Arizona: Buxton Heads to Copper-Silver
Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) has discovered raised copper and silver levels at its newly acquired Arivaca project in Arizona, with rock chips returning up to 6.21% copper and 1355g/t silver. The company has secured permits for further surface sampling, magnetic surveys, and drill testing at the project, which covers 14.2km² in the Laramide porphyry belt. Notably, these permits were secured for about US$11,000 in application and two-year rent fees.
Potential Porphyry System at Depth
The Arivaca project, acquired at low cost, features high-grade surface mineralisation in an underexplored setting. CEO Marty Moloney noted that the geochemistry, veining, alteration, and magnetics suggest potential for a porphyry-style mineral system at depth. The company plans to commence detailed mapping and geophysics ahead of its first drill program, which will be key in testing this hypothesis.
Historical Mine Dumps and Workings
Buxton’s Arivaca project sits in the historic Las Guijas mining district, with over 100 recorded workings reflecting small-scale copper, silver, lead, gold, and tungsten mining dating back to the 19th century. The company collected 35 rock chips across the tenure, with the strongest in-situ sample returning 0.69% Cu and 84.3g/t Ag.
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The company has submitted field-operation plans to test if the historical vein workings are the surface expression of a larger mineralised system at depth. This follow-up work, once approved, will involve detailed mapping and surface sampling, detailed airborne magnetics, and drill testing.
Copper and Silver Outlook
Copper’s demand is expected to rise by about 7 million tonnes by 2040, driven by sectors such as power networks, building wiring, electronics, and transport. According to the International Energy Agency, even with anticipated copper projects coming online, a 25% mine-supply gap is expected in 2035.
Silver’s outlook, although tighter, is also promising. The Silver Institute forecasts a sixth consecutive year of market deficit in 2026, with a shortfall of about 46.3 million ounces of silver. This deficit is due to flat mine output, despite supportive demand from sectors like AI infrastructure, data centres, vehicles, and grid investment.
