Rio Tinto Copper

Our very first mine was a copper mine on the banks of the Rio Tinto river, in Andalusia, Spain – bought in 1873 by a British-European investor group led by Scottish entrepreneur Hugh Matheson. 

Today, our copper operations around the world are at various stages in the mining lifecycle, from exploration to rehabilitation. At each of our copper operations, we use leading-edge technologies that drive safe, efficient and productive methods of extracting, processing and refining copper, supplying customers in China, Japan and the US. 

Oyu Tolgoi, in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, is one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world. When the underground mine is complete, it will be the fourth-largest copper mine in the world.

Our Kennecott mine is a world-class, integrated copper mining operation located just outside Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. Our Kennecott mine produces gold, silver and tellurium as byproducts of our copper mining. We’ve also progressed pre-feasibility studies further push back the northern wall to extend open-pit mining beyond 2032, and are advancing studies to support an underground mine below the existing open pit, due to be complete by 2024. Potential underground mining would occur concurrently with open pit operations and result in increased copper output.

In 2019, after 75 years of operation, Kennecott retired its coal-fired power plant in Magna, Utah. The operation is now powered by renewable energy purchased from Rocky Mountain Power – primarily from wind and solar resources. 

Switching from coal-fired power to renewable energy removes more than one million tons of carbon dioxide every year from Kennecott’s Wasatch Front operations, reducing its annual carbon footprint by as much as 65%. The renewable energy certificate program is Green-e energy certified, and meets the environmental and consumer-protection standards set by the Center for Resource Solutions. 

In 2020, Kennecott and Oyu Tolgoi became the first producers to be awarded the Copper Mark, the copper industry’s new independent responsible production program. To achieve the Copper Mark – developed according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – Kennecott’s and Oyu Tolgoi’s copper was assessed against 32 criteria covering Environment, Community, Business and Human Rights, Labour and Working Conditions and Governance.

At the Resolution Copper Project in the US, we continue ongoing stakeholder engagement in our effort to seek consent to progress the project consistent with the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) Statement on Indigenous Peoples and Mining.

And in 2020 we announced the maiden resource at Winu, a copper and gold project in Western Australia with the potential to become a large-scale operation over time.

5 facts about copper

1. Copper increases energy efficiency

Copper is the best non-precious-metal conductor of heat and electricity on the planet, so items that contain copper tend to operate more efficiently. According to the International Copper Association (ICA), using more copper in motors and appliances can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.25 gigatonnes – equivalent to taking half a billion cars off the road.

2. Copper helps renewable energy systems work better

Renewable energy systems – like solar, wind and hydropower – rely on copper to generate and transmit energy with maximum efficiency.

3. Copper is critical to greener vehicle technology

Copper is the primary conductor in the world’s electrical infrastructure, contributing to the electrification of transportation. For example, electric vehicles have a copper intensity 3-4 times higher than traditional vehicles.

4. Copper is infinitely recyclable

Copper is 100% recyclable, and it can be recycled without losing any of its properties, including its high conductivity. The majority of the around 550 million tonnes of copper produced since 1900 is still in use today, according to the ICA. At our Kennecott operations in the US, we offer our smelting services to other concentrate producers and are able to use our facilities to purify copper from recycled scrap, such as old copper wiring. In fact, we have been smelting recycled scrap since 2005 and have processed up to 2.8 million pounds of copper from scrap per year, enough to provide the electrical wiring in 6,400 new homes.

5. It can keep people safe from infection

Copper is naturally antimicrobial, and using copper surfaces in hospitals reduces the spread of infection in hospitals. According to the ICA, copper kills nearly all bacteria, keeping surfaces clean for longer.