Rio Tinto to invest additional $302m in Arizona copper mine project

Green energy innovations such as the electric vehicle, transmission technologies and battery storage are highly copper intensive

Rio Tinto is reportedly planning to invest another $302 million for advancing its Resolution copper project, located in the state of Arizona, U.S.

Sources with knowledge on the matter stated that this move forms part of the company’s efforts to increase its access to the metal, which is being used in major applications ranging from electric cars to batteries. The added investment would bring the total financing by Rio Tinto in the project, 55% of which is owned by Rio and the remaining 45% by partner BHP, to more than $2 billion since 2004.

Supposedly, the new funds would be directed towards financing ore-body studies, additional drilling, improvements to the infrastructure and allowing activities required to advance this project to the final stage of the permitting phase.

Green energy innovations such as the electric vehicle, transmission technologies and battery storage are highly copper intensive and Rio Tinto aims to be ready for meeting any future demand, sources remarked.

When in production, the Resolution project is expected to supply nearly 25% of the copper demand in the U.S. for 40 years. The company claims it is seeking ways to start Resolution operations one or two years earlier, by pursuing engineering changes. Development of the project seems to be more complicated, since it is located on U.S. federal land.

Sources informed that a draft environmental study on the project is anticipated to be posted by the U.S. Forest Service in the coming summer, following which American Indian groups as well as other communities would be able to provide feedback.

Rio Tinto is looking to advance many other of its copper projects as well, including the Berenguela in south-eastern Peru and the Winu project with Antipa Minerals in Western Australia. The world’s second largest miner has further applied for exploration permits in the northern part of Chile, the leading copper producing country.