Amazon has struck a deal to buy up the first new U.S.-mined copper in more than a decade to fuel its AI data centers in the country, WSJ reports. The agreement, inked with Rio Tinto, will provide some of the copper using the mining company's innovative new Nuton Technology, which drastically reduces the mine-to-market chain. It follows multiple reports in 2025 that copper markets are feeling the pinch due to aggressive AI expansion, with industry watchers warning that only 70% of 2035 demand could be met.
As WSJ notes, the copper will be sourced from Gunnison Copper's Johnson Camp mine in Arizona, a mine which has been restarted as a testbed for Rio Tinto's new method for opening up low-grade deposits. This Nuton Technology was deployed at an industrial scale at the Johnson Camp copper mine last month, according to Rio Tinto. "The process produces 99.99% pure copper cathode at the mine gate and removes the need for traditional concentrators, smelters and refineries, significantly shortening the mine-to-market supply chain," the company explains. The extraction method purportedly uses substantially less water and produces lower carbon emissions compared to conventional methods.
According to WSJ, the new deal "will satisfy only a sliver of Amazon’s needs." That's because each of Amazon's mammoth data centers require tens of thousands of tons of copper. The Arizona Nuton output is expected to be 14,000 metric tons in four years, according to the report, not even enough for one such facility. Rio Tinto notes that a further 16,000 tonnes will come from a conventional run-of-mine leaching pad. This will push the deal's output to nearly 30,000 tonnes, but ensures that less than half will be delivered using the more environmentally friendly method.
"Amazon’s Climate Pledge goal to reach net zero carbon by 2040 requires us to innovate across every part of our operations, including how we source the materials that power our infrastructure," its Chief Sustainability Officer, Kara Hurst, said. "This collaboration with Nuton Technology represents exactly the kind of breakthrough we need—a fundamentally different approach to copper production that helps reduce carbon emissions and water use. As we continue to invest in next-generation carbon-free energy technology and expand our data centre operations, securing access to lower-carbon materials produced close to home strengthens both our supply chain resilience and our ability to decarbonize at scale.”
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