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Fortuna Mining Corp. delivered record-breaking Q1 2026 results, headlined by $342 million in sales and $174 million in free cash flow. The company is executing a strategy to grow annual gold production by 60% to 500,000 ounces within 24 months, driven by the Seguela expansion and the Diamba Sud project. Operationally, Seguela outperformed its mine plan, and the Lindero mine in Argentina successfully completed major crusher maintenance, setting the stage for significantly lower costs in the second half of the year. A major strategic update involves the company's entry into the Guiana Shield, specifically Guyana and Suriname, while simultaneously scaling back operations in Mexico. With $816 million in liquidity and a 50% increase in mineral reserves, management expressed high confidence in funding its growth initiatives internally. Despite temporary AISC spikes at Lindero due to maintenance and inflation, the company maintains its full-year guidance. Financial strength also allowed for $40 million in year-to-date share repurchases, reflecting a commitment to shareholder returns alongside aggressive project development.

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Fortuna Mining Corp.: Divestiture-Driven Liquidity and Governance Conflicts in Asset Sales

Full Earnings Call Transcript — Q1 • 2026-05-07

Operator: Welcome to the Fortuna Mining Corp. Q1 2026 Financial and Operational Results call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Carlos Baca, Vice President of Investor Relations. You may begin.
Carlos Baca: Thank you, Holly. Good morning to all, and welcome to Fortuna Mining Corp.'s call to discuss our financial and operational results for 2026. Hosting today's call on behalf of Fortuna Mining Corp. are: Jorge Alberto Ganoza, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder; Luis Dario Ganoza, Chief Financial Officer; David Edward Whittle, Chief Operating Officer, West Africa; and Cesar E. Velasco, Chief Operating Officer, Latin America. Today's earnings call presentation is available on our website at fortunamining.com. Statements made during this call are subject to the reader advisories included in yesterday's news release, the webcast presentation, our Management Discussion and Analysis, and the risk factors outlined in our annual information form. All financial figures discussed today are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. Technical information presented has been reviewed and approved by Eric Chapman, Fortuna Mining Corp. Senior Vice President, Chemical Services, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. I will now turn the call over to Jorge Alberto Ganoza, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Co-Founder of Fortuna Mining Corp.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: Thank you, Carlos, and good morning, and thank you for joining us today. 2026 marked an exceptionally strong start to the year for Fortuna Mining Corp. We delivered strong operational and financial performance, and importantly, we achieved these results with zero recorded lost time injuries during the period. This extends our safety performance to five consecutive quarters free of lost time injuries. Financially, the quarter delivered record results across our key metrics. Sales reached a record $342 million, reflecting higher realized gold and silver prices. Adjusted net income was $111 million, or $0.36 per share, a quarterly record for the company. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $219 million, also a record. And free cash flow from ongoing operations reached $174 million, representing our strongest quarterly cash generation to date. These results underscore the quality of our asset base, disciplined operational execution, and strong leverage to the gold price environment. Operationally, this financial performance was supported by solid execution across our portfolio. We produced 72,900 gold equivalent ounces in the quarter, and based on performance year to date and current operating conditions, we remain well positioned to meet our full-year 2026 guidance. With that as context, let me step back and focus on the bigger story for Fortuna Mining Corp. We are working to deliver approximately 60% growth in annual gold production over the next 24 months, taking us to approximately 0.5 million ounces of annual gold production, by expanding our Seguela mine in Côte d’Ivoire and by bringing our Diamba Sud project in Senegal into production. The key message I want to emphasize is that we control this growth. This growth is driven by two projects already within our portfolio, not dependent on acquisitions or exploration success. Both Seguela and Diamba Sud are technically straightforward, benefit from strong social acceptance, and are financially de-risked. These are executable growth projects supported by our strong balance sheet and our operating track record in West Africa. And both demonstrate robust economics at long-term gold prices below $3,000 per ounce. As these projects advance over the next 24 months, we expect this growth to translate into meaningful increases in production and free cash flow per share while maintaining discipline in execution, costs, and capital allocation. Our growth plans are also underpinned by the recently published update to mineral reserves and mineral resources on April 23, which shows growth across all categories of resources and reserves. Proven and probable mineral reserves increased by 50% year over year after depletion, to 3 million gold ounces. Indicated mineral resources increased by 56% to 2.1 million gold ounces. And inferred mineral resources increased by 4% to 2.2 million gold ounces. This growth speaks to the mineral potential of our assets, and our potential not only to expand production, but also to support decade-plus mine lives across our operations. Looking ahead, there are several near-term