It was reported that Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project in Arizona obtained a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from the US Forest Service (USFS) after a six-year review. The milestone in progress of Resolution Copper was good news for Rio Tinto, and a quarter of copper demand in the US will be filled if the project was put into production.

The copper project was owned by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton by 55% and 45% respectively. Up to now, the mine was expected to produce 40 billion pounds of copper during the 40-year mining life.

Rio Tinto saw optimistic prospects for global copper demand, some factors, such as the rise of electric vehicles, high demand for battery storage and other environmentally friendly energy, will promote the growth in copper demand.