Our Lindero Mine is in Salta, Argentina. The open-pit mine is operated by Mansfield Minera S.A., an Argentinian subsidiary 100% owned by Fortuna.
Fortuna acquired the fully permitted, shovel-ready development-stage project in July 2016. Over the following year, we optimized the Feasibility Study and made a positive construction decision in September 2017. Mass earth moving activities began in 2018, and the mine's first gold pour occurred on October 20, 2020. In 2022, the mine produced 118,418 ounces of gold.
The deposit is a gold porphyry, and, based on December 31, 2022 reserves, Lindero has a pit life of 12 years.
Crushing circuit at Lindero is designed to crush 18,750 tonnes of ore per day. The crushed ore is placed on a leach pad with the resulting pregnant solution pumped to SART (Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling and Thickening) and ADR (Adsorption – Desorption – Regeneration) plants before electrowinning and refining, where gold is poured as doré bars.
We recognize the role the Lindero Mine plays in the sustainable development in the Tolar Grande region. In 2022, we employed 175 community members and partnered with 12 suppliers from the local communities.
Lindero Mine Video
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Commodity
Gold
Ownership
100%
Operation
18,750
tonnes per day
Claim block area
3,500
hectares
Deposit type
Gold porphyry
system
system
Mining method
Open pit
OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS
|
20221 |
2023E1 |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Ore placed on pad (Mt) |
5.5 |
6.3 |
|
Gold production (koz) |
118.4 |
96 - 106 |
|
AISC2,3,4,5 (US$/oz Au) |
- |
$1,430 - $1,580 |
Notes:
- Refer to Fortuna news releases dated January 17, 2023, "Fortuna reports 2022 full year record production of 401,878 gold equivalent ounces and issues 2023 annual guidance."
- Cash Cost and all-in sustaining cost (AISC) are non-GAAP financial measures which are not standardized financial measures under the financial reporting framework used to prepare the financial statements of the Company and might not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" in the Company’s 2022 management discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 dated November 9, 2022 (“Q3 MD&A 2022”), which is available under Fortuna's SEDAR profile, and the note regarding “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” on this Website.
- The following table provides the historical cash costs and historical AISC for the four operating mines for the year ended December 31, 2021, as follows:
Mine Cash Costa,b,c AISCa,b,c SILVER ($/oz AgEq) ($/oz AgEq) San Jose, Mexico 9.30 14.38 Caylloma, Peru 13.46 18.94 GOLD ($/oz Au) ($/oz Au) Lindero, Argentina 617 1,116 Yaramoko, Burkina Faso 739 1,317 - (a) Cash cost and AISC are non-IFRS financial measures; refer to the note under “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” below
- (b) Silver equivalent was calculated at metal prices of $1,789/oz Au, $25.16/oz Ag, $2,205/t Pb and $2,998/t Zn for the year ended December 31, 2021
- (c) Further details on the cash costs and AISC for the year ended December 31, 2021 are disclosed on pages 34, 35, 36, 38, and 39 (with respect to cash costs) and pages 34, 35, 37, and 40 (with respect to AISC) of the Company’s management discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the year ended December 31, 2021 dated as of March 23, 2022 (“2021 MD&A”) which is available under Fortuna's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and is incorporated by reference into our January 17, 2023 news release, and the note under “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” on this website.
- The most comparable financial measure to cash costs is cost of sales. Please see the condensed interim consolidated financial statements of the Company for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and pages 32, 34 and 35 of the Q3 MD&A 2022 for a reconciliation.
- ISC includes production cash cost, commercial and government royalties, mining tax, export duties (as applicable), worker’s participation (as applicable), subsidiary G&A, sustaining capital expenditures, and Brownfields exploration and is estimated at metal prices of $1,700/oz Au, $21/oz Ag, $2,000/t Pb, and $3,200/t Zn. AISC excludes government mining royalty recognized as income tax within the scope of IAS-12
- The most comparable financial measure to AISC is cost of sales. Please see the condensed interim consolidated financial statements of the Company for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and pages 33, 35 and 36 of the Q3 MD&A 2022 for a reconciliation.
- Totals may not add due to rounding.
