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An aerial view of Redhawk Copper’s Copper Creek Project located in the Galiuro Mountains above Mammoth. Photo courtesy Redhawk Copper
Redhawk Copper’s Copper Creek Project is located on the site of the historical mine in the Galiuro Mountains above Mammoth. Photo courtesy Redhawk Copper
Pinal Nugget
Redhawk Resources, Inc., the Canadian-based resource exploration and development company that owns the Copper Creek property in San Manuel, recently announced it has entered into an agreement with Anglo American with respect to a joint venture on Redhawk’s Copper Creek Project. While the agreement is not 100 percent completed, it’s close, according to Redhawk President and CEO R. Joe Sandberg.
Redhawk and Anglo American, one of the world’s largest mining companies, expect to form a joint venture company, earning Anglo American a 60 percent interest in the project after meeting certain funding and expenditures within a five-year period. Anglo American may increase its interest an additional 20 percent with additional funding before the seven-year anniversary of the effective date of the joint venture. As part of the agreement, Redhawk will serve as the operator for the first three years of the venture before giving way to Anglo American as the operator.
“We are extremely pleased to have Anglo American participate with Redhawk on the advancement of our Copper Creek Project,” Sandberg said in a released statement. “Anglo American is a respected global mining company with ready access to experienced people, technology, and capital.”
The announced venture, when completed, will allow the Copper Creek Project to advance as a result of the resources available through Anglo American. How quickly it advances is unknown at this point, but operating as a productive mine is not in the project’s foreseeable future.
“No, there’s no timetable to it,” Sandberg answered when asked to estimate when the mine would be productive. “It depends what gets found, how big it gets made, and the progress that gets made. It certainly is not going to be in the near future. There is a lot of additional work that needs to be done and a lot of additional exploration that Anglo American wants to do and we are in full agreement with that.”
Even though additional exploration and work needs to be completed before the Copper Creek Projects operates as a productive mine, it remains the focus of all parties involved.
“The objective is to ultimately get it into production,” Sandberg said. “At least, a reasonable sized mine.”
In addition to their joint venture with Anglo American, Redhawk has formed a strategic alliance with Howe Mining Projects, Inc., a company that employs internationally known geological and mining consultants.
Redhawk’s alliance with Howe is essentially a mutual understanding that the two companies have the same interest in the Copper Creek Project and plan to work together.
The announced venture and alliance increases the number of interested parties in the Copper Creek Project and the ultimate objective of operating a productive mine. However, there remains to be a number of “unknowns” before the project reaches that stage. Included in this list is the expected economic impact on San Manuel and the surrounding area.
“It’s going to depend upon how big it can be made and how it’s going to be mined, which we don’t know the answers to that yet,” Sandberg said.
Redhawk’s recent moves to form a joint venture with Anglo American and its alliance with Howe Mining Projects, Inc., figure to provide answers, sooner than later.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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