Rio Tinto and BHP have committed to spend a further $US500 million at their Resolution Copper joint venture after a legal breakthrough for the much-delayed mining project.
Rio Tinto and BHP have committed to spend a further $US500 million at their Resolution Copper joint venture after a legal breakthrough for the much-delayed mining project.
Resolution and the United States Forest Service (USFS) have completed a land exchange designed to pave the way for the underground copper mine in Arizona.
The land exchange followed a decision in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday 13 March that was favour of Resolution Copper, which is jointly owned by Rio (55 per cent) and BHP (45 per cent), and the US federal government.
A coalition of Native Americans, specifically the Apache Stronghold, and environmental advocates had opposed the exchange.
Resolution Copper has transferred 5,400 acres of land containing special status species, riparian areas and Native American cultural sites for inclusion in National Forests and National Conservation Areas.
In return, it has received over 2,400 acres of land adjacent to the historic Magma copper mine in Arizona.
Rio Tinto Copper chief executive Katie Jackson said the exchange unlocked the next phase of one of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits.
“Completing the land exchange is a significant milestone and another positive step forward for the Resolution Copper project, which has the potential to satisfy up to 25 per cent of America's copper demand for decades to come,” she said.
“It’s expected to add $1 billion a year to Arizona’s economy and create thousands of local jobs in a region where mining has played an important role for more than a century.”
The Resolution deposit was discovered in 1995 while Rio and BHP formed a joint venture in 2004.
For the past decade, the project has been delayed by legal appeals led by Native American groups and by shifting political winds in Washington.
The Trump Administration has been a strong supporter, evidenced by the US president meeting with Rio chief executive Simon Trott, his predecessor Jakob Stausholm and BHP boss Mike Henry at the White House in August last year.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins talked up the significance of the land exchange.
“Completing this land exchange unlocks a major domestic source of copper, essential for defence, grid modernisation, and next-generation energy, and positions the nation to secure its future by expanding mineral production and unleashing America’s full resource potential,” he said.
The land exchange has triggered additional preliminary spending of $US500 million ($A715 million) over two years to support enabling works including surface drilling to collect additional resource information.
The spending will also deliver upgrades to existing project infrastructure and initial underground development activities as well as approximately 100 new jobs.
Resolution said these activities will take place in parallel with ongoing collaboration with local communities and Native American Tribes as well as state-level permitting.
Rio announced last year it had already completed an underground shaft at the mine site.
