Rio Tinto aims to open Arizona's Resolution Copper mine by the mid-2030s but may need to export some of its copper concentrate due to the challenging economics of smelting in the U.S., a senior executive told Reuters on Tuesday. The Anglo-Australian mining giant this month gained control of acreage needed to build one of the world's largest copper mines after a years-long court fight in which rising U.S. demand for the red metal clashed with the religious rights of the San Carlos Apache people. "We are quite committed to bringing copper on as quickly as we can," Katie Jackson, head of Rio's copper business, told ... (full story)