| From mineweb.com: Rio Tinto is committing major funding to pre-feasibility studies on its huge underground Resolution copper project in Arizona, US. UK/Australian mining house, Rio Tinto (RIO:L) (RIO:AX), has announced major expenditures to support pre-feasibility studies on what could be the largest ever underground copper mine in the US - and a major Tier 1 copper producer on the world scene.
The company plans to invest $652 million (of which the Rio Tinto plc share would be $341 million and Resolution Copper Mining - effectively owned 55 percent by Rio into and 45 percent by BHP Billiton - would be responsible for the balance.)
The Resolution project is located close to Superior, Arizona which has a long mining history mostly based around the big Magma underground copper mine which was shut down a few years ago. It appears that the Resolution orebody is adjacent to, and deeper than, the old Magma deposits. It appears to be a world class deposit by any standards with the most recent grade and tonnage estimates showing an Inferred Resource of 1.34 billion tonnes grading 1.51 per cent copper and 0.040 per cent molybdenum. However, because of the depth which is more than 1,000 metres below surface, to mine this would be a major undertaking. But the grades are good by moderns standards and the company is looking at a big block caving operation for the project...... Full Article: Source |