10:56 AM EDT, 08/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Fortuna Mining ( FSM ) was lower Monday after it reported the latest drilling results from the Kingfisher and Sunbird deposits at the Seguela Mine in Cote d'Ivoire.

Highlights include 4.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 37.4 meters at Kingfisher and 11.2 g/t gold over 5.6 meters at Sunbird. Mineralization remains open at depth and along strike, Fortuna said.

"Exploration has now turned to further extending the strike and depth at Kingfisher," said Paul Weedon, Fortuna's senior vice president of exploration. "Deep exploration drilling testing the southern extent of Sunbird has continued to return excellent results while upgrading the geological confidence and expanding the mineralized envelope."

Meanwhile, Fortuna has maintained its Sector Perform rating and C$10.50 price target at National Bank. The price target was based on 3.5x EV/EBITDA NTM.

National Bank said the results "support the potential for resource growth and improved geological confidence, with mineralization remaining open at depth and along strike". It added both deposits are expected to support mine life extensions at Seguela. The bank said results at Kingfisher highlights "positive scale" with wide and rich intercepts such as 37m at 4.5g/t that could ultimately benefit mining costs at the open pit and continuous potential at depth with mineralization intersected from 362m at depth. At Sunbird, National Bank added, the high grade intercepts from 420m and below highlight the emergence of a second high grade shoot extending near 800m down plunge from the bottom of the currently defined pit.

National Bank expects an improvement of the growth profile via organic or inorganic opportunities to be a catalyst for re-rate. Its near-term focus remains on the advancement of the Kingfisher and Sunbird deposits at Seguela, where drilling is targeting resource extensions and upgrades, and on the progress of Diamba Sud toward a PEA in Q4/25 and a feasibility study in 2026 prior to a construction decision. "The results today are a positive for the company's organic growth objectives," it added.

Fortuna traded 3% lower at last look to near $9.80 on the TSX.

Price: 9.79, Change: -0.29, Percent Change: -2.88