Fortuna Mining has completed the acquisition of the Bambadji gold exploration project in Senegal from subsidiaries of Barrick Mining and IAMGOLD in a transaction valued at $200 million. The deal significantly expands Fortuna Mining’s portfolio of Senegal gold projects and consolidates the company’s presence along one of West Africa’s most productive geological corridors.
The Bambadji Gold Project comprises two properties covering approximately 190 square kilometres. The land package extends across roughly 60 kilometres of prospective ground along the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone, a major gold corridor that already hosts several large-scale mining operations. Bambadji sits adjacent to Fortuna’s Diamba Sud Gold Project, which is currently at the feasibility stage and contains mineral reserves of about 1.15 million ounces of gold. Fortuna expects to make a final investment decision on Diamba Sud shortly.
Jorge A. Ganoza, President and CEO of Fortuna Mining, said the $200 million consideration reflects multiple prime drill-defined targets, the scale of the land package, the extensive historical exploration dataset, and the potential to materially expand Diamba Sud.
Fortuna paid the full consideration in cash from its treasury. Of the total, $130.35 million was directed to a Barrick subsidiary and $69.65 million to an IAMGOLD subsidiary. The sellers will retain a 0.5% net smelter return royalty on the first 1.75 million ounces of gold produced from the Bambadji Nord property.
Fortuna Acquires Bambadji Gold Project for $200 Million
The acquisition gives Fortuna Mining control of a substantial exploration package directly connected to the same geological structure that underpins Diamba Sud. The company indicated that the Bambadji Gold Project could provide additional exploration opportunities and potentially expand the scope of the planned Diamba Sud operation.
With the deal now completed, Fortuna’s growing cluster of Senegal gold projects positions the company to pursue gold exploration Senegal across an extensive and geologically favourable area. The combination of Bambadji and Diamba Sud creates a contiguous land holding along the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone, offering access to multiple targets that have already been identified through historical exploration work.
Bambadji Exploration Programme Targets 51,000 Metres
Fortuna Mining has approved an initial exploration budget of $8 million for the Bambadji Gold Project covering the remainder of 2026. The programme is designed to include approximately 51,000 metres of reverse-circulation and diamond drilling, with field activities expected to commence in the third quarter.
The company plans to concentrate early-stage drilling on several advanced drill-defined targets located within a 20-kilometre radius of the proposed Diamba Sud processing plant. This approach reflects Fortuna’s strategy to prioritise targets that could feed directly into the planned processing infrastructure at Diamba Sud.
Diamba Sud is expected to produce an average of 158,000 ounces of gold annually during its first four years, before settling to an average of 116,000 ounces over an estimated 9.4-year mine life. The proximity of the Bambadji Gold Project to this planned operation could allow Fortuna to expand the resource base supporting the future mine without requiring entirely separate infrastructure.
Senegal Expands Role in Fortuna’s West Africa Portfolio
The Bambadji acquisition strengthens Fortuna Mining’s position in Senegal at a time when the company has been actively reshaping its broader West Africa gold mining portfolio. Fortuna recently sold its Yaramoko gold mine in Burkina Faso to a private local company for $130 million. That sale reduced annual gold production by approximately 70,000 ounces, but Ganoza stated the offer was attractive given the mine’s declining reserves and increasing operating risks.
The decision to divest in Burkina Faso and invest more heavily in Senegal gold projects reflects the shifting risk landscape across the region. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have all experienced military coups since 2020 and have moved to increase state participation in their mining sectors. In Mali, tensions between authorities and foreign mining companies have included the detention of executives and the seizure of gold inventories. Barrick, for instance, halted operations after Malian authorities confiscated approximately three tonnes of gold worth roughly $245 million.
Against this backdrop, Fortuna’s deepening commitment to gold exploration Senegal through both the Bambadji acquisition and the advancement of Diamba Sud represents a deliberate portfolio rebalancing towards a jurisdiction perceived as more stable. The company’s combined Senegal gold projects now form the centrepiece of its West Africa gold mining strategy, anchored by a feasibility-stage development and a newly acquired exploration package spanning 190 square kilometres of prospective ground.