AWS signs mega deal with Rio Tinto for the first new copper mine in the US for years - here's what it could do with that windfall

• AWS demand dwarfs Arizona copper output despite renewed domestic mining activity
• Nuton technology shortens copper processing while leaving scale limitations unresolved
• Only part of the deal relies on Rio Tinto’s lower-carbon method

As global copper demand continues to rise, Amazon Web Services has agreed to source newly mined copper from Rio Tinto’s operations in Arizona, marking the first domestic copper supply in more than a decade.

The material will come primarily from the Johnson Camp mine, which has restarted as a proving ground for Rio Tinto’s Nuton bioleaching process.

The agreement links copper output directly to US data center construction, where demand has risen sharply due to expanding compute infrastructure.