milestones that we believe are important for investors to watch. Both the Diamba Sud feasibility study and the Seguela expansion study are expected to be completed in May, providing greater technical and economic visibility on our growth plans. In parallel, we are expecting environmental approval for Diamba Sud imminently, followed by the final mining permit shortly thereafter. All this as we continue to advance the Diamba Sud early works with a 2026 budget of $100 million. Our strong cash generation continues to strengthen the balance sheet. At quarter-end, we had approximately $816 million of total liquidity, including $493 million in net cash, positioning Fortuna Mining Corp. among the stronger balance sheets in our peer group. This financial strength allows us to comfortably fund approximately $330 million of total exploration, sustaining, and non-sustaining capital in 2026, entirely from internal cash flow. Of this $330 million figure, 56% is allocated to growth and exploration. At the same time, we are returning capital to shareholders. Year to date, we returned $40 million via the repurchase of 4.2 million shares. For the quarter, we repurchased $20 million, which represents 11% of our free cash flow from operations. Before handing over for more detailed operational commentary, I want to briefly address all-in sustaining cost in the first quarter: $2,107 per gold equivalent ounce. Of that amount, approximately $122 per ounce is attributable to external factors, primarily the impact of higher gold prices on royalties, and higher share-based compensation associated with our share price performance during the period. These factors are not reflective of underlying operating execution, which remains solid across the portfolio. With that, I will now turn the call over to David Edward Whittle for West Africa operations.
David Edward Whittle: Thank you, Jorge. Seguela delivered a successful first quarter, with strong production results and importantly zero LTIs reported. During the quarter, Seguela produced 42,016 ounces of gold, representing a 14% improvement over the previous quarter and finishing ahead of the mine plan. A total of 393,000 tonnes of ore were mined at an average gold grade of 3.69 grams per tonne, together with 5.46 million tonnes of additional material, resulting in a strip ratio of 13.9 to 1. The processing plant treated 430,000 tonnes of ore at an average gold grade of 3.21 grams per tonne, with throughput averaging 212 tonnes per hour. Production was sourced primarily from the Antenna, Fiery, and Koula pits, while waste mining progressed well at the Sunbird pit, positioning the operation for future ore contribution from that area. Seguela’s strong operating performance resulted in a cash cost of $679 per ounce and an all-in sustaining cost of $10.06176 million per ounce of gold. In terms of projects underway at Seguela, substantial progress was achieved in the first quarter. The 6-megawatt solar power plant project is nearing completion and is expected to be commissioned this quarter, with power sourced from the solar power plant providing approximately a 35% per-unit cost saving on power provided from the grid. In April, we announced a 34% increase in mineral reserves and a 55% increase in resources from the Sunbird deposit, based on drilling completed through to the end of the first quarter. This further enhances the Sunbird underground project and reinforces its importance as a future source of ore for Seguela. A joint permitting committee has been established with Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Mines with the goal of permitting the underground mine by 2026. Initial development is then targeted for 2027. We have also decided to develop and operate the Sunbird underground mine on an owner-operator basis, with an incremental increase in budgeted CapEx of $25 million to undertake this project. Orders for primary mining equipment are expected to be placed during the second quarter. Access to the underground mine will be established from the southern section of the Sunbird pit rather than through the originally contemplated dedicated boxcut excavation. This section of the Sunbird pit was not scheduled to be mined until 2027. While accelerating this mining has the effect of increasing Seguela’s forecast AISC towards the upper end of guidance, this decision provides a cost improvement of more than $7 million on the project by reducing underground development requirements and avoiding additional waste volumes associated with the boxcut option. Mining of the Sunbird South pit has now commenced. Studies for the proposed processing plant expansion continued throughout the first quarter. Lycopodium, which designed and constructed the current processing plant, presented several expansion options and is now progressing detailed studies on the selected option, which includes the addition of a ball mill as well as increased thickening, leaching, and gravity circuit capacity. The current primary crushing capacity is expected to be sufficient to support the planned throughput increase. Exploration drilling at Seguela is ongoing with additional drill rigs being mobilized to site, bringing the exploration drilling fleet to seven rigs. The drilling program is focused on further conversion and expansion of the Sunbird and Kingfisher resources, as well as testing below the southern extent of the Antenna pit and the newly discovered near-surface footwall opportunity. At the Diamba Sud early works, programs and exploration activities continue to advance successfully during the quarter. Approval of the ESIA is expected imminently, and the feasibility study remains on track for completion, including the first-time reporting of mineral reserves in support of the construction decision by mid-year. Thank you. Back to you, Jorge.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: Thank you, David. Now we will move on to Latin America. Cesar?
