Faraday Copper to acquire Arizona copper project from BHP
Faraday Copper Corp. [FDY-TSX, CPPKF-OTCQX] has signed a definitive deal to acquire BHP Group Limited [BHP-NYSE, BHPLF-OTCPK] San Manuel property in Arizona, a move that creates a multi-asset copper district in the United States.
“This is a transformational acquisition for Faraday,’’ said Faraday President and CEO Paul Harbidge. “Combining San Manuel with our [adjacent] Copper Creek project, with the support of the Lundin Group and BHP as strategic shareholders, positions us well to become one of the largest undeveloped copper districts in the U.S., with a path to development and near-term production.’’
Faraday Copper shares rose 3.00% or $0.18 to $6.17 in early trading Thursday. The shares currently trade in a 52-week range of $6.69 and 88 cents.
Faraday is a well-funded Canadian exploration company with a focus on its Copper Creek project, which it describes as one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk mining potential.
The property is located in Pinal County less than two hours northeast of Tucson, and in the heart of a major northwest-trending belt, which includes well-known copper mines in the Miami-Globe and Ray mining districts, with a major east-northeast trending copper belt made evident by the former BHP Kalamazoo mine in San Manuel, Arizona.
The exploration site covers 41 square kilometres and has a rich history of exploration and mining across patented and unpatented claims. Copper Creek hosts multiple breccia porphyry copper deposits. Two historic copper and molybdenum mineral resource estimates were prepared in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM) standards, identifying the economic potential for both open pit and underground scenarios.
Total measured and indicated resources (open pit and underground) stand at 355.1 million tonnes of grade 0.50% copper and 0.008% molybdenum and 1.3 g/t silver or 0.53% Copper equivalent (CuEq) or 4,126.3 (Mlbs) CuEq).
Under the definitive agreement, Faraday will acquire 100% of the San Manual property. In return, Faraday will issue to BHP common shares equal to the equivalent of 30% of the issued and outstanding shares of Faraday on a fully diluted basis at the date of closing. Including shares issued to BHP from its participation in a $100 million private placement in March 2026, BHP is expected to hold 138 million shares on closing. In addition, BHP would be granted customary investor rights provided it maintains a minimum shareholding requirement. Closing of the proposed transaction is subject to a vote by a simple majority of votes cast by Faraday shareholders at a meeting in August, 2026 and is expected by the end of the third quarter of 2026.
In a project overview, Faraday said the San Manuel Mine, consists of the San Manuel and Kalamazoo deposits, which operated as a combined underground block cave and open pit mine, generating over 4.5 million tonnes of copper between 1955 and 1999.
The combined project would have the potential to become a multi-generational copper district delivering made-in-America copper, Faraday has said
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