SALT LAKE CITY — A southern Utah copper mine has restarted operations in an arrangement with Rio Tinto Kennecott.
Milford Mining resumed operations earlier this year at a mine it acquired in Beaver County. Now, the mine has inked a deal to sell the copper it extracts to Rio Tinto Kennecott, which runs its own mine in Bingham Canyon and a smelter operation near Magna.
The Milford area mine went dormant in 2019. Then it was acquired by Milford Mining in 2023. Since then, it has been hiring workers as it expands operations.
"It’s fantastic for rural Utah. We are currently about 105 full-time and direct employees, plus another 35 to 45 contractors. As we progress towards our expansion which we announced in April, we'll continue to hire more construction workers," said Brendan Moseley, the CEO of Milford Mining.
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The company has so far invested about $40 million into the mining operation. This week, Rio Tinto Kennecott announced it would be acquiring some of the copper mined from Milford which will be processed at the Magna smelter (one of two copper smelters operating in the United States).
Right now, there is a huge consumer demand for copper, said Nate Foster, the managing director for Rio Tinto Kennecott.
"That’s a lot of things. That’s the electrification of the automobile industry. This is the massive need for more electricity with data centers. You hear a lot on the federal level of more manufacturing. Whether it’s copper wire, whether it be plumbing, electronics, electric cars. Copper is critical in everything we touch as humans," he said.
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Moseley said the Milford copper mine has about eight to nine years left on its life, but it is already looking at expansion.