Cesar E. Velasco: Thank you, Jorge, and good morning, everyone. In the first quarter, our Latin American operations delivered a strong and stable performance, underpinned by disciplined execution, solid safety performance, and clear progress on key operational priorities. At Lindero in Argentina, the quarter was defined by strong operating delivery and the successful execution of a critical maintenance milestone, which positions the operation well for the rest of the year. We mined 1.7 million tonnes of ore at a favorable strip ratio of 1.35 to 1, and placed 1.5 million tonnes on the leach pad at an average head grade of 0.62 grams per tonne of gold, containing an estimated 30,538 ounces of gold, in line with our mine plan. As a result, gold production reached 21,545 ounces, representing a 12% increase compared to 2025. From an operational standpoint, the mine performed as expected with improving momentum. The most important development in the quarter was the completion of the primary crusher foundation replacement. I want to highlight three things: we delivered it on time, we stayed within budget, and we executed it with strong safety performance. Crucially, crushing operations resumed on May 1, as planned, and the plant returned immediately to stable operating conditions, supporting throughput going forward. Now turning to financial performance, Lindero delivered a very strong quarter financially, generating $101.5 million in sales, with a strong EBITDA margin of 69% of sales, increasing by 28% and 59.5%, respectively, compared to 2025, reflecting higher gold prices, strong cost discipline, and solid operational execution. On costs, we reported cash cost of $1,208 per ounce and an AISC of $1,783 per ounce. As expected, these costs were slightly affected primarily due to temporary and non-recurring factors such as equipment rentals and temporary crushing solutions associated with the primary crusher project, maintenance interventions, and macroeconomic pressures in Argentina, particularly high inflation and a stronger-than-expected peso, which increases dollar-denominated costs. However, these pressures were partially offset by higher production volumes, a lower stripping ratio, and ongoing operational efficiencies. Looking ahead, we expect a clear and steady cost reduction throughout the year as temporary measures are removed, capital work is completed, and efficiency gains are fully realized. As a result, we continue to expect AISC to move toward $1,300 per ounce by the fourth quarter. Finally, on growth, we continue to advance both near-mine and regional exploration. At Lindero, as previously indicated, we have initiated drilling below the current pit limits, targeting conversion of 400,000 ounces of inferred resources to higher confidence categories. These resources are located beyond the limits of the current final pit design. In parallel, we have multiple regional exploration programs underway, including Cerro Lindo, where activities started in March with camp construction completed and drilling now underway. During April, we also began the first phase of our 2026 drilling program at Alisaro. This 11,400-meter program is designed to test for deeper, fertile, intrusive centers and proximal magnetic anomalies, followed by resource expansion. And finally, as of today, exploration work has started at the Rio Negro properties in Southern Argentina. Surface mapping and sampling is underway. Drilling is planned for September after the winter break. Let me now turn to Caylloma in Peru. Caylloma continued to stand out as a very consistent and reliable operation, delivering predictable performance quarter after quarter. In the first quarter, mining and processing volumes were fully in line with plan, and we benefited from higher head grades, particularly in silver and base metals. This translated into higher silver production of 258,000 ounces, up 3.5% quarter over quarter, and strong and stable base metals output of 11.5 million pounds of zinc and 8.2 million pounds of lead. Mine production totaled 136,007 tonnes of ore in the first quarter, which continues to come from well-established mining zones from the Animas vein, Pumoid vein, and Ramal Carolina vein, which supports operational stability and predictability. From a financial perspective, Caylloma also delivered a strong quarter, generating sales of $34.6 million and maintaining a solid EBITDA margin of 62% of sales. This reflected the combination of higher realized metal prices and disciplined cost management. On costs, we reported cash cost of $30.26 per ounce and AISC of $44.36 per ounce of silver equivalent, similar to 2025. This was mainly explained by the increased impact of higher prices on the silver equivalent conversion, while production costs remained in line with plan for the quarter. The underlying operating cost base remains stable and well controlled. Finally, on exploration, the 2026 campaign commenced in February, targeting extensions to ore shoots three and four at the Animas zone where mineralization remains open. Thank you, and back to you, Jorge.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: Thank you. We will now go over the financial highlights with our CFO, Luis.
