Faraday Copper (TSX:FDY) expects to start 24,000m of drilling at the San Manuel Project in Arizona, US, within days, following the closure of its acquisition of the San Manuel Project from a BHP (ASX:BHP) subsidiary.
San Manuel adjoins the company’s Copper Creek Project in Pinal County, approximately 100km northeast of Tucson. Together, the assets form the Redhawk Copper Complex, which holds about 14,164 hectares of private land.
BHP received approximately 131.6 million Faraday shares as consideration. It now holds around 138 million shares, representing approximately 32% of the company on a non-diluted basis.
BHP executives Elaina Ware and Dominic Perrottet have also joined the Faraday board.
Faraday reports drill crews and rigs are already onsite, ahead of the start of the campaign.
The program aims to confirm historical estimates at the San Manuel and Kalamazoo deposits, as well as collect multi-element and mineralogical data, alongside metallurgical and geotechnical samples.
Faraday notes that the historical estimates are not compliant with National Instrument 43-101 and are not treated as current mineral resource estimates (MRE).
San Manuel previously operated as a combined underground block cave and open-pit mine, producing more than 4.2 million tonnes of copper between 1955 and 1999.
CEO Paul Harbidge says the company is ‘excited’ to commence drilling at San Manuel and Kalamazoo.
“This is just the beginning of Faraday’s next stage of growth, as we embark on delivering key milestones over the coming months and years, aimed to deliver a multi-decade source of domestic copper,” Harbridge says.
The company expects MREs for both projects by mid-2027, followed by a phase one Prefeasibility Study focused on copper cathode and open-pit sulphide production in 2028.
Faraday Copper is a Canadian developer focused on advancing its flagship copper project in Arizona, the Redhawk Copper Complex.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Faraday Copper
