Fortescue lifts its stake in Canada’s Candente Copper

Fortescue Metals Group has lifted its stake in Canadian explorer Candente Copper, doubling its stake to almost 20 per cent.

Nick Evans

less than 2 min read

8:10PMMay 24, 2020

Fortescue Metals Group has lifted its stake in Canadian explorer Candente Copper, doubling its stake to almost 20 per cent as it looks to expand its footprint in South American copper exploration.

Candente told the Toronto exchange late on Friday Fortescue had chipped in another $C1.4m ($1.5m) through a private placement, cementing its position in the explorer through the right to maintain its stake through future capital raisings, or participate in debt issues.

The Canadian company is exploring what it claims is a large copper-gold porphyry system in Peru, about 700km northwest of the Peruvian capital of Lima.

In 2011 it delivered a pre-feasibility report on the project, previously drilled by both Placer Dome and Billiton exploration, but has struggled to make headway on the massive copper and gold project since.

Under the new deal, Fortescue will send two of its own engineers to a technical committee to work with Candente on further feasibility studies, and could also appoint a director to the TSX-listed company.

The move extends Fortescue’s interest in both Candente and South American copper exploration.

Fortescue has its own copper exploration projects in Ecuador and said last year it was looking for both copper and lithium projects in Argentina.

Fortescue chief executive Elizabeth Gaines said the investment “complemented” the company’s other South American interests.

Nick EvansResource Writer

Nick Evans has covered the Australian resources sector since the early days of the mining boom in the late 2000s. He joined The Australian's business team from The West Australian newspaper's Canberra bureau, where he covered the defence industry, foreign affairs and national security for two years. Prior to that Nick was The West's chief mining reporter through the height of the boom and the slowdown that followed.