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From the days of antiquity, copper has been used for its many benefits: tough but malleable, corrosion-resistant and recyclable, and an excellent conductor of heat and transmitter of electricity.
Copper is essential to creating a sustainable, low-carbon world. Just one 1MW wind turbine, for example, uses 3 tonnes of copper. And electric vehicles use 4 times more copper than traditional vehicles. As a result, global demand for copper is set to grow, with volumes expected to almost double by 2050, driven by electrification and increasing requirements for renewable energy. With mines in the United States at Kennecott and Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, along with the Resolution Copper project in the US, the Winu project in Australia, and Nuton, we’re well-positioned to supply the copper needed for the world's energy transition.
Copper has many important jobs. It’s found in everything from pots and pans, to the water pipes in our homes, and the radiators in our cars. And it plays an essential role in computers, smartphones, electronics, appliances, and construction.
Used as a tiny antenna in many hearing aids, Copper helps people hear for the first time. And bonus: it has antimicrobial properties, meaning it helps keep bacteria away.
Copper is the best non-precious conductor of heat and electricity on the planet. So it’s found in everything from the electrical wiring in your house to renewable power sources like wind turbines. And because it can help things work more efficiently, it’s going to play an important part in a more sustainable future.
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 United States.
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, molybdenum and tellurium as byproducts of our copper mining. We’re also progressing feasibility studies to extend open pit mining beyond 2032. If approved, the planned mine expansion – referred to as Apex – could produce around 1.5 million additional tonnes of copper and extend the mine life to approximately 2040.
In September 2022, we approved a $55 million investment in development capital to start underground mining and expand production at Kennecott. Underground mining will initially focus on an area known as the Lower Commercial Skarn (LCS), which will deliver a total of around 30,000 tonnes of additional high quality mined copper alongside open cut operations1. The first ore was produced in early 2024, with full production in the second half of 2025. It will be processed through the existing facilities at Kennecott, one of only 2 operating copper smelters in the United States. In 2023, we also approved $498 million for the North Rim Skarn, which is expected to start production in Q1 2026, with a 2-year ramp up. This area of the underground is expected to deliver around 250,000 tonnes of mined copper over ten years.2
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.
At Kennecott, we’ve taken significant steps to reduce our carbon footprint, including recent initiatives such as the closure of a coal-fired power plant in 2019, construction of a 5-megawatt solar farm, deployment of battery electric vehicles underground, and the transition to renewable diesel in 2024.
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 2024, we signed a Term Sheet with Sumitomo Metal Mining for a joint venture to deliver the Winu, copper-gold project in Western Australia.
The world needs better, cleaner, and more responsible ways to produce copper. Our new venture Nuton is a suite of technologies built on nature-based alchemy. These bio-heap leaching technologies offer the potential to unlock new sources of the much-needed metal while also producing it in a more sustainable way.
Copper cathode is a primary raw material used in semi-fabricated products such as copper wire rods for the wire and cable industry. Copper is a crucial raw material used in electrification and clean energy infrastructure and is essential for the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Molybdenum is a common by-product of copper mining. It is a primary raw material used in a variety of applications in the metal manufacturing industry.
Sulfuric acid is a useful by-product obtained during the smelter's copper production process. It is used in a variety of applications, such as the manufacturing of fertiliser and paper processing.
Our silver and gold bars are accredited through the Responsible Jewellery Council’s Code of Practice, the Responsible Jewellery Council’s Chain of Custody, and the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Responsible Gold and Silver refiner/delivery list.
Tellurium is an essential component of cadmium telluride, which is a semiconductor used to manufacture thin film photovoltaic solar panels. Selenium is commonly used in the glass manufacturing industry to produce pigments, while lead carbonate is used for manufacturing batteries.
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.
Renewable energy systems – like solar, wind and hydropower – rely on copper to generate and transmit energy with maximum efficiency.
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.
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.
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.
Independent industry stewardship programs help assure our customers of our responsible value chain. Our Kennecott and Oyu Tolgoi copper operations have been awarded the Copper Mark, the copper industry’s independently assessed responsible production program. Kennecott has also been awarded the Molybdenum Mark, an application of the same rigorous framework to molybdenum producers - molybdenum is a copper mining byproduct and a vital material in clean energy technologies and sustainable construction practices. These 2 certifications demonstrate our continued commitment to responsible production as we find better ways to provide the materials the world needs.
START – the first digital sustainability label for materials – empowers our customers and theirs to make more sustainable choices.
We have expanded START as a sustainability initiative for our copper business. Building on assurances such as ICMM and The Copper Mark, START provides our US copper customers and end users with concrete facts about the sustainable sourcing and production of their Kennecott copper from mine to market, enabling the verification of material provenance and responsible purchases.
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