Key Takeaways:
Gunnison Project: 846M tons M&I at 0.33% Cu → 5.19B lbs copper; NPV8% $2B, IRR 23%.
President Trump announced approximately $3 billion in new critical minerals investments at an August 7 State Department roundtable attended by Gunnison Copper Corp. CEO Craig Hallworth.
"We are in the midst of the most important transformation of the US industrial base to ever occur thanks to President Trump and the critical minerals policies of his administration," Hallworth said.
The roundtable brought together Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and executives from Rio Tinto, BHP and Freeport-McMoRan. Gunnison controls the Cochise Mining District in Arizona's copper belt, containing 12 known deposits within an 8 km radius.
The $3 billion commitment follows a $12 billion national mineral stockpile initiative announced in February and a July executive order tightening restrictions on defense contractors sourcing critical minerals from prohibited foreign suppliers.
Gunnison's flagship Gunnison Copper Project holds a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 846 million tons at 0.33 percent total copper, containing 5.19 billion pounds of copper. The Measured portion is 192 million tons at 0.37 percent (1.42 billion pounds), with the Indicated portion at 655 million tons at 0.31 percent (3.77 billion pounds).
The Strong & Harris satellite deposit, about 1.9 miles from Gunnison's processing facilities, hosts an Inferred Mineral Resource of 76 million tons grading 0.49 percent total copper, 0.56 percent zinc and 0.12 percent silver. That includes approximately 740 million pounds of copper, 483 million pounds of oxide copper, 856 million pounds of zinc and 9.0 million ounces of silver.
A preliminary economic assessment completed in March 2026 for the Gunnison Project yielded an NPV8 percent of $2 billion, an IRR of 23 percent and a payback period of 3.9 years. The project is being developed as a conventional open-pit operation with heap leach and SX/EW refining to produce finished copper cathode on-site with a direct rail link.
Gunnison's Johnson Camp asset is now in production with capacity of up to 25 million pounds of finished copper cathode annually, fully funded by Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto venture. Other deposits in the district with potential as satellite feeder deposits include South Star and eight additional targets.
The $3 billion in new investments announced at the roundtable targets critical mineral production, advanced manufacturing and mining education. The administration's broader strategy aims to reduce US reliance on foreign sources of critical minerals, particularly China, which controls a substantial share of global rare earth processing capacity.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
