Rio Tinto has approved a $55 million investment in development capital to start underground mining and expand production at its Kennecott copper operations in Utah, United States. Underground mining will initially focus on an area known as the Lower Commercial Skarn (LCS), which will deliver a total of around 30,000 metric tons (mt) of additional high-quality mined copper through 2027 alongside open-cut operations. The first ore is expected to be produced in early 2023, with full production in the second half of the year. It will be processed through the existing facilities at Kennecott, one of only two operating copper smelters in the United States.
Kennecott holds the potential for significant and attractive underground development. The LCS is the first step towards this, with a mineral resource of 7.5 million mt at 1.9% copper, 0.84 g/mt gold, 11.26 g/mt silver, and 0.015% molybdenum identified based on drilling and a probable ore reserve of 1.7 million mt at 1.9% copper, 0.71 g/mt gold, 10.07 g/mt silver, and 0.044% molybdenum.
Underground battery electric vehicles are currently being trialed at Kennecott to improve employee health and safety, increase productivity and reduce carbon emissions from future underground mining fleets. A battery electric haul truck and loader supplied by Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions are being used to evaluate performance and suitability as part of underground development work.
“This investment will allow us to quickly bring additional volumes of high-quality copper to the market and build our knowledge and capabilities as we evaluate larger scale underground mining at Kennecott,” Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Bold Baatar said. “We are progressing a range of options for a significant resource that is yet to be developed at Kennecott, which could extend our supply of copper and other critical materials needed for electric vehicles and renewable power technologies.”
Existing underground infrastructure is currently being extended to enable early access to the next underground resource and undertake characterization studies. A feasibility study to inform decisions on the next phase of underground production is expected to be completed in 2023. This will be one of several potential stages currently being investigated.
Feasibility studies are also being progressed to extend open pit mining at Kennecott beyond 2032.