Luis Dario Ganoza: Yes, thank you. I will provide a brief review of our consolidated financials. Attributable net income, as highlighted by Jorge, for the quarter was $111 million, or $0.36 per share. That is up 64% versus the prior quarter and up 200% versus the prior year. Our strong performance was driven by record metal prices with cost per ounce in line with our full-year guidance. Our average realized gold price was $4,884 per ounce, compared with $4,166 per ounce in 2025, and $2,884 per ounce in 2025. Cash cost per gold equivalent ounce was $951, broadly consistent with the prior quarter and slightly above 2025. A brief comment on inflationary trends and indicators: we have not seen any material impact on our cost structure to date. In Q1, we saw higher input costs for certain materials, though not consistently across all regions. For fuels specifically, we have seen rising prices at our Peruvian operations, while in Argentina and in Côte d’Ivoire, we have not yet seen any meaningful pass through from higher oil prices. We will continue to monitor the situation. A few comments on the financial statements. General and administration expenses were $27.8 million, up $3.9 million year over year, primarily due to higher year-end bonuses and the timing of corporate and subsidiary expenses. We recorded a foreign exchange loss of $2.1 million, driven primarily by modest depreciation of the euro and the West African franc against the U.S. dollar from January through March, together with our net monetary asset position, including cash balances and VAT receivables. Our effective tax rate was 33% for the quarter, compared with 28% in 2025. The increase reflects an inflection point in our deferred tax position at Lindero in Argentina. In the current metal price environment, we are utilizing existing tax shields at a faster pace and transitioning from a deferred tax asset to a deferred tax liability position. As a result, we expect to begin recording deferred income tax expense for Lindero in 2026. This is an accounting charge only, as we do not expect to incur current income taxes in Argentina until 2027, with first cash tax payments likely in 2028. At the consolidated level, we expect the effective tax rate to step up in the remaining quarters of 2026 such that the full-year rate ends up in the high-30% range. This compares with roughly the 28% to 30% level we have reported over the past few quarters. Moving to our cash flow statement, we generated $174 million of free cash flow from ongoing operations, which excludes new development projects and growth initiatives. We also expect to pay approximately $140 million of taxes in 2026, with the majority paid in Q2 and Q3, about 50% in Q2 and 35% in Q3. As a result of this timing, and all else being equal, we should expect somewhat lower free cash flow over the next two quarters. In the investing section, additions to property, plant, and equipment were $45.3 million, including approximately $28 million of sustaining capital and $17 million of non-sustaining spend. The non-sustaining total included $8.8 million at the Diamba Sud project and $8.6 million in brownfields and greenfields exploration. Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with $665.9 million of cash, and net cash of $493 million after financial debt. Net cash increased by $111 million versus year-end, reflecting strong free cash flow from operations partially offset by $17.4 million of growth capital and $24.5 million of share buybacks. Total liquidity was $816 million including the full $150 million undrawn amount under our revolving credit facility. Thank you, and back to you, Jorge.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: Thank you. Carlos?
Carlos Baca: We would now like to open the call to questions. Holly, please go ahead.
Operator: Certainly. At this time, we will begin a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Your first question for today is from National Bank.
Analyst: Hi, Jorge and team. Thanks for taking my question. Maybe if I can start with Seguela. During the quarter, you reported cash cost around $678, which is below the guidance of $735 to $815. Would you be able to give us a little bit of color on what is leading to that cost out? Understanding that you produced 42,000 ounces, but is there any improvement in the unit mining cost or unit processing cost that you are seeing, and any commentary as well as impact on fuel in country would be very useful. Thank you.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: David, do you want to tackle the question?
David Edward Whittle: Yes, I can. There are probably three main drivers behind the cash cost for the first quarter. The first one, obviously, which you have already mentioned, is that we increased our gold output compared to previous quarters, moving to 42,000 ounces, so probably about a good 14% to 15% higher than previous quarters. The other drivers would be an accounting aspect. Depending on the schedule, the stripping is defaulting to the OpEx component or is part of the sustaining CapEx, which obviously does not form part of the cash cost per ounce. The third component is with regard to the scheduling within the mine plan. Stripping ratio within the quarter was 13.9, which was a little bit lower than our forecasted strip ratio for the year, which at the moment is scheduled to be a little bit over 16. So those are the three components: a simple accounting one in terms of which property the cost falls into, a lower strip ratio for the particular quarter, and then the additional ounces produced.
