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A member of the Odonnetto Construction crew presents a photo of the crew in front of Apache Leap to JS Jacques. Tyson Nansel | Submitted
Jean Sebastien (JS) Jacques, Chief Executive of Copper and Coal Group for Rio Tinto, speaks to community members and Resolution contractors and employees last week. Jacques paid a visit to the mine site to see the progress being made in Superior. Tyson Nansel | Submitted
Jean Sebastien (JS) Jacques the Chief Executive of Copper and Coal Group for Rio Tinto along with Craig Stegman who is the Chief Growth and Innovation officer for the global mining company visited the Resolution Copper project last week.
Their day included a trip underground to see the progress of construction and underground working conditions, meetings with the Resolution Copper project team, tours of the reclamation of the lower smelter pond clean up and an all hands lunch with the staff, contractors, key project supporters and meetings with community leaders.
Jacques gave a brief speech to the to attendees of the all hands lunch.
“We are happy to spend $20 million dollars on sinking this shaft,” he said. Jacques also explained that he was pleased to see all the final touches to the number ten shaft and that working conditions are much better than they were when he visited in the Spring of 2015. In the spring he said it was hot, muggy and foggy but now the climate underground is much better.
“BHP and Rio Tinto are committed to this project and we want to make sure that the community also wants this project,” he explained.
Jacques stated that the sinking of the number nine shaft will resume. “(The) restart of number nine construction is coming,” he said. He commented on the fact that the investment committee at Rio Tinto has committed to funding the project through 2016.
The crews from Odonnetto Construction presented JS with a photo of their crew with the Apache Leap in the back ground following the completion of the lower smelter pond reclamation project.
Craig Stegman thanked the community for their ongoing support of the project. “The public has never really wavered from this.”
The commitment to this Resolution Copper project is not affected as heavily on the prices of the copper commodity. As many mines in the region have laid hundreds of people off and reduced their output, the development of the Resolution Copper project is not as affected.
“Rio Tinto invests in these projects for the long term,” explained Jacques. Many of their long term mining projects have taken 18 to 20 years to complete construction, permitting and actually begin producing. To balance the company financially the Rio Tinto only invests in tier one assets which means that the ore bodies are large and can be mined in a low cost method.
Stegman and Jacques talked a little about the United States permitting process for mines; sometimes permitting can take five to ten years to complete. The permitting process does not discourage investment in the United States. “The permitting process is well defined and very thorough in the US,” explained Stegman. “We invest in the United States because there are people and infrastructure here, in other projects we have to deliver those needs.”
Mila Besich is a resident of Superior with two children. She volunteers for many local organizations. She is an experienced fundraiser and event planner for Copper Corridor Economic Development Coalition. She covers some of the area town councils and schools.
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