By Rhiannon Hoyle

Rio Tinto, the world's second-biggest miner by market value, wants to increase its investment in the U.S., especially in copper, the head of the company's copper business said, after President Trump signed an executive order to streamline permitting processes and boost government financing for minerals projects.

"We have a strong desire to invest more in the U.S., particularly in copper," Katie Jackson said in emailed remarks Friday.

"It's clear that under the Trump administration, there is an increasing recognition of the need for domestic sources of copper and other critical materials in the U.S., to support manufacturing and the country's energy future," Jackson said.

Rio Tinto is the majority owner and operator of the Resolution copper project, located in Arizona, which it has estimated could supply as much as a quarter of the country's current demand for the industrial metal. It started the permitting process for the project, which has faced repeated legal challenges, in 2013.

Rio Tinto also runs the Kennecott copper operation in Utah, where it has been expanding mining underground and, in 2023, completed a major rebuild of its smelter. The company produces several other materials in the U.S., including lithium, borates and tellurium.

President Trump's executive order includes measures designed to boost U.S. minerals production and reduce America's reliance on supplies from other countries. China is the world's dominant supplier of many critical materials.

"Our national and economic security are now acutely threatened by our reliance upon hostile foreign powers' mineral production," the order said.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2025 02:43 ET (06:43 GMT)

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