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1) Miners in British Columbia spent almost twice the amount that they spent in 2021 looking for copper, according to a survey, further solidifying the importance of the red metal. According to the British Columbia mineral and exploration survey, representing 170 mining companies and 230 projects, spending on copper exploration jumped to $235 million in 2022. “With the prevalence of copper-rich polymetallic deposits in the province and the growing need for copper in the transition to a greener economy, B.C. has the opportunity to position itself as a leader in the copper supply market,” Theo Yameogo, the head of Ernst & Young Global Ltd.’s Americas and Canada Mining & Metals said in a statement. In December, Canada included copper as one of the top six critical minerals along with lithium, graphite, nickel, cobalt and rare earth minerals as they are key ingredients in the clean energy sector. Along with exploration, many large miners are pursuing new copper projects, like mergers and acquisitions, as well as new countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
2) Rio Tinto said that it remains committed to building broader support from an Indigenous group that opposes the Resolution mine in Superior Arizona, which could supply about 25% of the copper needs of America. The project would be able to produce more than 40 billion pounds of copper for the green energy transition, at a time when the current administration has lofty goals for electric vehicles and green infrastructure. The mine would be underground sitting below the federally owned Oak Flat Campground, a place that some Apache Indians consider home to deities and argue that would destroy a worship site. The tribe refuses to meet with Rio Tinto, and wants to negotiate directly with the federal government, which approved a land swap to give Rio Tinto the land containing the copper with acreage that Rio owns nearby. President Biden put that land swap on hold in 2021, still pushing for clean energy without the minerals to do so. Rio Tinto will keep pushing to come to some kind of middle ground with the tribal members to satisfy both parties.