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Faraday Copper: Copper in Arizona | Paul Harbidge and Jimmy Connor

Jimmy Connor Jun 17, 2026 18:41

Summary

Faraday's acquisition of BHP's San Manuel adds a 12-14 billion pound copper resource adjacent to Copper Creek, with Lundin Mining and BHP as strategic shareholders.

The consolidated project targets a top-four US copper resource ranking by mid-2027, backed by roughly $130M in liquidity the company says carries it into 2028.

Three rigs are infill drilling the Copper Creek open-pit breccia pipes, with an updated resource expected once San Manuel data is integrated.

Copper Creek combines surface breccia pipes with deeper porphyry-style mineralization, with over 300 breccias mapped and only 15% drill-tested so far.

Private land, rail, power, and federal critical-minerals support shorten the path to permits on what management calls one of the largest undeveloped US copper projects.

Jimmy Connor's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Jimmy Connor frames the conversation around US copper consolidation and asks whether the recent M&A wave will continue
  • He cites El Dorado's recent acquisition and Hudbay's Arizona Sonora deal as evidence that development-stage assets are now being bought

Paul Harbidge's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Paul Harbidge argues the San Manuel acquisition lets Faraday consolidate a copper district with shared infrastructure — a single milling operation fed from two deposits about 15 kilometers apart
  • He expects US M&A momentum to keep shifting from production to development assets and positions Faraday as a go-to US copper developer given the scarcity of large US projects held by juniors
  • He reports strong US federal backing, citing cross-agency coordination from the White House, the Department of War, and the Department of Energy, with the Executive Permitting Council driving simultaneous federal and state permits
  • He flags a potential NASDAQ or NYSE listing given Faraday is US-only and notes few pure US copper plays trade in New York
  • He expects near-term catalysts including deal close in September 2026, drill results from Copper Creek and San Manuel, a combined resource estimate mid-2027, and a phase one project study by year-end 2027