Candente Resource Corp., a Canadian metals exploration company, will likely seek a partner for its Canariaco copper mine in Peru as larger-than-estimated reserves increase capital requirements for the project, Chief Executive Officer Joanne Freeze said.

    Vancouver-based Candente, whose Canariaco mine may contain as much as 750 million tons of ore, compared with earlier estimates of 489 million tons, has already been contacted by commodity producers interested in participating in the project, Freeze said in a phone interview. The mine may produce as much as 75,000 tons of ore a day, she said.

    ``At 75,000 tons a day, more likely we would need a partner,'' Freeze said. ``Based on value of the project, the size the operation should be for the best economics of the project and what's going on with capital markets, we're more keen on talking to people about having a partner.''

    Candente fell 3.9 percent to 50 cents in Peru trading. Candente has tumbled 73 percent this year.

    The company expects a preliminary study to be completed by October, at which time estimates for the cost of the mine will be determined, Freeze said. The project may require more than $1 billion in investments to produce 75,000 tons a day, Freeze said.

    Estimates given in 2007 of $200 million in capital expenditures were based on so-called heap leaching, which isn't as efficient, Freeze said.

    Candente has no timeline for when production will begin at the Canariaco mine. Setting up production capacity for 75,000 tons a day may take as long as four years, Freeze said.

    The drop in copper prices this year likely won't deter Candente from going ahead with the project, she said.

    ``Most projects comparable to ours need an average price of $1.75'' a pound for copper, Freeze said. ``So is $3 copper scary? No.''

    Copper futures for December delivery fell 1.5 percent to $3.0424 a pound in New York. The metal has dropped 4.7 percent this week.