Analyst: Thank you. That is very helpful. And maybe on unit cost pressure in country, are you seeing anything on fuel or diesel side, or anything impacting your mining or processing cost?
David Edward Whittle: Not materially at this stage. We are starting to see some increases in grinding media, but nothing that is material. In terms of power costs, power costs are controlled by the Côte d’Ivoire government, and at this point in time, we have not been informed of any significant increases in gazetted power costs.
Analyst: Great, thank you. And maybe the second question on Diamba Sud. I know that the technical report for that is likely due or an update due by May. What is the status of the permit with the central government? Do you have any update on that?
David Edward Whittle: With regard to the permitting of Diamba Sud, the ESIA was submitted towards the end of last year. As we said in the commentary, we are expecting to receive the approval on that potentially within the next week or so, certainly very imminently. The exploitation permit we would expect to be in the middle of this year. So everything seems to be progressing pretty much in line with what we have outlined.
Analyst: Thank you. I will get back in queue.
Operator: Your next question is from Sternella.
Analyst: Thank you so much for taking my call. I had a question around the cash and acquisition mandate. Specifically, when you are evaluating a West Africa acquisition, particularly an asset with existing processing infrastructure that you might toll mill or integrate with Seguela, how deep does your operational technology due diligence go on the target control systems? Specifically, under the SEC 2023 cyber disclosure rules, any material incident at an acquisition asset becomes your disclosure obligation under Form 8-K within four business days of determining materiality. So here is the question: if you are buying someone else’s mill, their system, their plant control, and their operational network come with it. Have you built a formal cyber due diligence framework into your M&A process that specifically assesses whether a target has undisclosed incidents or legacy vulnerabilities in their operational and technology stack that could become your problem—your disclosure obligation—the moment the deal closes? Thank you.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: The short answer is no. We have not been looking at targets at that level of development. Our latest acquisitions have focused more on pre-development stage opportunities, like we have done with the acquisition of Chesser Resources, which brought the Diamba Sud project to our portfolio back in 2023. We have made other investments. For example, we expanded our presence to Guyana that was announced a few weeks ago through an option agreement to form a joint venture, but that is also at the pre-research stage. Our acquisition and M&A mandate right now is focused more on pre-development stage opportunities, and I would have to refer to my lawyer to answer your question in more detail.
Analyst: Thank you.
Operator: Your next question for today is from Eric Winmill with Scotiabank.
Eric Winmill: Jorge and team, thanks for taking my questions. Congrats on a good quarter. Maybe on Guyana, if you do not mind, just walking through a bit about what attracted you to the region. Do you see an opportunity potentially to accelerate your investments there, or maybe do more in-country in Guyana?
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: Hello, Eric. Absolutely. We have been monitoring the Guiana Shield in general for some time—over a year. It has been on our watch list. As you well know, the geologic setting is very familiar to what we have in West Africa. We have been monitoring and searching for opportunity, and this recently announced Quartz Stone option agreement, I believe, is a very exciting entry point into the Guiana Shield. I was in Guyana only a few weeks ago and had the opportunity to meet with the Director of Mines, the Secretary or Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the President of the country. There was a very consistent pro-business message from state authorities. Quartz Stone is, on its own, a very exciting opportunity. If we want to look at it from the proximology lens, it is roughly 30 to 35 kilometers away from where G2 has its exciting discovery, and we are in a very similar geologic setting—metasediments and metavolcanics against an intrusive through a big structure that hosts gold over a 26-kilometer stretch within the property. So lots of exciting geology there, and we have an exciting program there for us. Right now, we are very much focused not only on Quartz Stone, but also on expanding our presence in Guyana. We are looking at opportunities in Suriname as well. I would say those two places are where we find more opportunity and areas of focus for us right now.
Eric Winmill: Okay, fantastic. Thank you. Maybe just one more if you do not mind. You are now planning to access Sunbird Underground from the open pit instead of a boxcut. That is going to start probably next year. Is it fair to say you will be drilling from underground there starting next year, or what are some of the critical path items you are looking for in the development path in Sunbird Underground?
