Rio Tinto PLCRio Tinto's Nuton venture expands its copper leaching demonstration at Johnson Camp, advancing its technology deployment and copper supply interests.

Gunnison Copper Corp. has reached an agreement with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture, to revise and optimize the Stage 2 mine plan at the Johnson Camp Mine in southeast Arizona, adding approximately 3 million tons of mineralized material to the mine plan. The additional tons are expected to be mined within the planned demonstration period between 2027 and 2029, while maintaining the existing Stage 2 schedule. Related to the mining activities, Nuton has agreed to make a US$8 million payment to Gunnison, which the company expects to receive in Q4 2026. President and CEO Craig Hallworth said the optimized plan supports continued operations, preserves critical workforce and technical capabilities, and advances the mission to supply pure American copper from Southern Arizona. Gunnison also announced it has elected not to proceed with claiming the Department of Energy 48C Tax Credits conditionally awarded to the company on January 10, 2025, and will continue to evaluate U.S. Federal tax incentive opportunities.
Rio Tinto PLCRio Tinto's Nuton venture expands its copper leaching demonstration at Johnson Camp, advancing its technology deployment and copper supply interests.
Gunnison adds ~3 million tons of mineralized material to its Stage 2 mine plan and secures an US$8 million payment from Nuton.
Nuton revises and optimizes the Stage 2 mine plan, expanding the mineralized material it will process during the 2027-2029 demonstration period.