PERTH, March 11, 2026, 06:31 AWST
Fortescue Ltd has wrapped up its takeover of Alta Copper, giving it 100% ownership of the Peru-based copper firm and the Cañariaco project as it intensifies its copper push. On Tuesday, the Australian miner said Nascent Exploration, its subsidiary, acquired the remaining shares. 1
The move ramps up Fortescue’s transition from just iron ore, steering further into the copper sector—a key material for electric vehicles, power networks, and other green tech. Now, Fortescue sits more directly alongside BHP and Rio Tinto, both of which have been upping their copper bets, especially after Fortescue scaled back some of its global hydrogen efforts last year. 2
Alta and Nascent confirmed holders got C$1.40 per share in cash, putting equity value at roughly C$139 million. Before the deal closed, Fortescue owned about 35.7% of Alta. Now, Alta shares are expected to come off the Toronto exchange and will also be pulled from trading in Lima and on OTCQX. Reuters noted back in December that the Cañariaco project in northern Peru holds a reported mineral resource of 1.1 billion metric tons. 3
The copper rally followed Fortescue’s announcement that it has started construction on the 440-megawatt Solomon Airport solar farm in the Pilbara—a project the company touts as Western Australia’s future largest solar installation. According to the miner, that new capacity should cover roughly a third of the solar energy needed for its “Real Zero” initiative, which aims to wipe out direct and purchased-power emissions from its local iron ore business by 2030, all without offsets. “Across the Pilbara, we’re using the region’s sun and wind to generate green power for our sites,” said Metals and Operations CEO Dino Otranto, who noted that each new solar project is coming together with greater efficiency. 4
That’s a key factor in Fortescue’s immediate calculations. Back in January, Reuters quoted Otranto pointing to renewables and AI-powered rail scheduling as levers to trim expenses, even as the company continues sending iron ore to its mainstay customer, China. On the company’s February results call, Otranto estimated renewables could knock $2 to $4 per ton off iron ore costs by 2030.
The Alta acquisition won’t deliver new copper anytime soon. Last month, Reuters noted that Fortescue’s Peru copper project, along with the Belinga iron ore site in Gabon, aren’t projected to start producing until sometime next decade. 5
Fortescue’s top brass have steered clear of jumping the gun on Peru. Back in February, Growth and Energy CEO Agustin Pichot called it “too premature” to talk about any progress at Cañariaco. Exploration chief Nick Nitschke, meanwhile, flagged that the first step will be “securing community and social access” before the company moves ahead with its own study phase. 6
In February, Fortescue reported first-half profit up 23% to $1.91 billion, driven by record iron ore shipments and stronger realised prices. The world’s number four iron ore producer is channeling cash from its Pilbara operations into two big initiatives: copper development in Peru and a major renewables expansion in Australia. 5
