This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Faraday Copper. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
Faraday Copper (TSX:FDY) has evolved from a junior explorer with a broad vision of supporting electrification with North American copper into a company advancing one of the largest copper projects in the US today.
The company announced a non-binding letter of intent in February 2026 with one of BHP Group’s (ASX:BHP) wholly owned subsidiaries for the acquisition of the San Manuel property, which is adjacent to Faraday’s Copper Creek project, creating one of the largest undeveloped copper districts in the US to deliver ‘made-in-America’ copper.
With the company’s share price up more than 500% over the past year, and a massive C$100 million ($102 million) private placement completed in March 2026, Faraday is advancing exploration at the wholly owned Copper Creek Project with plans to push the project through development and into production.
C$100 million placement secures long-term backing from industry heavyweights
As previously reported in Mining.com.au, in March 2026, Faraday raised C$100 million through a non-brokered private placement with strong backing by both the Lundin Family Trust and BHP.
The Lundin Family Trust, part of the Lundin Group (TSX:LUN), now holds an approximately 18% stake in the company and has been a long-term partner, providing capital as well as technical and ESG optimisation expertise.
BHP is the other main strategic investor and has come in on the back of Faraday’s planned acquisition of the San Manuel Project in Arizona, US, from BHP’s subsidiary.
Faraday CEO Paul Harbridge notes that the partnership between Faraday and BHP comes down to both companies’ strong connections with the Lundin Group.
“Those relationships really helped to cultivate the announcement of this transaction.
“The Lundin Group is an incredibly supportive group and has been along our journey for a while. They really see the value of this transaction and are big supporters of this financing.”
San Manuel: Redeveloping a legacy asset
Harbridge explains that Faraday has long been interested in the San Manuel property, a significant historical copper resource that includes approximately 27,000 acres of private land for additional site infrastructure.
“With BHP’s legacy asset sitting just across the valley from Copper Creek, our vision was to consolidate this district and create one of the largest copper projects in the entire US,” Harbridge says.
The project makes sense from the perspective of both companies, allowing Faraday to create a large, consolidated land package with exploration potential.
“If you look at BHP, their copper focus really is on Escondida, the Vicuña JV, and their projects in South Australia,” Harbridge says.
“Selling the San Manuel Property to Faraday makes them more nimble, working with an agile team who is focused on unlocking the value from this legacy asset.”
Harbridge explains that San Manuel was historically one of the largest copper mines in the world, opened in the 1950s by Magma Copper and mined for nearly 50 years, producing 4,500 kilotonnes of copper.
Following the mine’s acquisition by BHP, it was shut down in the late 1990s, not due to resource depletion, but due to the low copper prices. Harbridge notes that at the time of the closure, a significant historical resource and reserve remained at San Manuel, calculated using a copper price of US$0.80 ($1.14) per pound.
Today, Faraday sees the San Manuel Property as a “blank canvas” with significant optionality.
When BHP closed the mine, it was deconstructed and rehabilitated, so Faraday’s job now is focused on redevelopment.
Historical data from San Manuel includes around 440,000m of drill data. Faraday is eyeing development as well as exploration potential across the San Manuel and Kalamazoo deposits.
Copper Creek momentum
While San Manuel adds scale and optionality, Copper Creek remains the key to unlocking the district.
“Up until now, we’ve been solely focused on Copper Creek being a standalone project,” Harbridge says.
“Obviously that isn’t going to be the case moving forward as we roll in the San Manuel Project, but Copper Creek plays a really key role in unlocking the value of the district.”
Copper Creek is already a significant resource with 4.2 billion pounds of copper in measured and indicated resources and considerable exploration upside.
Faraday is midway through a 40,000m drill program that is focused on the near-surface American Eagle area.
The company says the metallurgical results from Copper Creek continue to demonstrate strong recoveries, clean concentrate, and reduced operating costs.
Staged development strategy targets optionality and long-life production
The investment from Lundin and BHP has brought Faraday’s cash position to around C$140 million (as of 31 March 2026), which Harbridge says should see the company through the next few years, enabling it to complete the deal on San Manuel, finish drilling at Copper Creek, and then start drilling on San Manuel itself.
“With San Manuel, we have a large oxide resource, giving us the ability to get up and running fairly quickly with copper cathode production in the country,” Harbridge says.
“This acquisition also comes with 27,000 acres of private land for development, which is another critical component. We’re looking to put all the necessary processing infrastructure on that private land.
“Additionally, there’s a lot of infrastructure already in place that comes with that project, including road, rail, power, and gas.”
The acquisition of San Manuel is expected to close around September 2026. In the meantime, the company is busy assimilating all historical data from San Manuel, with plans to start drilling once the transaction closes.
Harbridge notes that this district consolidation plan offers Faraday optionality in terms of project stage, scale, and mine life.
“The overall vision is that we can have a copper producer for the next 30+ years, creating a long-life supply of copper in the US supply chain.”
As Faraday pivots from a standalone asset to more district-scale consolidation, the company is planning a staged approach to development.
“According to our vision in these early stages, we would begin with initial oxide production at San Manuel. From there, we would move to Copper Creek, mining the open pits with a combination of oxide and sulphide. Finally, the long-term plan involves two large-scale underground operations, Kalamazoo at San Manuel and then the Copper Creek underground.
“That’s where we see this 30-year-plus mine life.”
Harbridge notes that the company has received a lot of positive feedback on this announcement, including on the prospect of new jobs and economic prosperity for the region.
With regard to the company itself, Harbridge says it’s “an incredibly exciting time to be working in the US”.
“It feels like the right time, the right place, and the right commodity.”
Arizona itself is seeing a boom in data centre construction, chip manufacturing, and more, with copper production growing in lockstep.
Early in 2026, Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ:AMZN) signed a deal with Rio Tinto to purchase the copper produced by Nuton, a joint venture project for the Johnson Camp Mine with Gunnison Copper (TSX:GCU).
These sorts of deals are helping copper projects get permitted, financed, and built faster.
With this increased interest, Harbridge also notes that he is seeing more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the area, with Hudbay Minerals’ (TSX:HBM) March 2026 acquisition of Arizona Sonoran Copper (TSX:ASCU).
“With the increased M&A in the region, if you want exposure to copper development in the US, then Faraday is the name of choice.”
Harbridge says that Faraday’s engagement with regulators, the White House, and Arizona’s governor’s office is further positioning the company as a key player in strengthening domestic copper supply chains.
Faraday Copper’s roadmap is firmly staged to maximise optionality and mine life. The focus at the moment is on closing the San Manuel transaction and drilling at Copper Creek.
Harbridge also notes that the company expects to start drilling at San Manuel around September or October 2026, after the transaction closes.
With C$140 million in cash, ongoing drilling, and the upcoming San Manuel acquisition, Faraday is positioning itself to deliver steady news flow and tangible milestones through year-end and beyond.
Faraday Copper aims to reshape Arizona’s copper landscape, combining legacy assets with modern exploration to deliver long-life supply for the US electrification push.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au and Faraday Copper
