Fortuna provides update on the resumption of construction activities at the Lindero gold Project, Argentina - Seite 2

Although HPGR pre-commissioning has been successfully completed, commissioning will take longer because we will be utilizing remote assistance from the foreign vendor. 

The crushed coarse ore from the primary and secondary crushers to be placed on the leach pad during the ramp-up phase represents only approximately 12 percent of the projected ore scheduled to be placed on the leach pad in a standard year of full production. Preliminary metallurgical column test results for coarse ore indicates gold recoveries of 45 to 50 percent compared to our feasibility study projections of 78 percent recovery for tertiary crushed ore over a 90-day period.

Open pit mining is planned to gradually resume in July 2020.  During the period from July to December 2020, an estimated 1.7 million to 1.9 million tonnes of ore are scheduled to be placed on the leach pad with an average gold grade of 1.00 g/t to 1.10 g/t. The estimated stripping ratio during this period is 0.68 to 0.75.
 
Between 25,000 to 28,000 ounces of gold doré are scheduled to be produced for the period of September to December 31, 2020.  Commercial production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2021, achieving an AISC of US$520/oz to $620/oz Au (refer to Fortuna news release dated February 20, 2020).

The Company reiterates a capex forecast of between US$314 to $320 million for the Lindero Project construction. This represents an increase of 28 percent from the September 2017 feasibility estimate (refer to Fortuna news release dated March 11, 2020). The Company estimates that as of March 31, 2020, the remaining funds required to complete the Project, inclusive of pre-production expenditures, working capital and VAT, to be in the range of US$75 to $80 million up to the commencement of commercial production in the first quarter of 2021.  As at March 31, 2020, the Company had US$88.5 million of available liquidity.

Qualified Person

Amri Sinuhaji is the Technical Services Director – Mine Planning for the Company and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.  Mr. Sinuhaji is a Professional Engineer registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of British Columbia (#48305) and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.