Once seen as a slowing option in the global mining industry, US copper deposits have quietly drawn more than $1.1billion in investments as electric car-makers such as Tesla rush for more of the metal.
And leading the way in mine expansions is Nevada Copper Corp, which is building one of four copper projects set to open in the country by the end of 2020.
One of the first to be opened in more than a decade, the Pumpkin Hollow copper project in Yerington, Nevada, is less than 60 miles (100 km) from Tesla’s massive Gigafactory, a closeness that one main investor said was a key factor for investment.
Stephen Gill of Switzerland-based Pala Investments, Nevada Copper’s largest shareholder, added: ‘The copper industry needs areas of good supply with low political risk, and that’s what we get in the United States’.
Surrounded by fields of onion farms and backed by the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Pumpkin Hollow mine will produce more than 100,000 tonnes of copper each year once it opens underground and open-pit portions are fully operational, which is expected to happen in phases.
The project has largely been supported by local residents as the state's economy has historically been linked to mining, however, some have opposed it due to concerns about water rights and native lands.
Below we take a look at the construction of the underground mine with a remarkable collection of photos.
Finished! The main shaft station, pictured, has now been completed and will hold the material handling system. This will hoist ore out of the mine during production
0 Comments