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Fortuna Mining’s Diamba Sud Gold Challenge in Senegal has secured a 14MW captive energy plant from Wärtsilä, marking one other vital infrastructure dedication because the Canadian miner advances one in all West Africa’s rising gold developments in the direction of a focused first gold pour in 2028.
Know-how group Wärtsilä will provide 5 Wärtsilä 32 engine producing units for the mission, which is positioned in a distant space of southeastern Senegal and can rely by itself energy infrastructure for mining and processing operations.
The order was positioned by Africa Energy Companies (APS), the engineering, procurement and development contractor for the facility plant, on behalf of Fortuna Mining. Wärtsilä booked the contract in its second-quarter 2026 order consumption.
Tools is scheduled for supply in March 2027, with the facility plant anticipated to turn out to be operational earlier than the top of that yr.
The contract comes as Fortuna strikes Diamba Sud from feasibility research and early works in the direction of full-scale mine growth, with the corporate concentrating on its first gold pour earlier than the top of the second quarter of 2028.
Important energy infrastructure for an off-grid gold mine
Dependable electrical energy is especially essential for distant mining operations, the place an interruption to energy provide can have an effect on processing, manufacturing schedules and working prices.
Due to Diamba Sud’s location, the mine is anticipated to depend on the captive plant for its electrical energy necessities relatively than relying on typical grid provide.
In line with Wärtsilä, utilizing a number of smaller engine producing units as a substitute of a single massive unit will allow the plant to regulate extra carefully to fluctuations in electrical energy demand. The configuration can also be supposed to supply the operational flexibility required to combine intermittent renewable vitality sources sooner or later.
Fortuna Mining has indicated that renewable technology might subsequently be launched into the Diamba Sud microgrid.
Cedric Fernandez, Managing Director at Africa Energy Companies, stated dependable energy is important for a distant mine as a result of unscheduled downtime creates each operational and monetary dangers.
“Working a distant, off-grid mine requires dependable energy, as any unscheduled downtime carries monetary and operational dangers. Wärtsilä’s engines ship the continual efficiency required for such demanding situations.”
Wärtsilä’s scope of provide additionally consists of primary engineering, engine-specific auxiliary items and the engine management and monitoring system. The corporate will present advisory help throughout set up and commissioning.
The facility station represents greater than an ancillary element of the event. Fortuna has recognized energy infrastructure among the many vital packages required to take care of the Diamba Sud development schedule.
Diamba Sud is an almost $400 million gold growth
The facility contract types a part of a a lot bigger funding programme at Diamba Sud.
Fortuna Mining’s June 2026 feasibility examine estimated preliminary capital expenditure of roughly $398 million for the mission.
The examine envisages a standard open-pit mining operation supplying a carbon-in-leach processing facility over an estimated 9.4-year mine life.
Primarily based on the feasibility-study assumptions, Diamba Sud is anticipated to provide roughly 1.05 million ounces of gold throughout its working life.
Common annual manufacturing is estimated at roughly 116,000 ounces, with manufacturing anticipated to be considerably larger in the course of the early years of the mine. Fortuna forecasts common annual manufacturing of round 158,000 ounces in the course of the first 4 years.
Possible mineral reserves have been estimated at roughly 20.5 million tonnes grading 1.75 grams of gold per tonne, containing round 1.15 million ounces of gold.
Utilizing an assumed gold value of $3,500 per ounce, Fortuna’s feasibility examine calculated an after-tax web current worth at a 5% low cost fee of roughly $1.01 billion and an inside fee of return of about 60%.
These figures are mission estimates relatively than assured future monetary outcomes. Precise efficiency will rely upon elements together with gold costs, development execution, working bills, financing, regulatory approvals and geological situations.
Early works are already advancing in Senegal
Fortuna has authorized an roughly $73 million early-works programme for Diamba Sud as it really works to scale back development schedule threat and safe long-lead tools.
Improvement actions have included work on entry infrastructure, lodging, places of work and different amenities wanted to help the development and pre-production workforce.
The corporate has additionally been progressing procurement of key tools and contracts required forward of the principle development part.
Diamba Sud obtained its Environmental and Social Impression Evaluation Certificates of Conformity in June 2026, whereas Fortuna has additionally been advancing the exploitation-permit course of.
The mission timetable envisages development progressing via 2027 and into 2028, with the primary gold pour focused earlier than the top of the second quarter of 2028.
Renewables could possibly be built-in into the mine’s microgrid
The Wärtsilä energy plant additionally highlights a broader subject going through mining firms throughout Africa: find out how to present reliable electrical energy to distant industrial operations whereas making a pathway in the direction of lower-carbon vitality techniques.
For Diamba Sud, the preliminary engine-based producing system is meant to supply steady and dispatchable electrical energy. Its versatile configuration ought to enable further renewable technology to be included later with out sacrificing the reliability required by a big mining operation.
Wärtsilä says its engines can reply quickly to adjustments in load and due to this fact assist stability variable technology from sources equivalent to photo voltaic or wind.
Marc Thiriet, Vitality Enterprise Director for Africa at Wärtsilä Vitality, stated mining firms more and more face strain to take care of most operational availability whereas concurrently getting ready for decarbonisation.
“Mining operations are beneath twin strain to take care of most uptime whereas actively charting a path towards decarbonisation.”
For Fortuna, the strategy doubtlessly creates a staged vitality technique: set up reliable captive technology first after which incorporate renewable capability because the mine develops.
Nonetheless, no last renewable capability, funding worth or timetable for the renewable element has but been introduced.
A strategic gold mission in West Africa
Diamba Sud is positioned in Senegal’s Kédougou Area, roughly 665 kilometres southeast of Dakar and comparatively near the nation’s borders with Mali and Guinea.
The mission lies throughout the Kéniéba-Kédougou geological inlier, a part of a significant West African gold-producing area extending throughout japanese Senegal and western Mali.
Fortuna acquired Diamba Sud via its acquisition of Chesser Assets in 2023 and has subsequently accelerated exploration, technical research and growth planning.
The mission has turn out to be one of many Canadian miner’s principal development property.
Fortuna at the moment operates mines and holds exploration and growth property throughout a number of jurisdictions, together with Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Argentina, Peru, Guyana and Senegal.
Diamba Sud is anticipated to play an more and more essential function within the firm’s manufacturing portfolio because it strikes into operation.
Fortuna has beforehand indicated that growth of Diamba Sud, alongside development initiatives at its Séguéla operation in Côte d’Ivoire, might assist carry the corporate’s annual gold manufacturing fee above 500,000 ounces by 2028.
Energy procurement reduces a key growth threat
Securing power-generation tools greater than a yr earlier than the focused first gold pour reduces one of many main infrastructure dangers related to creating a distant mining operation.
Giant producing techniques and related tools can have lengthy manufacturing and supply schedules, making early procurement vital to retaining mine-development programmes on monitor.
For Diamba Sud, the Wärtsilä contract due to this fact represents one other step within the transition from feasibility examine to bodily mine development.
It additionally illustrates the dimensions of infrastructure funding required alongside mine growth in elements of Africa the place massive industrial tasks can not assume ample grid capability will probably be out there.
Mining firms more and more have to mix mineral growth with funding in their very own electrical energy, roads, water techniques, communications and workforce infrastructure.
On the similar time, vitality design is turning into extra carefully linked to decarbonisation methods, with hybrid energy techniques combining typical technology, solar energy, battery storage and different applied sciences turning into more and more related to distant African mining operations.
Africa Energy Companies says it has put in greater than 500MW of producing capability in Africa, together with 266MW of hybrid energy vegetation incorporating photovoltaic technology and battery vitality storage techniques.
That have might turn out to be more and more essential if Fortuna proceeds with the deliberate renewable element of the Diamba Sud microgrid.
Diamba Sud strikes nearer to manufacturing
The arrival of Wärtsilä’s producing tools in 2027 will come throughout a vital part of the Diamba Sud growth schedule.
If Fortuna’s timetable is maintained, commissioning of the facility facility will precede the focused first gold manufacturing in 2028 and supply the mine with the vitality infrastructure required for processing and different operations.
The mission nonetheless faces the traditional dangers related to creating a brand new mine, together with development execution, commodity costs, allowing and working prices.
However, the award of main infrastructure contracts signifies that Diamba Sud is transferring past exploration and feasibility work in the direction of the development of an working gold mine.
For Senegal, the event provides one other substantial mission to the nation’s mining sector and reinforces the significance of the Kédougou area throughout the wider West African gold trade.
For Fortuna, securing the facility plant supplies a vital piece of infrastructure for one of many firm’s most essential development tasks — whereas retaining the potential for integrating renewable technology as Diamba Sud strikes from development into long-term operation.
Sources and Data
Picture credit score: © Wärtsilä Company
