Faraday BHP Property Acquisition

On July 2, Faraday Copper announced its final signing of a letter of intent with BHP to acquire the Australian mining giant’s San Manuel Mine. The deal will not be official until an August shareholder vote.

Because the company has failed to keep the community informed, we can rely only on messaging from their latest press release and social media posts aimed at investors (including the most recent interview with Faraday’s CEO, Paul Harbidge; one posted a few months back; and one by Faraday’s CFO Graham Richardson.

What we know:

• Faraday Copper will assume ownership of 27,000 acres of privately owned BHP land.

• That land includes important water wells along the San Pedro, as well as the BHP pond, and critical riparian habitat along the San Pedro.

• Faraday Copper will assume all financial and environmental liability for BHP’s existing properties – including tailings along the river and at the open-pit – as well as closure liabilities. (Tailings facilities never stop needing maintenance and environmental oversight.) See Earthworks’ new study, The Future of Mine Waste: From the Myth of Zero Tailings to Real Solutions and their Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management.

• Faraday has paused operations at Copper Creek and “expects to resume drilling in the fall, once the proposed acquisition of San Manuel has closed.”

• Faraday Copper plans to “mobilize drill rigs in September or October and start that drilling” (on BHP property) “so we can meet our target of a combined resource for Copper Creek and San Manuel by mid-next year [2027].” (See recent video above 1:38:35).

What we don’t know is everything else – which is why we encourage the community to contact Faraday Copper’s dedicated community relations specialist. Do you have questions about what copper cathode production means? How the mine’s water use will impact groundwater? How much more traffic can be expected? What facilities will be built? When? Where? What environmental reviews are necessary in reopening a legacy mine that had been reclaimed by BHP to the tune of $200+ million?

While the most likely responses will be “we don’t know yet” and “it’s too soon to tell,” it is important for our voices be heard. Push for answers and real conversation – not ‘open houses’ that feign true community engagement.

Contact Redhawk Copper’s Community Hotline:

• Phone: (520) 385-7797

• Email: community@redhawkexploration.com