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One of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits sits 7,000 feet below the Earth’s surface. It is a lode that operator Rio Tinto RIO 0.68% PLC wouldn’t have touched—until now. Not that long ago, an abundance of high-grade copper could be mined out of shallower open pits. But as those deposits are depleted and high-grade copper becomes tougher to find, firms such as Rio have been compelled to mine deeper underground.

Silver King Mine (1875-1920) In 1873, a soldier named Sullivan, who had been involved in the construction of the road that had become the main route between the Globe area and valleys of the Salt and Gila rivers was returning to camp one evening, when he found several heavy, black nuggets of metallic material near the base of Stoneman’s Grade (Short et al, 1943). Although he had little knowledge of minerals, he figured that he must have found something unusual. He kept the black nuggets and returned to camp without saying any- thing about his discovery to the other soldiers....

Shaft #10 at the Resolution Copper mine in Superior reached its final depth of 6,943 feet (2,116 m). The 28-foot diameter shaft is the deepest single lift shaft in North America, according to the company. [Right top, bottom of shaft #10. Photo credit, Resolution Copper] The Resolution mine would produce an estimated 25% of the nation's copper for the next 40 years once it's completed. [Right bottom, headframe for shaft #10. Photo credit, Nyal Niemuth] "The completion of this 1.3 mile deep vertical shaft is truly unprecedented in North America,” said Tom Goodell, General Manager of Shaft Development for the...

For the past few months I’ve been reporting a big story on the copper industry for Pacific Standard. It takes a broad look at how the global economic boom of the past decade, led by China and India, is pushing copper mining into new regions and new enormities of investment and excavation. (It’ll be out in June.) But a few days ago a very local event shook the copper industry, and I thought it would be neat to look at how a crisis at a single mine can ripple through space and time, ultimately affecting just about everyone around...

Serbia revoked Rio Tinto's (RIO.L) lithium exploration licences on Thursday, bowing to protesters who opposed the development of the project by the Anglo-Australian mining giant on environmental grounds.Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said the government's decision came after requests by various green groups to halt the$2.4 billion Jadar lithium project which, if completed, would help make Rio a top 10 lithium producer."All decisions (linked to the lithium project) and all licences have been annulled," Brnabic told reporters after a government session. "As far as project Jadar is concerned, this is an end." Earlier this week, Rio had pushed back the...

In the face of a massive show of force by militarized police, "Freedom Day" protesters again on the streets of Melbourne, Australia where its Saturday. The protest in opposition to the strict lockdown.... A two week nationwide coronavirus lockdown is being envisioned by cabinet ministers in Israel..... In Canada a university professor telling his students in-class exams aren't mandatory because of: "the COVID fake emergency"..... One million acres burned (1,500 plus square miles and tens of thousands ordered to evacuate in Oregon in the face of massive wildfires.... Seven now confirmed dead with 60 believed missing..... A man in southern...

Rio Tinto on May 24 did what mining companies do — blast land to make it easier to access minerals. In doing so, however, Rio Tinto destroyed two 46,000-year-old caves in Western Australia, despite being warned that the area was “one of the most archaeologically significant sites in Australia,” and having its own heritage team request a delay. The report said Rio Tinto RIO, +0.47% RIO, +0.95% RIO, +0.18%produced three options to reach the iron ore without blasting the caves — and never shared these options with the PKKP. Jacques has previously testified picking one of the three other options...

Companies controlled by Israeli mining magnate Beny Steinmetz sued fellow billionaire George Soros, claiming he cost them at least $10 billion through a defamation campaign that stripped them of rights to an iron ore deposit in Guinea and other business opportunities around the world. Soros funded law firms, transparency groups, investigators and government officials in Guinea in a coordinated effort to ensure BSG Resources Ltd. lost the rights to the Simandou deposit in April 2014, BSGR said in a complaint filed Friday in Manhattan federal court.

European countries and major corporations are pressuring President Donald Trump to remain in the Paris climate agreement despite his promises on the campaign trail to withdraw the United States from the Obama-era deal that never gained congressional approval.The Trump administration so far is sticking with being undecided—at least until Trump returns to the United States from his first foreign trip, where on Friday, he’s meeting with Group of Seven ally countries, which support the agreement.Back home, the pressure is growing from multinational corporations, even the energy sector, which have opposed stricter limitations on carbon.Exxon Mobil Corp., once run by Trump’s...

A US federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit seeking to hold Rio Tinto responsible for human rights violations and thousands of deaths linked to a Bougainville copper and gold mine it once ran. The appeals court has returned the case to US District Judge Margaret Morrow in Los Angeles for further proceedings. But some dissenting judges protested against allowing a lawsuit to proceed in federal courts brought by non-US residents against non-US companies such as Rio Tinto, which has corporate offices in the UK and Australia. The case is one of several in which non-US residents seek to hold...

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans and the Obama administration are at odds over a GOP bill aimed at boosting a proposed Arizona copper mine that would be the largest in North America. GOP lawmakers and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Mining Association, say the project would pump billions of dollars into the Arizona economy and help create nearly 4,000 mining-related jobs. [snip] Under the plan, first proposed in 2005, about 5,300 acres of environmentally sensitive land throughout Arizona would be transferred to federal control, including 3,000 acres on the lower San Pedro River in southeastern...

Obtaining the permits and approvals needed to build a mine in the U.S. takes an average of seven years, among the longest wait time in the world. So despite having vast underground stores of raw materials, the U.S. is one of the last places miners go to start a project. At the proposed Kennecott Eagle nickel mine in Michigan's sparsely populated Upper Peninsula, the wait is at seven years and growing. Global miner Rio Tinto says the project would fill a raw-material gap in the U.S. economy, but the company has yet to produce an ounce of nickel there. Last...

February 10, 2010 China charges Rio Tinto four with bribery Jane Macartney, Bejing China has charged four Rio Tinto executives with bribery and violating commercial secrets, leaving the workers facing years in a Shanghai jail. Shanghai Municipal Intermediate People’s Court announced today that it had accepted the charges against Australian Stern Hu and his three Chinese colleagues after a six-month inquiry. It is now certain that the four will face trial and are likely to be convicted. Under the commercial secrets charge, courts can jail people for up to three years, or up to seven years in “especially serious” cases....

Mining giant Rio Tinto conducted industrial espionage in China’s steel industry over a six-year period, costing Chinese state more than $100bn (£60bn) in unnecessary overpayments, it was alleged on Sunday. An article published on a website controlled by the Chinese State Secrets Bureau also claimed that large amounts of “intelligence and data” had been found on Rio ’s computers following the arrest of four Rio executives on spying charges last month. The report on baomi.org, a publishing affiliate of China’s national secrets watchdog, accused Rio of “winning over and buying off, prying out intelligence... and gaining things by deceit” during...

Rio Tinto spied on China for 6 years: state bureau Sun Aug 9, 9:02 am ET BEIJING (AFP) – China's state secrets watchdog has accused Australian mining giant Rio Tinto of committing industrial espionage against China for six years and causing the country significant economic losses. Chinese authorities detained Australian citizen Stern Hu and three other Shanghai-based Rio employees in early July and accused them of bribery and stealing state secrets during iron ore contract negotiations. Rio said in July the accusations are "wholly without foundation." "The large amount of data and intelligence on China's steel sector found on Rio...

China’s “whole steel industry has been bribed” by Rio Tinto, suggested a lead article in the China Daily newspaper on Wednesday that marks a sharp escalation in a dispute rocking the global steel and iron ore industries. The state-owned China Daily quoted an unnamed “industry insider” claiming Rio bribed each of the 16 Chinese steel companies involved in this year’s negotiations to set the benchmark iron ore price, a process that brings together steelmakers and suppliers of iron ore, steel’s key ingredient.

We need a new primer on how to do business in China. Years ago, on a flight to Shanghai, you could spot an MBA graduate in every seat mouthing polite mantras — how to show “face”, how to behave at a banquet. Long on protocol, the books were short on useful information. What you really need to know is who’s in charge; which Communist Party official pulls the strings; what to do when a bureaucrat solicits a bribe or the IT staff sell secrets to a state competitor. A manual for today’s China tyro would make grim reading. A former...

Paradise lost: the downside of doing business with China For years Western bosses sung Beijing’s praises. Now they are learning the cost of dealing with a control-freak regime Carl Mortished We need a new primer on how to do business in China. Years ago, on a flight to Shanghai, you could spot an MBA graduate in every seat mouthing polite mantras — how to show “face”, how to behave at a banquet. Long on protocol, the books were short on useful information. What you really need to know is who’s in charge; which Communist Party official pulls the strings; what...

Business is being reshaped around the world. China was miffed by the outcome of what we last year called the corporate "deal of the century." But shareholder interests prevailed. How often will that be said in the future? Politics, that ugly dynamic when mixed with business, was already back in play last week as Rio Tinto, an Australian mining giant at the heart of the controversy, saw four of its Chinese executives arrested in Shanghai on spying charges. China says the busts are not retribution for the cancelled deal between Rio and a state-owned company, which received angry press in...

China confirms Rio Tinto staff arrests By Rob Taylor and Benjamin Kang Lim 1 hr 22 mins ago SYDNEY/BEIJING (Reuters) – China confirmed on Thursday the arrest of an Australian mining executive and three others on spying allegations, in a case that has rattled currency markets and raised questions about China-Australia relations. The four employees of miner Rio Tinto were arrested on charges of stealing state secrets, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing Shanghai state security authorities. "The case was being investigated according to law," Xinhua said. It gave no further details. Reports of the detentions had already emerged...