Operated by Fortuna Silver Mines, Inc. the Lindero Project, located in Salta province, has Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 82.5 Mt containing 1.7 Moz of gold, in addition to Inferred Resources of 46.5 Mt containing 0.6 Moz of gold as detailed in the 2016 Feasibility Study.
Fortuna continues to conduct tradeoff metallurgical tests and detailed engineering revisions to optimize the 2016 Feasibility Study to assist a construction decision in the third quarter of 2017. Initial results for the various components of the optimization are expected to be released in March 2017.
The 2017 Brownfields exploration budget at Lindero is US$450,000 which includes investigating the economic potential of the Arizaro gold-copper porphyry target that lies within the concession block. The work program includes surface mapping, re-logging of approximately 8,000 meters of core and preliminary metallurgical tests.