Rio Tinto Utah copper processing not impacted by landslip

A recent landslip has not disrupted copper smelting and processing at Rio Tinto Kennecott's Bingham Canyon mine in Utah, the company said June 4.

The landslip occurred May 31 in the southeast corner of the mine, a company spokesman said in an email to S&P Global Platts.

"The landslip was expected based on geotechnical monitoring that is constantly undertaken at the mine and therefore all personnel had been removed from the area in advance to ensure their safety," the spokesman said.

"We will resume work in the area when it is safe to do so. Other parts of the mine and the Rio Tinto Kennecott operation continue to run as normal," he added.

The landslip was much smaller in scale compared with the landslide that damaged a pit wall at the mine in 2013, the spokesman said.

He declined to comment on whether the incident would affect ore feedstock availability or overall mining output.

Kennecott produced 140,000 mt of mined copper and 84,800 mt of refined copper in 2020.