SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 28, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Rio Tinto has announced its intent to start underground mining and expand production at its Kennecott Copper operation.
A statement released Wednesday said the company has approved a $55 million investment to begin the process at the Utah mine.
“Underground mining will initially focus on an area known as the Lower Commercial Skarn (LCS), which will deliver a total of around 30kt[2] of additional high quality mined copper through the period to 2027 alongside open cut operations,” the statement says.
“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.”
Underground battery electric vehicles are being tested for use at Kennecott in an effort “to improve employee health and safety, increase productivity and reduce carbon emissions from future underground mining fleets,” the statement says.
“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.”
Rio Tinto Copper chief executive Bold Baatar said the project is expected to be profitable.
“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,” Baatar said in the news release.
“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.
“Trialing underground battery electric vehicles is an exciting step in our work to create a safer workplace for our employees, increase the productivity of the mine and reduce emissions from our operations. We look forward to seeing their potential for deployment.”
