Fortuna Mining Establishes Strategic Presence in Guyana Shield Through Quartzstone Earn-In Agreement
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Fortuna Mining Corp., a prominent mining company listed on the NYSE and TSX under symbols FSM and FVI respectively, has officially announced a significant strategic expansion into the mineral-rich Guyana Shield region. The company has entered into a comprehensive earn-in agreement with Qstone Inc., a privately held Guyanese corporation, which grants Fortuna the opportunity to earn up to a substantial 70% interest in the highly prospective Quartzstone Project.
A Major Land Package in a Prolific Gold Belt
The Quartzstone Project encompasses an extensive land package totaling 29,600 hectares, strategically situated within the greenstone belt of north central Guyana. This region is renowned for its geological potential and has a well-documented history of significant gold discoveries, making it an attractive target for systematic exploration and development.
Jorge A. Ganoza, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fortuna Mining, expressed considerable enthusiasm about this strategic move. "We are thrilled to establish a meaningful presence in the Guyana Shield, an area recognized globally for its high prospectivity and strong track record of gold discoveries," stated Mr. Ganoza. "The Quartzstone Project is particularly compelling. Historical drilling campaigns have already identified multiple high-grade zones of near-surface gold mineralization. Located within a prolific exploration camp, this transaction provides Fortuna with a carefully staged pathway to unlock the project's considerable potential through methodical exploration and targeted drilling programs."
Historical Drilling Reveals High-Grade Gold Mineralization
Between 2010 and 2017, an extensive historical drilling program was conducted on the property, involving a total of 183 diamond core drill holes that comprised 23,190 meters of drilling. This work was concentrated along a five-kilometer corridor and successfully identified multiple zones of high-grade, near-surface gold mineralization. Notable drill highlights from this campaign include:
- DQS-016: 27.78 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold over 5.6 meters from 23.0 meters depth, including higher-grade intervals of 41.10 g/t Au over 1.1 meters and 89.90 g/t Au over 1.0 meter.
- DQS-043: 4.31 g/t Au over 12.7 meters from 42.7 meters, with included intervals of 15.58 g/t Au over 1.6 meters and 12.45 g/t Au over 1.3 meters.
- DQS-052: 12.65 g/t Au over 4.0 meters from 51.6 meters depth.
- DQS-057: 15.93 g/t Au over 13.2 meters from 92.2 meters, including exceptional grades of 74.72 g/t Au and 81.96 g/t Au over 1.0-meter intervals.
- DQS-070: 10.13 g/t Au over 5.0 meters from 105 meters, with higher-grade sections of 19.33 g/t Au and 16.63 g/t Au.
- DQS-071: 10.82 g/t Au over 6.7 meters from 89.2 meters, including 37.84 g/t Au over 0.8 meters.
- DQS-088: 9.91 g/t Au over 13.1 meters from 242.7 meters, including a high-grade intercept of 101.58 g/t Au over 1.0 meter.
These results underscore the project's potential for hosting significant gold deposits, with mineralization remaining open along strike and at depth.
Geological Setting and Exploration Potential
The Quartzstone Project is located approximately 120 kilometers west of Georgetown, Guyana's capital, and about 35 kilometers northwest of G Mining's Oko West project. The property hosts a classic orogenic gold system situated along the contact between a granitoid complex and Lower Proterozoic greenstone rocks within the geologically fertile Guyana Shield.
Local geology is characterized by granitoids, metavolcanic, and metasedimentary rocks, which are intersected by a major west-dipping, north-south striking thrust and shear zone that extends for over 26 kilometers. Gold mineralization is primarily hosted within quartz-tourmaline-carbonate veins and breccias, concentrated in a high-strain corridor up to 100 meters wide along the principal north-south shear zone and associated northeast-trending structural features.
Critically, drilling activities to date have tested only approximately 5 kilometers of the total 26-kilometer shear zone within the concession area. Furthermore, several untested geochemical anomalies have been identified along northeast-southwest trending cross-structures. These areas represent high-priority targets that will be systematically investigated and prioritized in Fortuna's forthcoming exploration program, offering substantial potential for new discoveries and resource expansion.
This earn-in agreement marks a pivotal step for Fortuna Mining as it strategically diversifies its portfolio and gains a foothold in one of South America's most promising and underexplored gold districts.
