Rio Tinto invests $498m in US copper production
Diversified miner Rio Tinto has approved $498-million of funding for the underground development of an area known as the North Rim Skarn (NRS) at the Kennecott operation near Salt Lake City, in Utah.
Production from the NRS will start next year and is expected to ramp up over two years, delivering about 250 000 t of additional mined copper over the next decade, alongside opencut operations.
In September last year, Rio Tinto approved $55-million to start underground mining in the Lower Commercial Skarn (LCS). Underground production in LCS started in February and will deliver 30 000 t/y of additional mined copper through the period to 2027.
These two investments will support Kennecott in building an underground mine, which will leverage battery electric vehicle technology.
Rio Tinto is also investing $300-million to rebuild the Kennecott smelter – the biggest rebuild in its history.
"We are investing to build a world class underground mine at Kennecott and strengthen our processing facilities, to meet the growing demand for copper in the United States, a key material for domestic manufacturing and the energy transition,” commented Rio Tinto Copper COO Clayton Walker.
The miner is studying the next phases of expanding underground production in parallel with work that is being advanced to extend openpit mining at Kennecott beyond 2032.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...
VISIT SHOWROOM
At SMS group, we have made it our mission to create a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
