BHP, MIT spinout to trial copper recovery tech at historic Arizona mine
Copper cities pilot aims to demonstrate a new source of domestic copper supply by recovering metal from legacy mining water.
MIT-spinout SiTration and BHP have announced plans to begin two pilot deployments in Arizona to test SiTration’s technology for valorizing copper from legacy mining water. The historic Copper Cities mine in the Globe-Miami district operated from the 1950s to the early 1980s, producing nearly 400,000 tonnes of copper. The first pilot, scheduled for August, aims to validate continuous, autonomous copper production from the mine’s water over a one-month period.
A larger deployment later this year will aim to produce up to two tonnes of commercial-scale copper cathodes in two months, according to SiTration. Both companies see potential in recovering value from such legacy mining assets and creating new pathways to increase domestic US copper supply. SiTration has already demonstrated LME Grade A copper production using real feedstock from the site through bench-scale testing, with energy consumption below 3-4 kWh/kg.
SiTration CEO Brendan Smith highlighted the American Southwest’s potential for copper recovery, as the region contains billions of dollars’ worth of copper locked in legacy mining water. With global copper demand projected to grow by around 70% by 2050, tapping into these resources could help bolster domestic supply chains while producing copper at a lower cost.
BHP North American president Jessica Farrell expressed excitement about collaborating with SiTration to test the technology under real operating conditions and understand its potential to recover value from legacy mining water sources.
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