Mining giant BHP has teamed up with SiTration, a spin-out from MIT, to launch an ambitious pilot program in Arizona aimed at recovering copper from old mining wastewater. The project is centered at BHP’s Copper Cities facility within the Globe-Miami mining district, a site with a long history of production dating back to the mid-twentieth century. By targeting legacy assets, the partnership hopes to turn environmental liabilities into productive resources through a specialized extraction process.
The technology provided by SiTration claims to be a game changer for the industry because it can produce high grade copper without relying on harsh chemicals or creating additional waste. Early tests showed promising results, utilizing very low amounts of energy to achieve LME Grade A copper quality. The rollout will happen in stages, starting with a one month autonomous trial followed by a larger phase later this year intended to produce up to two tons of commercial scale copper cathodes.
This move comes at a critical time as global demand for copper skyrockets due to the expansion of power grids and the massive electrical needs of AI data centers. Industry experts suggest that annual demand could climb from 34 million tons today to 50 million tons by 2050. According to SiTration CEO Brendan Smith, the American Southwest contains billions of dollars worth of copper trapped in legacy water, offering a unique way to strengthen domestic supply chains while keeping costs extremely low.
For BHP, this venture aligns perfectly with its current corporate strategy. For the first time on an annual basis, copper has surpassed iron ore as the companies primary profit driver, contributing more than half of its total underlying earnings recently. As CEO Brandon Craig noted during recent financial presentations, copper has become the central engine driving BHPs overall growth and future expansion efforts globally.