Amazon to be first user of copper made by Rio Tinto venture

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be the first to use copper produced at a mine in Arizona using bioleaching technology developed by Nuton, a Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) venture. The parties struck on Thursday an agreement that would allow AWS to use Nuton’s copper products across its US data centers over a two-year period.

The deal follows Nuton’s recent production milestone at the Johnson Camp mine (JCM) operated by Canada’s Gunnison Copper (TSX: GCU). Located about 105 km east of Tucson, the JCM mine became the newest copper producer in the US after producing its first copper last fall. The open-pit, heap-leach operation is expected to run for 15-20 years, with an annual production capacity of 25 million lb. of copper.

Nuton has been testing its proprietary bioleaching technology at JCM in partnership with Gunnison. The collaboration started in 2023, aimed at commercial-scale copper production with a low carbon footprint. Nuton’s method involves the use of microorganisms to extract copper from sulfide ores, removing the need for polluting concentrators, smelters and refineries.

Other major copper producers, including BHP Group and Antofagasta, are also pushing to develop similar technologies.

In December, Nuton made a breakthrough by producing the first cathodes using its technology, and is now proceeding with the validation phase. The partnership with Gunnison is expected to last five years, after which a joint venture may be formed.

To date, the Rio Tinto venture has invested $100 million in technology deployment and construction, paid down by JCM’s copper production.

“This collaboration is a powerful example of how industrial innovation and cloud technology can combine to deliver cleaner, lower-carbon materials at scale,” Rio Tinto copper chief executive Katie Jackson said in a press release.

Analytics support

The AWS deal underscores copper’s significance to the artificial intelligence sector, with analysts warning of a looming supply squeeze as producers struggle to meet demand growth. Data centers use copper in a wide variety of ways, including electrical cables and busbars, windings in transformers and motors, printed circuit boards, and heat sinks on processors.

As part of the arrangement, AWS will also supply cloud-based data and analytics to help optimize the performance of Nuton’s technology, such as acid and water use. This approach, combined with digital tools, enables rapid scaling and tailoring of the technology to different ore bodies, reducing the pathway from concept to production, Nuton said in a statement.

“Nuton has already proven its ability to rapidly move from idea to industrial production, and AWS’s data and analytics expertise will help us to accelerate optimization and verification across operations,” Jackson said.

Low-carbon production

According to Nuton, its technology is able to achieve recovery rates of up to 85% and cuts out milling, tailings, smelting and refining, thus shortening supply chains and delivering copper cathode right at the mine.

The technology could reduce water usage by up to 80% and carbon emissions by as much as 60% compared to traditional copper concentration. It can also extend mine life by extracting metals from waste material.

“Amazon’s Climate Pledge goal to reach net zero carbon by 2040 requires us to innovate across every part of our operations, including how we source the materials that power our infrastructure,” Amazon’s chief sustainability officer Kara Hurst added.

“This collaboration with Nuton Technology represents exactly the kind of breakthrough we need—a fundamentally different approach to copper production that helps reduce carbon emissions and water use.”