Today, the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity awarded Rio Tinto a post-performance tax reduction for a potential expansion of its mining operation in Salt Lake County. The corporate incentive is part of the state’s Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF) program.
As part of the agreement, Rio Tinto is seeking approval to expand its critical mineral production at its Kennecott copper asset. If approved, this project would add seven new, high-paying jobs and invest $201 million in Utah over a five-year period.
Copper ores bodies contain many of the critical metals used in the semiconductor industry. In 2022, Kennecott announced its production of tellurium — a metal required to make solar panels and produces roughly 20 tons of tellurium as copper telluride a year, contributing around 3% of global supply and serving as a new North American supply chain for this critical mineral. Now that Kennecott can make a copper telluride product, Rio Tinto is investigating recovery of other critical minerals such as Gallium and Geranium.
Tax Credit Projections
| Timeline: | 5 years |
| Jobs: | 7 |
| Wages: | $4,920,000 |
| New state tax revenue: | $6,823,755 |
| EDTIF new state tax credit: | 15% |
Learn more about the state’s post-performance EDTIF program here.