Image courtesy of Resolution Copper
(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Resolution Copper.)
By Mining.com
Rio Tinto aims to open Arizona’s Resolution Copper mine by the mid-2030s but may need to export some of its copper concentrate due to the challenging economics of smelting in the US, a senior executive told Reuters on Tuesday.
The Anglo-Australian mining giant this month gained control of acreage needed to build one of the world’s largest copper mines after a years-long court fight in which rising US demand for the red metal clashed with the religious rights of the San Carlos Apache people.
“We are quite committed to bringing copper on as quickly as we can,” Katie Jackson, head of Rio’s copper business, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. “This is something we want to do in the early- to mid-2030s.”
The Resolution project is slated to produce more than 40 billion pounds (18.1 million metric tons) of copper over its life and supply more than a quarter of US demand.
