Obama signs mining land swap measures into law – by Dorothy Kosich (Mineweb.com – December 22, 2014)

http://www.mineweb.com/

Two copper projects in Arizona and Nevada will now advance to the next stage as the National Defense Authorization Act has now become law.

The NDAA includes land swaps that benefit the Resolution Copper Project in Arizona. Rio Tinto Copper’s CEO says the passage of the land exchange at Resolution will help it establish the full potential of the resource and provides a clear road map to commercial development.

President Barak Obama has signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, which includes riders containing the largest public lands package since 2009, which includes land swaps that benefit the Resolution Copper Project in Arizona and the Pumpkin Hollow Copper Project in Nevada.

A joint venture of Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton allows for the exchange of 2,400 acres of federal land at Oak Flat around the deposit for 5,400 privately owned acres of land held by Resolution Copper including riparian habitat on the lower San Pedro River.

The high-value conservations land were identified through the input from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Audubon Society and others. The swap consolidates ownership of the land where the mine will be developed and operated.

In an e-mail to the Wall Street Journal, Rio Tinto Copper chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said, “Passage of the land exchange at Resolution will help us establish the full potential of the resource and provides a clear road map to commercial development.”

“Resolution is a central component of our copper strategy and we are willing to invest in development over many years to bring high-quality, long-life copper assets into production,” he said.

The underground mine is expected to yield more than one billion pounds of copper annually, or 25% of U.S. copper demand. Mine life is estimated to be at least 40 years. It is expected to directly employ 1,400 persons. The mine is expected to generate $61.4 billion in economic benefits to Arizona over its lifetime, including nearly $20 billion in local, state and federal taxes.

Rio Tinto, the operator of Resolution, hopes to begin producing copper in the mid-2020s. However, the project is now subject to a comprehensive environmental and regulatory review process.

For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.mineweb.com/obama-signs-mining-land-swap-measures-law/