Herriman, UTAH – The demand for copper in the U.S. is set to double in the next 10 years – but the nation lacks the production to meet that demand unless steps are taken to ease restrictions on new mines.
President Donald Trump hopes to change this after signing an executive order on Thursday to increase American mineral production.
“The United States possesses vast mineral resources that can create jobs, fuel prosperity, and significantly reduce our reliance on foreign nations,” the order reads. “The United States was once the world’s largest producer of lucrative minerals, but overbearing Federal regulation has eroded our Nation’s mineral production.”
The order will focus on priority projects for minerals such as copper, uranium, potash and gold, among others. This is welcome news for the nation’s copper industry, which struggles to compete with the more relaxed mining regulations of other countries.
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“We’ve got to create more mines. Open up some of those resources that we have right here in the U.S. and bring them online,” Clayton Walker, COO of Copper at Rio Tinto, the second-largest mining company in the world. “That then feeds the manufacturing, the folks that actually take that raw material and turn it into something usable the consumers can enjoy. So I feel like it’s just a critical path for making manufacturing again here in the U.S. It all starts at the mines with that raw material.”
Rio Tinto has been trying to open a new copper mine in Arizona for 17 years, dubbed the Resolution Copper mine. Officials say the mine could provide as much as 20% of the demand. But it’s run into roadblocks over the years, including land rights issues and environmental concerns.
“The challenge we have right now in the U.S., it takes about 29 years to get a mine permitted. And so I’m all for doing the right thing. And I think we have some of the best standards and highest standards in the world, and I’m all for that,” said Walker. “But we’ve got to figure out a way to bring those mines online a little faster than, say, 29 years.”
One way the permit process could be expedited: adding copper to the critical minerals list.
A critical mineral is defined by the Department of Energy as, “Any non-fuel mineral, element, substance, or material that the Secretary of Energy determines: (i) has a high risk of supply chain disruption; and (ii) serves an essential function in one or more energy technologies, including technologies that produce, transmit, store, and conserve energy.”
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Adding copper to the list would ease restrictions on the production of copper, meaning Rio Tinto and other companies could open new copper mines quicker in the U.S.
“I think we need to make copper as a critical mineral. Not having it on the list is hurting us and keeping that valuable metal from getting those resources that are needed,” added Walker. “I think we got some great standards. We can do it better here than anywhere. We just need to do it a little faster.”
Rio Tinto’s Kennecott mine, just west of Salt Lake City, is the largest open-pit mine in the world, spanning 2.5 miles across and about 4,000 feet deep. At more than 120 years old, the mine has produced more copper than any other on the planet.
“The history of Kennecott is what keeps me here. I just am absolutely enamored with it. Twenty-five percent of the metal that the Allies used in World War II came from here,” Nate Foster, Kennecott’s managing director, said. “The Allies don’t win World War II without Kennecott.”
Kennecott also has the distinction of being one of only two locations in the country that can mine, smelt and refine their own copper. In comparison, China has over 50 copper smelters. This means that much of the copper that’s mined in the U.S. is shipped to other countries to be refined.
“We’re right now [the U.S.] is actually exporting over 400,000 tons of concentrate a year, which is going to other countries to be processed and then shipped back to us in another form,” says Walker.
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The Kennecott smelter is an engineering marvel – at 1,215 feet, it’s the fourth-tallest chimney in the world.
“The fact that we have one of the cleanest smelters in the entire world makes it actually pretty unique,” added Foster. “And where we really think we’re well positioned with a very strategic asset with our smelter and the refinery to be able to help continue to… invest in America.”
Kennecott is a 365-day, 24-hours-a-day operation. Ninety-seven oversized haulers, capable of carrying 360 tons in a single load, work day and night to extract around 120,000 tons of copper ore per year, which accounts for 20% of the copper produced in the country.
The operation is all done in-house. After being mined and crushed, the ore makes its way via a 5-mile-long conveyor belt to the concentrator. It’s then turned into a sludge and piped to the smelter. From the smelter it becomes a 700-pound copper slab. After spending time in an electrolyte bath, it becomes two 300-pound copper plates – 99.99% pure copper.
“That is the highest quality that you’re going to find anywhere in the U.S.,” said Foster. “And when you look at the amount of emissions that we don’t have here in the U.S., as we produce to some of the highest environmental standards, other smelters across the world don’t have to comply with those same standards. So we pride ourselves on that.”
Trump has threatened to add a 25% tariff on imported copper, which accounts for 47% of the copper used in the U.S. While this could be a boon for U.S.-based copper mines, it’s a complicated issue for companies like Rio Tinto, which operates mines all over the world.
“We’re working hard with the administration to be part of that solution. And if you look at the way tariffs work, it’s all in how you set them up and structure them,” said Walker. “And if we can get those structured the right way, I think it will benefit the domestic supply.”
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