Commissioned in 2023, Séguéla is one of the latest gold mines to begin production in Côte d'Ivoire, following Lafigué in 2024. Three years after this milestone, its operator, Fortuna Mining, is still examining options to increase its production to more than 200,000 ounces by 2028. In Côte d'Ivoire, the Séguéla gold mine produced 33,744 ounces of gold in the third quarter of 2026, a level significantly lower than those recorded in previous quarters. Announced on Wednesday, October 7, this result is explained by Fortuna Mining, its Canadian operator, as being due to a difficult operational context observed in recent months at the site. The company, however, estimates that the mine remains on track to achieve its annual production target. Fortuna Mining lists in its statement several challenges that have contributed to reducing the extraction volumes and delaying access to high-grade ore during the period under review. These include notably reduced equipment availability from one of its subcontractors, as well as a temporary shutdown of the entire site caused by a blockade carried out by artisanal miners operating within its perimeter. Although the extraction rate later returned "to the levels planned in September" thanks to corrective measures, these disruptions did not prevent the decline in production, after 42,016 ounces and 41,683 ounces of gold respectively in the first and second quarters. Séguéla thus shows a total of 117,443 ounces of gold for the first nine months of the year, with an annual forecast between 160,000 and 170,000 ounces. Reaching this range would allow it to surpass the approximately 152,426 ounces recorded in 2025. "Gold production should return to the level of the first half of 2026 in the fourth quarter, thanks to the normalization of extraction volumes and the improvement in access to higher-grade ores," explains Fortuna Mining. The performance of the coming months will therefore be decisive in assessing the production level the mine will ultimately reach this year. Beyond these prospects, Fortuna Mining is also working in parallel on strengthening the processing capacity of the plant, with the goal of increasing Séguéla's annual production to more than 200,000 ounces starting in the second half of 2028. The project, funded with a budget of 109 million dollars, is set in a context of historically high gold prices in recent years.