2028. Those figures describe future capacity and targets, not current output. 2

For now, the immediate operational question is narrower: whether September’s return to planned mining rates can translate into the forecast Q4 rebound. A sustained recovery would support Fortuna’s ability to meet the low end of Séguéla guidance and restore momentum before the expansion becomes relevant. A further interruption, however, would leave the company more exposed to the production shortfall created by the third-quarter disruption.