Candente Copper Corp. (TSX:DNT) (BVL:DNT) is pleased to announce that it has closed the previously announced private placement with Nascent Exploration Pty. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. raising $4,000,000.

Giulio T. Bonifacio, Executive Chair of Candente Copper, commented: “We are very pleased to announce the closing of a premium to market financing which will now provide working capital to further advance the Cañariaco project, inclusive of community engagement and permits to drill several high-priority targets in 2023. The private placement which was approved by over 92 per cent of our shareholders is a further endorsement by Fortescue of the Cañariaco copper project, one of the top 10 undeveloped copper resources in the world”.

The Company issued 22,222,222 common shares of the Company to Fortescue at price of $0.18 per Share, reflecting a premium of 26 per cent to the five-day volume-weighted average price of the Company’s shares ending the trading day before the subscription agreement was executed. The Shares issued in the Private Placement are subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws ending on June 3, 2023.

Private Placement proceeds of $3,000,000 will be used for further development of the Company’s advanced-stage Cañariaco copper project. The remainder of the Private Placement of $1,000,000 will be used to repay the principal amount of the loan advanced by Fortescue to the Company (the “Fortescue Loan”), as announced in the Company’s press release dated September 22, 2022. In connection with the Private Placement, Fortescue waived the payment of any interest accruing on the Fortescue Loan.

The Private Placement remains subject to the final approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

About Candente Copper

Candente Copper is focused on the development of its 100-per-cent owned Cañariaco advanced staged copper project. Cañariaco comprises 90 square kilometers of highly prospective land located 150 kilometers northeast of the City of Chiclayo, Peru, which include the Cañariaco Norte deposit, Cañariaco Sur deposit and Quebrada Verde prospect, all within a 4km NE-SW trend in northern Peru’s prolific mining district. Cañariaco is one of the largest copper deposits in the Americas not held by a major.

The Company’s Preliminary Economic Assessment delivered March 15, 2022, highlights that the Cañariaco Norte deposit has a measured and indicated resource containing 9.3 billion pounds; 2.1 million ounces of gold and 59.4 million ounces of silver within 1.09 billion tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.42% and a further 2.7 billion pounds of copper; 540,000 ounces of gold and 18.1 million ounces of silver within 411 tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.32%. The PEA also highlights that the Cañariaco Sur deposit has an inferred resource containing 2.2 billion pounds of copper; 1.2 million ounces gold; 15 million ounces of silver and 18.9 million pounds of Moly within 385 million tonnes with a copper equivalent grade of 0.26%.

Please refer to the technical report dated February 8, 2022, with an effective date of March 15, 2022 and titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report on Preliminary Economic Assessment,” prepared by Ausenco.

Joanne Freeze, P.Geo., President, CEO and Director is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the projects discussed above. She has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.