Rio Tinto has announced more than US$900mln of investment into its Kennecott copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah.
Around US$500mln has been earmarked for the underground development and infrastructure for an area known as the North Rim Skarn with production to start from 2024 and ramp up to 250,000t of copper over ten years.
A US$300mln rebuild is also underway at the Kennecott smelter, the largest rebuild in its history, with a further US$120mln invested to upgrade the refinery tank house structure and update Kennecott's molybdenum flotation circuit.
Rio Tinto Copper chief operating officer Clayton Walker said: "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.
“This investment will position Kennecott to continue the strong contribution it has made as part of the Salt Lake Valley community for 120 years, injecting about $1.5 billion annually to the local Utah economy."