Faraday Copper is an exploration and development company advancing two U.S. projects: Copper Creek, a porphyry copper system in Pinal County, Arizona, and Contact Copper, an oxide project in Elko County, Nevada, led by chief executive Paul Harbidge. In this interview, he talks about Copper Creek’s staged development concept (open-pit sequencing prior to potential block caving), the status and limits of federal exploration approvals and the NEPA pathway, recent metallurgical results and their relevance to recoveries and concentrate quality, funding strategy and dilution risk, the influence of strategic shareholders, land tenure and water management in the San Pedro corridor, and the role of Contact in capital allocation and optionality.

TLDR

1. Strategy and scale are focused on the near term.
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   The CEO frames Copper Creek’s path as growing the near-surface open-pit inventory and pushing throughput so early years carry the NPV, while deferring the capital-hungry underground cave to later. The 2023 PEA showed a ~US$713M NPV, ~15.6% IRR, and initial capex in the high-$700M range. That CAPEX will grow in the updated resource, but management is targeting to keep capex below US$1B and lift margins by enlarging the pit phase before going underground. The through-line is to have the first 10 to 15 years do the heavy lifting, then tackle the cave once the cash engine is running.
2. Metallurgy works but needs more studies.
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   They emphasize the ore is coarse-grained and amenable to a coarser grind, which cuts energy and operating cost. Concentrate quality is flagged as “clean” with no smelter-penalty elements. Gold and silver primarily report to the copper concentrate, but management is blunt that revenue will remain overwhelmingly copper. Precious metals are additive, not a thesis pivot. Flowsheet tweaks aim to move the economics without inventing new metallurgy.
3. Federal drill pads in hand, finally.
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   The U.S. can be great for operating mines but it has, historically, been painful for permitting. Paul notes momentum has improved. Recently, Copper Creek secured an Exploration Plan of Operations covering 67 drill pads on federal land. Land status is a mix of private, state and BLM, and the company leans on that diversity to keep work moving. This is still drill-permit territory, but it’s a necessary precursor to any bigger ask.
4. Faraday is a Lundin Group company.
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   The Lundin group and Murray Edwards are anchor holders. Pierre Lassonde seeded the story but has since exited. Paul promised a financing style that avoids spraying cheap warrants, stressed price discipline in raises, and confirms insiders don’t hold private royalties on company assets. As for external encumbrances, a legacy ~3% royalty on parts of the ground exists, which makes streams and new royalties a less-attractive funding path from his standpoint.
5. Faraday is in the PEA-stage, but spend is exploration-weighted.
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   The CEO’s plan leans on enlarging the open-pit phase and delaying underground capex, but until a construction decision is funded, future equity needs and the fully-diluted overhang should remain part of the the calculus. Especially provided that the company just kicked off a 40,000-metre drill program.

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