Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF, FRA:3XS0) chief operating officer Robert Winton talked with Proactive about a major announcement involving a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Nuton, and Rio Tinto.
Proactive: Welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. And joining me now is Robert Winton. He is the Chief Operating Officer for Gunnison Copper. And Robert, it's great to see you again. How are you?
Robert Winton: I'm doing very well. Great to join you from southern Arizona.
Yes, well, good to have you here, especially when you have a really interesting announcement about combining Gunnison, Rio Tinto, Nuton, of course, and Amazon Web Services. So it's a lot of people all in one, but you'll sort of explain why you're all together.
That is great. And at the end of the day, it's a cherry on top for an incredible 2025 for Gunnison Copper. In less than 18 months, we built a mine, we built a leach pad, and we started producing copper — both from our ore as well as Nuton’s sulfide ore. And this partnership really cements the growth forward for Gunnison Copper as we look to supply the U.S. market and really shorten that supply chain overall, as we're bringing finished copper directly to a customer. The announcement today of that customer being Amazon Web Services is an incredible get for both Nuton and ourselves as we look to the future and filling the supply chain here in the U.S.
Yeah. So let's talk about what Amazon Web Services is going to be using it for, because people may go, I don't understand this — but you're producing something they need.
Absolutely. So our finished copper will go on the back of a truck. We drive it to Laredo, Texas. From there, it gets turned into copper wire, which ultimately goes into these data centers that are being built and really helping secure the future of our defense and our economic future for the U.S. — and also busbar. So again, the electrical infrastructure of these data centers is really what Gunnison Copper ultimately is going into feed. And with partnering with AWS, we certainly have a leader in this space for the future infrastructure that we need.
When you're sort of developing this structure of what you want to get to where you are now, where Gunnison Copper is, would you ever consider that Amazon would be someone that you'd be moving your product to? It seems like the wave of the future, if that's a way to describe it.
That is absolutely correct. Yeah, you're used to sending it to faucet makers and sort of these places of the past, and really, data centers have created an opportunity for copper and for copper producers. And being able to bring that copper directly into — at our gate — is something that's incredible for all of the parties involved. And Nuton obviously is a huge announcement and win for them ultimately as well in their process development also.
And last thing, how about having the name Amazon connected to Gunnison Copper? I mean, you're building not only what you're building as far as getting stuff out of the ground, but you're building a legacy for the company as well. To have a name tied to it like Rio Tinto, like Amazon Web Services — it really puts you up into a new tier.
It absolutely does. And yeah, we're creating innovation here at Gunnison that is leading the space with respect to copper and its future. Partnering with Nuton, Rio Tinto and Amazon with Gunnison Copper — it's a four-pack that is certainly incredible. Again, from 18 months ago we were saying, “Can we actually build this in time to start producing copper in the timeline suggested?” And not only did we do that, we checked that box. But yeah, to partner with Amazon as we go forward and continue our ramp-up to produce more copper is something that sets that legacy, as you say, for the future of Gunnison and all of its iterations.
Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity