like a copper mine Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon Mine, located outside Salt Lake City, is at the forefront of America’s clean energy transition.
Global demand for copper, a key component in electric vehicles, is expected to rise from 25 million tonnes to nearly 49 million tonnes by 2035, according to S&P Global.
However, miners face many challenges when expanding production, including addressing the concerns of local stakeholders, mitigating environmental damage, and operating in remote parts of the world.
“There will be significant challenges to this transition over the next 10 years,” said Tyler Broda, metals and mining analyst at RBC Capital Markets. “It’s very difficult for these companies to even maintain their current production levels.”
Rio Tinto is one of the world’s largest mining companies, with projects in 35 countries and co-located in Australia and the UK. There are 17 iron ore mines in Western Australia that produce the material used in steel, as well as mines producing aluminium, diamonds and boron, an ingredient in smartphones.
So what is Rio Tinto doing to increase production at its vital minerals operations? CNBC went behind the scenes at Rio Tinto’s Utah operation to find out.
Watch the video to learn more.
