Important points
- Rio Tinto and AWS announce a strategic partnership for copper using breakthrough bioleaching technology.
- Bioleaching technology extracts copper with reduced carbon emissions and water usage compared to traditional methods.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the large-scale cloud hosting and online services provider, has signed a two-year agreement with mining giant Rio Tinto’s proprietary bioleaching venture, Newton.
AWS will be the first customer for copper produced using Newton’s innovative bioleaching technology at the Johnson Camp Mine. This copper benefits from Nuton’s environmentally friendly copper extraction methods and will be used in AWS’ US data centers.
The partnership also includes cloud-based data support from AWS to optimize Nuton’s bioleaching operations at the mine, with the aim of reducing water and carbon emissions compared to traditional copper processing methods.
Rio Tinto head of copper Katie Jackson said the partnership demonstrates how industrial innovation combined with cloud technology can support the production of cleaner, lower carbon materials at scale.
“Nuton has already proven its ability to move quickly from idea to industrial production. AWS’s data and analytics expertise will help accelerate optimization and validation across operations,” she added.
According to Kara Hurst, Amazon’s Chief Sustainability Officer, the collaboration with Nuton Technology enables a fundamentally different method of producing copper that reduces both carbon emissions and water consumption, which contributes to AWS’ sustainability strategy.
“Amazon’s Climate Pledge goal of achieving net zero carbon by 2040 requires us to innovate across every part of our business, including how we procure the materials that power our infrastructure,” Hurst said.
“As we continue to invest in next-generation carbon-free energy technologies and expand our data center operations, ensuring access to low-carbon materials produced close to home strengthens both the resilience of our supply chain and our ability to decarbonize at scale,” she added.
