# Resolution Copper by Rio Tinto Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/materials/resolution-copper Frontier: [Materials](https://technooptimist.io/materials.md) · Field: Copper & strategic metals · Company: [Rio Tinto](https://technooptimist.io/companies/rio-tinto.md) Stage: Proto (2 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-10-02, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Mine a deposit that could meet up to a quarter of US copper demand for decades, as grids, EVs and data centres need far more copper than US mines now produce. Status: Owns the Oak Flat land since March 2026; exploratory drilling; tribes and 11 judges seek Supreme Court review. Next milestone: Further appeals to the Supreme Court, target 2026 ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | Congress approves Oak Flat land exchange in defence bill | Dec 2014 | | | Done | Federal government withdraws environmental review | Mar 2021 | | | Done | 9th Circuit rules 6-5 against Apache Stronghold | 1 Mar 2024 | | | Done | Supreme Court declines Apache Stronghold appeal | 27 May 2025 | | | Done | Land exchange completed; Forest Service final decision | 16 Mar 2026 | | | Current | Further appeals to the Supreme Court | 2026 | | ## Upcoming events - **2026**: Further appeals to the Supreme Court ## Most important updates - **2 Oct 2026**: Eleven 9th Circuit judges urge the Supreme Court to revisit the Oak Flat ruling. The Ninth Circuit again declined to rehear challenges to the Oak Flat land exchange, but 11 of its judges, including Chief Judge Mary Murguia, dissented and urged the Supreme Court to intervene. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/eleven-9th-circuit-judges-urge-the-supreme-court-to-revisit-the-oak-e17f99fa.md) · [original source](https://www.kjzz.org/tribal-natural-resources/2026-10-02/11-judges-from-9th-circuit-ask-u-s-supreme-court-to-correct-tragic-error-over-apache-holy-site)) - **19 Mar 2026**: Supreme Court rejects emergency bid to stop Oak Flat transfer; Resolution Copper now owns the land. The Supreme Court tossed an emergency appeal by a group of Apache women seeking to block the Oak Flat transfer, leaving in place a 13 March Ninth Circuit ruling that the challenge was unlikely to succeed. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/supreme-court-rejects-emergency-bid-to-stop-oak-flat-transfer-3d9e041b.md) · [original source](https://news.bgov.com/environment-and-energy/supreme-court-denies-bid-to-stop-copper-mine-land-transfer)) - **27 May 2025**: US Supreme Court declines Apache Stronghold appeal over the Oak Flat copper mine. The Supreme Court refused to hear Apache Stronghold's religious-freedom challenge to the transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, the Rio Tinto-BHP venture. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/us-supreme-court-declines-apache-stronghold-appeal-over-the-oak-flat-801df39c.md) · [original source](https://eos.org/research-and-developments/supreme-court-rejects-tribal-appeal-to-halt-planned-copper-mine)) ## Current obstacles - **Sacred site and continuing lawsuits**: Oak Flat is sacred to Apache tribes; challengers and 11 9th Circuit judges are asking the Supreme Court to step in, and a repeal bill exists. - **No construction decision or date**: With the land secured, the project still needs final engineering and an investment decision; no first-production date has been given. ## Physics limits - **Deep ore is costly to reach**: At 1.5-2 km down, rock pressure and groundwater make access shafts, ventilation and ground support a large part of the cost of every tonne. - **Caving changes the surface**: Block or panel caving removes support beneath the surface, so the ground above eventually subsides into a large depression; that is central to the Oak Flat dispute. ## How it works ### Deposit: Deep porphyry copper A large low-to-medium-grade copper body (about 1.5% copper) sits beneath the old Magma mine, far deeper than most copper mines. ### Mining: Underground caving Instead of digging every tonne, miners undercut the ore so it breaks and falls under its own weight into collection points. ### Land: Oak Flat exchange The mine needed 2,422 acres of federal land at Oak Flat, swapped for about 5,300 acres elsewhere; the land passed to Resolution in March 2026. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Resolution Copper | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | | Resource (inferred) | 1.624 Bt at 1.47% copper | reported | | Deposit depth | 5,000-7,000 ft (1.5-2.1 km) | reported | | Share of US copper demand | Up to 25% | reported | | Copper over mine life | Up to 40 billion lb | reported | | Mine life | Up to 40 years | reported | | Ownership | Rio Tinto 55% / BHP 45% | reported | | Spent by early 2023 | >US$2 billion | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About Rio Tinto British-Australian mining company developing its first commercial lithium operation at Rincon, Argentina, with $2.5B capital investment. - Secured $1.175B financing in March 2026 from IFC, IDB Invest, EFA, and JBIC for Rincon lithium. - Rincon is Rio Tinto's first commercial lithium operation, targeting 60,000 tonnes per year by 2028. - Shipped first 200 tonnes from Rincon starter plant in March 2026 to Shanghai. - Founded: 1873 - Headquarters: GB, AU - Status: public - Website: https://www.riotinto.com Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/rio-tinto.md ## Related programs More from Rio Tinto: - [Rincon Lithium Project](https://technooptimist.io/materials/rincon-lithium-project.md) (Deploy) Everything in Materials: https://technooptimist.io/materials.md --- The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt). 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