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: There was a bit of interference on the line, but I understand you are referring to exploration drilling and the start of underground development. Drilling will continue to take place from surface all through 2026 and very likely well into 2027. We are drilling deep holes right now. It would certainly be more efficient to drill from underground, but it will be some time until we can develop that infrastructure—probably late into 2027 is when we will be in a position like that. For now, we are enjoying a lot of success with our drilling at Sunbird Deep. We are planning the underground mining and will continue to pursue that over the next at least 18 months, perhaps 24, from surface.
Eric Winmill: Okay. That is helpful. I will hop back in the queue, but congrats again. Thanks.
Operator: Your next question for today is from Adrian Vincent Day with Adrian Day Asset Management.
Adrian Vincent Day: Good afternoon. How are you? A couple of general questions, if I may, and I will ask them together because they are connected. First, could you give us an overview of current exploration activities, particularly greenfields exploration—not the work at Seguela you have already talked about, but mostly greenfields? And how do you view greenfields exploration versus taking equity stakes in existing companies, because you have a couple of those you have done recently? And then that brings us to Guyana. In your minds, how do you view taking on an additional mine in an additional country—would you look at that as an opportunity to diversify your risk, or would you be more cautious on just adding one more country with its own needs and requirements? I am trying to see how you view all these different activities.
Jorge Alberto Ganoza: Good questions, and I will start from the end. On diversifying risk, we are quite clear that Fortuna Mining Corp. has a business model where we sometimes play in the frontier. For us, mining has always been a frontier business, and we are happy to play in the frontier. We are designed for that. Everybody here is experienced with that. What do we ask in exchange for taking the higher perceived geopolitical risk? We must be asking for something in exchange when we take on that higher perceived geopolitical risk, and what we ask in exchange is what we are enjoying right now in Senegal. Our time to cash flow is very short. As David pointed out during his intervention, we submitted our Environmental and Social Impact Assessment to the government in September, and we are expecting the approval of the environmental study imminently. So that is going to be seven to eight months to get full environmental and social approval from authorities to move ahead into construction. Those are the types of things we ask in exchange for that higher perceived geopolitical risk. We do not buy into the idea that there is unmanageable geopolitical risk. If you see the NAV of the company, it does not sit in one large asset. Our mines are not concentrated in one country. We have a good diversification of our mines and projects and, therefore, our NAV. It is not at risk in any one jurisdiction. That also brings managing the geographic dispersion. As you know, we are centered in West Africa and in Latin America, and we manage the business from hubs: West Africa is managed from Abidjan, where David Edward Whittle is our Chief Operating Officer looking after the business there, and in LATAM from the Lima office, where Cesar E. Velasco looks after the business. We believe we can provide efficient cover to the regions from these management hubs and manage the complexities and demands of the different jurisdictions. With respect to Guyana, just some facts about doing business there: once you are granted an exploration license, the drilling permits come already granted with that. There is no additional permitting required to carry on with exploration. Again, it is a new jurisdiction; it is not necessarily a proven mining jurisdiction, but it offers tremendous opportunities not only on geologic endowment but also on ease of doing business. We will likely be reducing dramatically our presence in Mexico. We are not seeing a significant change in business climate in Mexico, and our work to date has not yielded anything that meets our investment criteria. You will likely see us transferring resources from what we have been doing in Mexico into the Guiana Shield—basically Guyana and Suriname right now. Quartz Stone is a good anchor for our project, and we would certainly look to expand our presence with new opportunities in those two countries for now. On greenfields versus equity stakes, we do not have a set budget to make equity investments. Our assessment of equity investments is more by appointment. If there is geology we like, and a team we like—that is very important. We spend a lot of time not only knowing the geology but also the people behind the programs. We would be willing to make an equity investment, just like we did with Awalé in Côte d’Ivoire. We are the largest shareholder of Awalé Resources; we own 15% of the company, and Awalé has a very exciting discovery and continues expanding in geology that is of a lot of interest to us. Our greenfields are focused within the regions. We are active in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Senegal; we are retreating from Mexico and moving resources into Guyana; and we are active in Argentina and always looking for opportunities in Peru. We will make investments more by appointment rather than as a specific strategy and budget to make equity investments.
Operator: As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press 1. Once again, if there are any questions or comments, please press 1. We have reached the end of the question and answer session, and I will now turn the call over to Carlos for closing remarks.
Carlos Baca: Thank you, Holly. If there are no further questions, I would like to thank everyone for joining us today. We appreciate your continued support and interest in Fortuna Mining Corp. Have a great day.
Operator: This concludes today’s conference, and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.