Faraday Copper Closes the Acquisition of the San Manuel Project in Arizona and Mobilizes Drill Rigs
Faraday’s Redhawk copper complex closes as BHP becomes a 32% holder following new drill results.
Faraday Copper Corp. (FDY) has closed the previously announced acquisition of the San Manuel project from a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Group Limited. The acquisition combines San Manuel with Faraday’s existing Copper Creek project to form the “Redhawk Copper Complex” in Pinal County, Arizona. The complex is described as 100% owned, encompassing approximately 35,000 acres of private land located roughly 100 km northeast of Tucson and 120 km southeast of Phoenix.
Consideration for the transaction was paid in Faraday shares, with 90,727,217 common shares issued to WMC Corporate Services Inc. and 40,865,829 common shares to BHP Investments Canada Inc. These shares were valued at an aggregate US$657.9 million, based on the five-day volume-weighted average price prior to closing. As a result, BHP now holds 137,993,046 Faraday shares, representing approximately 32.0% of issued and outstanding shares on a non-diluted basis.
BHP has appointed two directors to Faraday’s board: Elaina Ware, VP Resource Centre of Excellence at BHP, and Dominic Perrottet, VP International Affairs and USA at BHP. An investor rights agreement grants BHP two board nominees while it holds at least 15% of shares, and one nominee while it holds at least 10%. The agreement also provides BHP with representation on a joint technical advisory committee, anti-dilution and top-up rights, demand and piggyback registration rights, and rights of first refusal on royalty financing transactions and certain property transfers.
Drill crews and rigs have been mobilized at San Manuel, with an initial 24,000 metres of drilling planned. This work aims to confirm historical mineral resource estimates at the San Manuel and Kalamazoo deposits and to collect modern multi-element and mineralogical data. Mineral Resource Estimates are expected by mid-2027 for both Copper Creek and San Manuel. A Phase I Prefeasibility Study is expected in 2028, focused on copper cathode and open-pit copper sulphide production. A future Phase II study would focus on underground production at Kalamazoo, American Eagle, and Keel.
San Manuel previously operated from 1955 to 1999, producing over 4.2 million tonnes of copper. Its historical resource estimates are not NI 43-101 compliant and were constrained using US$0.80/lb copper. Copper Creek hosts a porphyry copper deposit with near-surface breccia-hosted mineralization. It has over 280,000 metres of recent and historical drilling and more than 320 mapped breccia occurrences, with only 17 included in the 2023 MRE.
Qualified persons reviewing the release are Dr. Thomas Bissig, P. Geo., and Zach Allwright, P.Eng.
Faraday Copper Corp. (FDY) has completed the acquisition of the Copper Ridge project, a transaction that formally installs BHP as a 32% strategic shareholder with board representation and extensive investor rights. The closing removes deal-completion risk and follows a series of previously announced milestones, including a letter of intent on February 20, 2026, a definitive agreement on July 2, 2026, and shareholder approval on August 25, 2026. The transaction was expected to close by the third quarter of 2026.
The deal involves a significant issuance of shares, bringing post-closing shares outstanding to approximately 431.2 million. This figure is based on BHP receiving 137,993,046 shares, representing 32.0% of the company. This marks an increase of roughly 44% from the approximately 292.7 million shares reported as of June 30, 2026. Consequently, the stake held by Nemesia Sarl, a Lundin-related holding, is diluted from 56,039,005 shares, or approximately 19.11% as of September 1, 2026, to approximately 13.0% on the larger share count, unless Nemesia participates in future top-ups.
Prior-period financial context not disclosed in today’s release indicates that Faraday Copper reported a Q2 2026 net loss of C$13.96 million and an H1 2026 net loss of C$23.85 million. As of June 30, 2026, the company held C$94.2 million in cash, including C$32.0 million in term deposits.
The stock showed little reaction to the news, closing at C$4.79 on October 15, compared to C$4.77 on October 14 and C$5.04 on October 13. The deal volume-weighted average price of approximately C$4.77 is close to the recent market price, suggesting the equity consideration was priced broadly in line with where the stock was trading.
Faraday Copper Corp. (TSX: FDY, OTCQX: CPPKF) is described in its investor materials as a Lundin Group company. The firm is in the pre-production and development stage, with its flagship asset being the Redhawk Copper Complex in Arizona. This complex comprises the Copper Creek project and the adjacent San Manuel project.
Copper Creek features over 280,000 metres of drilling and 320 mapped breccia occurrences, though only 17 of these were included in the 2023 NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE). The company announced the 2023 MRE and Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on May 3, 2023. However, the investor presentation separately references a PEA completed in January 2024, creating a date inconsistency within the provided materials. The presentation lists combined open-pit and underground Measured and Indicated resources of 421.9 million tonnes at 0.45% copper, 0.008% molybdenum, and 1.1 grams per tonne silver. The contained-metal figures in the presentation appear internally inconsistent; while the document states 0.48 billion pounds of copper, 421.9 million tonnes at 0.45% copper calculates to approximately 4.2 billion pounds of contained copper.
The San Manuel project is a past-producing underground block cave and open-pit mine that operated from 1955 to 1999, producing over 4.2 million tonnes of copper. Historical resource estimates for San Manuel are not NI 43-101 compliant and were constrained at US$0.80 per pound of copper. The presentation cites historical Measured and Indicated resources of 631.5 million tonnes at 0.64% copper, historical inferred resources of 43.5 million tonnes at 0.64% copper, and historical oxide resources of 368.1 million tonnes at 0.45% copper. These figures must not be treated as current resources. The site includes private land and historical infrastructure, offering potential for staged development.
Paul Harbidge serves as President and CEO, with Graham Richardson as CFO, Dr. Thomas Bissig as Vice President of Geology, and Zach Allwright as Vice President of Technical Services. The board includes Chair Russell Ball, along with BHP nominees Elaina Ware and Dominic Perrottet, who were appointed upon closing.