Production of copper and other metals will continue at Utah’s Bingham Canyon Mine through at least 2032 under a $1.5 billion investment announced Tuesday by mine owner Rio Tinto.
The investment, which will be used to tap a rich ore body in the mine’s south wall and build infrastructure, will preserve hundreds of mining jobs that were slated to disappear soon after 2026. That’s when Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Utah Copper previously had planned to retire its massive open-pit mine operating for more than a century in the Oquirrh Mountains southwest of Salt Lake City.
The move comes in response to anticipated increases in demand for copper and other metals produced at Kennecott, according to Rio Tinto CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques.