**Categories:** News, Mining **Tags:** Côte d'Ivoire, Séguéla mine, Fortuna Mining, gold production, mining expansion **Excerpt:** Séguéla produced 33,744 ounces of gold in the third quarter, down from the previous quarter, but Fortuna maintains its annual target of 160,000 to 170,000 ounces. The group expects a recovery at year-end and has approved a plant expansion to exceed 200,000 ounces annually from 2028. **Slug:** cote-ivoire-seguela-fortuna-maintient-objectif-production-or-2026 **Image alt:** Ore processing facilities at the Séguéla gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire.
Fortuna Mining maintains its production target for the Séguéla gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire despite a weaker third quarter. The site produced 33,744 ounces of gold between July and September, compared with 41,683 ounces in the previous quarter. Production reached 117,443 ounces in the first nine months of 2026. The company still believes it can achieve its annual range of 160,000 to 170,000 ounces, relying on an operational recovery in the final quarter.
The decline mainly reflects temporary execution difficulties. Reduced availability of some equipment at a mining contractor slowed mined volumes. A temporary interruption caused by a blockade by artisanal miners around the site also disrupted activity. Operations resumed following intervention by the authorities, and the company says mined volumes returned to planned levels in September.
An annual target dependent on the final quarter
To reach the target of 160,000 to 170,000 ounces, Séguéla will need to produce approximately 42,600 to 52,600 ounces in the fourth quarter, depending on the point within the range. This would represent a substantial recovery from the 33,744 ounces produced in the quarter just ended. Fortuna expects a return towards first-half production levels, with better access to higher-grade ore.
Progress will depend on several factors: the pace of waste stripping, equipment availability, the grade of ore sent to the plant and the recovery rate. The mine extracted 340,714 metric tons of ore in the third quarter at an average grade of 2.69 grams of gold per metric ton. Approximately 402,440 metric tons were processed, with an average feed grade of 2.67 grams per metric ton and a recovery rate of 90.75%.
The recovery rate fell compared with the previous quarter, partly because of the metallurgical characteristics of Koula ore. This variation is a reminder that a mine's results depend on more than the volume of rock extracted. Ore composition and its behaviour in the plant influence the amount of gold recovered and costs per ounce.
Company data indicate that mined volumes recovered in September following operational difficulties. The fourth quarter will need to confirm that this improvement is sustained and that higher-grade areas can supply ore in accordance with the mine plan.
A community incident and contractor constraints
The interruption caused by an artisanal miners' blockade highlights the need to manage relationships between the industrial site and surrounding artisanal mining activities. These situations can affect production, but also raise issues of safety, land access and livelihoods. Operational continuity will depend on the ability of the company, authorities and communities to establish dialogue mechanisms and prevent confrontations.
The contractor's equipment availability offers another lesson. Mining companies outsource some activities, but this arrangement creates dependence on contractors' technical capacity and performance. Resolving equipment problems, planning maintenance and managing spare parts are essential to prevent isolated incidents from becoming a sustained decline in volumes.
The mine must also manage a high stripping ratio as work advances towards planned areas. In the third quarter, 6.5 million metric tons of waste were moved to access ore, alongside preparatory work for underground access to the Sunbird deposit. These operations require equipment, fuel and capital before the corresponding ore is processed.
A $109 million expansion
Alongside maintaining its 2026 target, Fortuna has approved a $109 million budget to increase Séguéla's processing capacity by 30%. The expansion is intended to bring annual plant throughput to approximately 2.3 million metric tons and support production above 200,000 ounces of gold annually from the second half of 2028.
The project also plans to restore the recovery rate towards its original design level of 94%. Part of production growth would come from processing greater volumes; improved recovery would extract more gold from the ore processed. Ramp-up will nevertheless depend on the construction timetable, equipment availability and progress with Sunbird's underground development.
Fortuna plans to fund the investment from cash holdings and operating cash flow. The expansion is to be carried out in stages to limit disruption to ongoing production. This will be essential: additional capacity creates value only if the plant can continue processing ore during the works and mining areas deliver sufficient feedstock.
Indicators to monitor through year-end
Séguéla produced 117,443 ounces during the first three quarters, close to three-quarters of the lower end of its annual target. Maintaining guidance now depends on the expected production recovery and more regular access to high-grade areas. Fourth-quarter results will assess the site's ability to absorb disruptions and deliver its mine plan.
Over the longer term, the plant expansion aims to make Séguéla an asset producing more than 200,000 ounces annually. Milestones to monitor include the start of works, progress with underground development, budget control and confirmation of the commissioning timetable.
Séguéla's performance thus highlights two time horizons. In the short term, the priority is to stabilise operations and confirm the 2026 target. In the medium term, the expansion must increase capacity and support growth. Success will depend as much on mining execution, community relations and plant performance as on the size of available resources.