Copper is in high demand, including for defense purposes. The war in Ukraine is sharply increasing demand, using millions of copper-containing shells. “Every day, the war consumes many tonnes of copper – at the end of the war there will be a new mine in Ukraine with all that copper scrap,” a producer source told Fastmarkets. But we need copper for our own national defense, too. Retired General John Adams put it succinctly: “As the war in Ukraine underscores, productive capacity is the foundation from which we can project strength and deterrence.” This is why we should support copper production within the U.S.
Rio Tinto’s Resolution Copper project is a proposed copper mine that can supply up to 25 percent of U.S. demand for copper each year, and as much as 40 billion pounds of copper over 40 years. It’s located in Arizona, an area with a long history of mining. Supporting Resolution Copper will help ensure we have copper when we need it most.