Resolution Copper (RCM) is a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP formed to develop and operate an underground copper mine near Superior, Arizona, U.S. The project targets a deep-seated porphyry copper deposit located under the now inactive Magma Mine. Rio Tinto has reported an inferred resource of 1.624 billion tonnes containing 1.47 percent copper and 0.037 percent molybdenum at depths exceeding 1,300 metres (0.81 mi). The proposed mine is one of the largest copper resources in North America. Following the passage of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, many Native American and conservation groups oppose the copper mine because it will destroy the area above Oak Flat and around the deposit.
Aerial view of part of the Resolution Copper Project, the town of Superior and Queen Creek Canyon. US-60E goes up the Canyon (right), and the Resolution exploration shaft and facilities are at the canyon's south rim, at right center (white). Oak Flat campground is beyond the Resolution facilities.
Example of a caving zone, the Henderson molybdenum mine "glory hole" in Colorado, 1989.
Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second largest metals and mining corporation. It was founded in 1873 when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto, in Huelva, Spain, from the Spanish government. It has grown through a long series of mergers and acquisitions. Although primarily focused on extraction of minerals, it also has significant operations in refining, particularly the refining of bauxite and iron ore. It has joint head offices in London, England and Melbourne, Australia.
Rio Tinto headquarters in Melbourne, Australia
The company's name comes from the Rio Tinto in south-western Spain.
Hugh Matheson led the purchase of the Rio Tinto mines from Spain, and was the company's first president.
Pyrite was a major product of Rio Tinto's first mines.
