Rio Tinto has called on Donald Trump to revise current permitting timelines in the hope of accelerating the development of a key copper mine.
The Resolution copper mine, which Rio is developing alongside BHP, has faced public opposition by Native American groups concerned about the mine’s potential impact on a sacred site.
Resolution is currently tied up in the US Supreme Court, where the native San Carlos Apache Tribe is appealing the mine’s development on various grounds.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court rejected the Arizona tribe’s request to suspend an underground copper mine which the tribe thought would pollute a stream located nearby sacred land.
The San Carlos Apache Tribe is also looking to intervene development on separate religious grounds.
Following Trump’s election win, Rio Tinto chief commercial officer Bold Baatar called on the President-elect to speed up Resolution’s permitting to ensure there is enough copper for the renewable energy transition.
Speaking at the Financial Times commodity summit in Singapore, he said Rio remained committed to working with Native American groups to ensure the best outcomes are achieved for all parties.
Baatar also discussed Rio’s lithium objectives, where the company is solely focused on developing its Argentina assets, including the Rincon project and the soon-to-be-inherited Arcadium Lithium assets.
It comes as Rio iron ore boss Simon Trott recently discussed the company’s strategies for combating lower grades, where the company’s production of SP10 iron ore is eating into the output of the higher-grade Pilbara Blend.
Trott said the company would look to blend material from various operations to help improve its product, including Pilbara, Simandou and Rio’s Canadian iron ore assets.
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