Rio Tinto is seeking environmental approval for a new copper mine in Western Australia, The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported.
The Winu copper and gold project sits in the Paterson Range where the major discovered the potential for a site almost seven years ago.
Though the company is yet to release production forecasts, the project is expected to weigh in as a mid-size mine by Rio standards, with an overall footprint of approximately 40,000 hectares.
The AFR said the project suggests a mine life of up to 41 years, and that Rio has been in talks with Traditional Owner groups on plans for the mine.
The company previously emphasised its intention to work closely with the Nyangumarta and Martu Traditional Owners based on their schedule and were in no rush to develop Winu.
Progressing the mine would see open pit mining below the water table with 490 million tonnes of waste rock mined over the life of the project.
Rio has also speculated in the past the potential for Winu to see a network of mines within a single system.
The project was dubbed Rio’s copper whopper back in 2017 after a flurry of land buy-up from the miner saw it increase its holding by tens of thousands of kilometres.
Drilling progress at the site was halted in 2020, which delayed Rio’s initial estimates for first production – until now.
Should the project receive an environmental tick of approval, first production could come as early as 2024.
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