LOCATION
|
Our Lindero Mine is in the cold and dry Argentine Puna (plateau) at an altitude of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 meters above sea level (Latitude: 25° 04' 56" S, Longitude: 67° 46' 47" W). Mining occurs year-round. The mine is connected by road and railway to primary population centers. The regional capital, Salta, is 260 kilometres to the west and the closest town is Tolar Grande, approximately 75 kilometres from the mine. Access to the mine is via National Route 51, which passes through the towns of San Antonio de Los Cobres and Olacapato, and by Provincial Route 27, which passes through the towns of Pocitos and Tolar Grande. Most of the Tolar Grande community are members of the traditional Kolla nation. |
GEOLOGY AND MINERALIZATION
The Lindero deposit is a gold porphyry system hosted within a series of diorite to monzonite porphyritic stocks that intrude coarse-grained Ordovician granites and Early Tertiary red bed sandstones. Mineralization forms an inward plunging semi-circular shape approximately 600 meters in diameter and extends to a drill-tested depth of 600 meters. Gold-copper mineralization shows a strong relationship to lithology, potassium-feldspar alteration, and stockwork veining.
MINERAL RESERVES
79.2 million tonnes
averaging 0.57 g/t Au containing 1.44 Moz Au
Refer to Mineral Reserves and Resources table below for full disclosure
BROWNFIELDS EXPLORATION
The Brownfields exploration program for 2023 at the Lindero Mine of $0.3 million will be focused on reviewing the Arizaro project, located 3.5 kilometers to the southeast of the mine. Exploration at Lindero will also extend to regional prospect evaluation and portfolio reviews.
Technical Report
Mineral Reserves and Resources
|
Mineral Reserves - Proven and Probable |
Contained Metal |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Property |
Classification |
Tonnes (000) |
Au (g/t) |
Cu (%) |
Au (koz) |
|
Lindero, Argentina |
Proven |
25,505 |
0.61 |
0.08 |
504 |
|
Probable |
53,713 |
0.54 |
0.11 |
937 |
|
|
Proven + Probable |
79,218 |
0.57 |
0.10 |
1,441 |
|
|
Mineral Resources - Measured and Indicated |
Contained Metal |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Property |
Classification |
Tonnes (000) |
Au (g/t) |
Cu (%) |
Au (koz) |
|
Lindero, Argentina |
Measured |
1,855 |
0.50 |
0.12 |
30 |
|
Indicated |
27,594 |
0.42 |
0.10 |
369 |
|
|
Measured + Indicated |
29,448 |
0.42 |
0.10 |
399 |
|
|
Mineral Resources - Inferred |
Contained Metal |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Property |
Classification |
Tonnes (000) |
Au (g/t) |
Cu (%) |
Au (koz) |
|
Lindero, Argentina |
Inferred |
24,170 |
0.47 |
0.11 |
365 |
-
Notes:
- Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are as defined by the 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
- Mineral Resources are exclusive of Mineral Reserves
- Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability
- Factors that could materially affect the reported Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves include; changes in metal price and exchange rate assumptions; changes in local interpretations of mineralization; changes to assumed metallurgical recoveries, mining dilution and recovery; and assumptions as to the continued ability to access the site, retain mineral and surface rights titles, maintain environmental and other regulatory permits, and maintain the social license to operate
- Lindero Mineral Resources and Reserves are estimated and reported as of August 31, 2022 and reported as of December 31, 2022 taking into account production related depletion as of this date
- Mineral Reserves for the Lindero Mine are reported based on open pit mining within a designed pit shell based on variable gold cut-off grades and gold recoveries by metallurgical type: Met type 1 cut-off 0.27 g/t Au, recovery 75.4%; Met type 2 cut-off 0.26 g/t Au, recovery 78.2%; Met type 3 cut-off 0.26 g/t Au, recovery 78.5%; and Met type 4 cut-off 0.30 g/t Au, recovery 68.5%. Mining recovery is estimated to average 100% and mining dilution 0% having been accounted for during block regularization to 10m x 10m x 8m size. The cut-off grades and pit designs are considered appropriate for long term gold prices of US$1,600/oz, estimated average mining costs of US$1.67/t of material, total processing and G&A costs of US$10.32/t of ore, and refinery costs net of pay factor of US$8.52/oz Au. Reported Proven Reserves include 7.9 Mt averaging 0.48 g/t Au of stockpiled material. Mineral Resources for Lindero are reported within a conceptual pit shell above a 0.23 g/t Au cut-off grade based on the same parameters used for Mineral Reserves and a 15% upside in metal prices
- Eric Chapman, P. Geo. (EGBC #36328) is the Qualified Person for resources and Raul Espinoza (FAUSIMM (CP) #309581) is the Qualified Person for reserves, both being employees of Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.
- Totals may not add due to rounding procedures
Photo Gallery
Lindero Mine first gold pour: October 20, 2020
Corporate Video - A global intermediate gold and silver producer
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