(Kitco News) Fortuna Mining is targeting a return to 500,000 ounces of annual gold equivalent production as record-free cash flow in 2025 strengthens its balance sheet and supports a development push in West Africa.
Speaking with Kitco Mining in late February, CFO Luis D. Ganoza said the company generated $330 million in free cash flow in 2025 on production of about 371,000 oz of gold equivalent and ended the year with roughly $380 million in cash. He said full-year free cash flow represented “between 35 and 38%” of sales.
Ganoza said performance accelerated late in the year. He cited fourth-quarter net income of $71 million and free cash flow from ongoing operations, before growth capital spending, of $130 million. He said net income was up 270% year over year, and free cash flow was 160% above the fourth quarter of 2024.
Fortuna’s growth plan is built on a two-region operating platform that expanded in 2021 with the Roxgold acquisition, which established the company in West Africa. Ganoza said the move has matured into a strategic advantage, with the Séguéla mine in Côte d’Ivoire now a core producing asset.
Production in 2025 was affected by downtime tied to high-pressure grinding rolls in the fourth quarter, which Ganoza said has been resolved. Looking ahead, he said the company has “a clear path to get back to 500,000 ounces” annually, driven by development at the Diamba Sud project in Senegal and a potential expansion at Séguéla.
Séguéla is producing around 170,000 oz per year, Ganoza said. In January 2026, Fortuna reported updated reserves of 1.5 million oz at the mine, alongside additional resources in the indicated and inferred categories. He said studies are underway to evaluate lifting production to about 200,000 oz per year, with results expected later in 2026.
At Diamba Sud, Ganoza said Fortuna expects to make a construction decision later in 2026, with first production targeted toward the second quarter of 2028. The company’s latest exploration update, released Feb. 25, reported additional drilling results at the Southern Arc deposit and noted that work since December 2025 was incorporated into an expanded Diamba Sud mineral resource announced Feb. 19.
With cash no longer the primary constraint, Ganoza said the key challenge in the current market is discipline in capital deployment. “Finding the right asset at a valuation that makes sense” remains the hurdle, he said, particularly as competition for quality assets increases in a stronger price environment. He said the company continues to evaluate opportunities using conservative price assumptions rather than relying on spot prices.
Fortuna has also discussed instituting a dividend but has deferred that decision in the near term as it weighs growth options against maintaining balance sheet flexibility. Ganoza said those decisions are reviewed regularly as cash continues to accumulate.
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