Amazon Web Services (AWS) partnered with Rio Tinto, becoming the first customer for the mining group's innovative, low-carbon copper. The agreement spans two years.
Rio Tinto will source the copper from a mine in Arizona for use in AWS data center construction. Production utilizes the company’s Nuton bioleaching technology, which extracts copper from low-grade deposits previously classified as waste.
The Nuton technology features significantly lower water usage and reduced carbon emissions compared to traditional mining and refining. This collaboration supports Amazon’s pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
In exchange for the sustainable supply, AWS provides cloud data and analytics to help optimize the new technology. No specific market reaction to this announcement was immediately available.