Global miner Rio Tinto moved a step closer to starting work on the Resolution Copper Mine in Arizona after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) backed a land exchange that was being opposed by Native American groups and environmentalists.
Permits for the land on which Rio Tinto and its partner BHP plan to operate the mine were approved by the former Trump administration in January despite the opposition but were put on hold by the Biden government in March. However, according to the most recent legal briefs filed by the DOJ on Jun 25 the new administration will approve the land exchange.
The Resolution Mine is touted to be one of the most significant untapped copper deposits in the world that are estimated at around 40bn lb (18.14mn mt) grading at 1.5pc copper over 40-year mine life. Rio Tinto estimates production from this mine at around 120,000mt per day once it becomes operational.