SANTIAGO, April 16 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto (RIO.L), (RIO.AX) aims to keep all of the copper from its Resolution mine inside the United States should the long-delayed and controversial project win regulatory approval, a senior executive said on Tuesday.
The Arizona mine would, if developed, over its life produce more than 40 billion pounds (18.1 million metric tons) of copper and supply more than a quarter of U.S. demand, but it is strongly opposed by some Native Americans given concerns the project could destroy a site of religious and cultural import.
That has placed Resolution at the center of a simmering debate about where best to secure copper and other critical minerals for the clean energy transition.
Some of Resolution's opponents have repeatedly alleged that Anglo-Australian miner Rio would export the project's copper, but the company sees strong demand inside the United States, Bold Baatar, head of Rio's copper business, said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Copper Conference in Santiago.
"Certainly if Resolution comes on stream, all of that copper we would like it to be sold in the U.S.," he said.
Rio operates Utah's Kennecott copper mine and smelter, with all of its production consumed inside the country. The only other U.S. copper smelter is operated by Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N).
A Native American group on Monday asked all members of a U.S. appeals court to overturn an earlier ruling that granted land to Rio and minority partner BHP (BHP.AX) to develop Resolution. U.S. President Joe Biden had separately paused a regulatory decision on the project in 2021.
