Rio Tinto $RIO (-0,84%) believes US President Donald Trump's administration will grant approval for a giant copper mine in Arizona that has been delayed for 12 years, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Rio Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm told the newspaper in an interview: "I think we now have a really good chance of moving the project forward. We have made a lot of progress".
A mining plan for the Resolution mine was first submitted to the US Forest Service in 2013. If completed, it would be the largest copper mine in North America. The project is 55% owned by the British company Rio Tinto and 45% by the Australian BHP Group Ltd $ABHPG.
The planned underground mine is located 60 million east of Phoenix. It would target a deposit more than 2,000 meters deep. According to Rio Tinto, it has the potential to meet 25% of the US copper demand.
Rio Tinto also said it remains in talks with Native American tribes in the area, but noted that Apache Stronghold has filed a lawsuit against the project.
