Australia’s Fortescue ups stake in Candente Copper

Australian iron-ore major Fortescue Metals has made another C$1.38-million investment in TSX-listed Candente Copper, upping its interest to 19.92%.

Through wholly owned subsidiary Nascent Exploration, Fortescue has subscribed for 27.5-million at C$0.05 apiece in Candente, which owns a large-scale openpit copper project, in Peru.

In addition to Fortescue’s extensive iron-ore deposits in Western Australia, the major’s recent Australian exploration activity has focused on early stage target generation for copper/gold. The company is simultaneously targeting exploration in prospective areas of South America, including Peru.