Coils, coiled copper wires, lie on pallets within the wire plant (coiler) at Aurubis AG.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has slammed an appeals court docket determination to quickly block a land switch wanted by mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP to develop what’s slated to grow to be one of many nation’s greatest copper mines.
In a post on social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump mentioned the most recent setback to Arizona’s Resolution Copper mine would impression 1000’s of jobs at a time when the world’s largest economic system “quite simply, needs Copper — AND NOW!”
His feedback got here shortly after he met the chief executives of Rio Tinto and BHP on the White House, alongside Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Two of the world’s largest mining corporations, Rio Tinto and BHP have been making an attempt to develop the Arizona copper project collectively for roughly 20 years, however the procedures have been beset by authorized points.
The ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday issued a brief restraining order to forestall a land switch, whereas the court docket considers challenges which were introduced by opponents together with the San Carlos Apache Tribe, which is looking for to dam the project over non secular, cultural and environmental causes.
“It is so sad that Radical Left Activists can do this, and affect the lives of so many people. Those that fought it are Anti-American, and representing other Copper competitive Countries,” Trump mentioned within the Truth Social submit.
Members of the Native American group Apache Stronghold maintain protest playing cards forward of formally asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an earlier ruling permitting Rio Tinto to develop the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona, exterior the court docket in Washington, U.S., September 11, 2024.
Piroschka Van De Wouw | Reuters
Resolution Copper described the Monday ruling as “merely a temporary pause,” including it was assured the court docket would in the end affirm the required land switch.
“This proposed mine is a rip-off, will destroy a sacred area, decimates our environment, threatens our water rights, and is bad for America,” Terry Rambler, chairman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, said in a Facebook submit.
Addressing Trump’s Truth Social submit on the current court docket ruling, Rambler mentioned the U.S. president’s feedback “mirror misinformation that has been repeated by foreign mining interests that want to extract American copper.”
He added that he was keen to fulfill with the Trump administration to assist “protect American interests.”
Copper demand
The Arizona copper project is a proposed underground mine roughly 60 miles east of Phoenix, near the city of Superior. The three way partnership is 55% owned by Rio Tinto and 45% by BHP.
Resolution Copper says the ore deposit represents “one of the most significant untapped copper deposits today” and estimates the potential for the project so as to add $1 billion a yr to Arizona’s economic system.
A extremely conductive steel, copper is a essential part to nearly all the things within the fashionable economic system, from photo voltaic panels and wind generators to protection functions and synthetic intelligence infrastructure.
Demand for copper is expected to skyrocket over the approaching years, dramatically outstripping supply amid the vitality transition.
In a LinkedIn post, BHP CEO Mike Henry thanked Trump and Burgum for “for their strong leadership to reinvigorate mining and processing supply chains in and for America.”
Alongside Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm and the corporate’s incoming chief govt, Simon Trott, BHP’s Henry mentioned they met with Trump and Burgum to underscore the agency’s dedication to develop Resolution Copper.
US President Donald Trump speaks throughout a gathering with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy within the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
The U.S. produces solely about 5% of the world’s copper, in response to Dutch financial institution ING and has seen a 20% decline in output over the final decade. Building new mines within the nation, in the meantime, can take a substantial period of time resulting from a prolonged allowing course of.
Trump lately surprised markets by exempting refined metals from tariffs on copper merchandise. The U.S. president initially touted copper tariffs of fifty% as a part of an effort to spice up home manufacturing and cut back the nation’s reliance on imports.
In a pared-back announcement thereafter, nonetheless, Trump said the U.S. would impose a 50% tariff on copper pipes and wiring from Aug. 1, leaving out copper ores, concentrates and cathodes.
More than half of worldwide copper reserves are said to be situated in simply 5 international locations — Chile, Australia, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Russia.