Rio Tinto Declares Force Majeure Following Fatal Accident In USA

Rio Tinto, the second largest mining company, announced force majeure last Friday over the supply of refined copper from its Kennecott division in the United States following the death of a worker earlier last week.

Rio Tinto Kennecott accounts for nearly 20% of total U.S. copper production and its Bingham Canyon mine is one of the world's leading operations.

Albert Lozano died Oct. 11 from exposure to sulfur dioxide at the company's smelter while performing normal work duties to remove debris from the boiler, the company said in a statement.

While the firm did not provide any information as to when the measure would be lifted, the Utah-based division said that refined copper production at the plant has been suspended since Oct. 8, the day of the incident.

Visible from space, Bingham Canyon is also the deepest open pit in the world. First discovered by Mormon pioneers in the mid-1800s, it is over 1.2 km deep, 4 km wide and covers 7.7 km².

According to the plan, Rio will extend the life of the mine by another decade until 2029. The company believes there is as much ore in the ground as miners have mined from Bingham Canyon since production began in 1906.

The mine is estimated to have produced more copper than any mine in history - over 19 million tonnes. Last year, the mine accounted for 63% of Rio Tinto's copper production, producing 156,500 tonnes of refined copper.

The Anglo-Australian giant on Monday lowered its copper output forecast and said base metal production declined in the third quarter, mainly due to lower initial grades at the Kennecott mine and Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold operations in Mongolia.