CITY OF MELBOURNE (dpa-AFX) - Rio Tinto (RTNTF), a mining group, on Thursday announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) under which AWS will become the first customer of Rio Tinto's Nuton Technology.
Under a two-year agreement, AWS will use copper produced with Nuton technology in components of its U.S. data centres and provide cloud-based data and analytics services to help optimise the bioleaching process at the Johnson Camp mine in the United States.
Nuton's modular bioleaching technology uses naturally occurring microorganisms to extract copper from primary sulphide ores. Supported by AWS-powered digital tools, the technology enables improved predictions for copper recovery, optimised acid and water use, and faster scaling across different ore bodies.
The process produces 99.99% pure copper cathode at the mine site, removing the need for concentrators, smelters and refineries, shortening the supply chain, lowering water use and carbon emissions, and unlocking value from previously uneconomic ore.
Rio Tinto Copper Chief Executive Katie Jackson said, 'This collaboration is a powerful example of how industrial innovation and cloud technology can combine to deliver cleaner, lower-carbon materials at scale. Nuton has already proven its ability to rapidly move from idea to industrial production, and AWS's data and analytics expertise will help us to accelerate optimisation and verification across operations.'
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