11 Listed Companies with Copper Projects in the U.S.
Who mines American copper today, who is building the next generation of mines, and which giant deposits remain stuck in permitting.
The United States produced an estimated 1.0 million tonnes of copper in 2025, about 4% of the estimated 23 million tonnes mined globally and behind Chile, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Peru, China, and Russia. Net U.S. import reliance reached 57% of apparent consumption that year, up sharply from 45% in 2024 as refined imports nearly doubled. On November 7, 2025, the U.S. Geological Survey added copper to the official Critical Minerals List for the first time, formally recognising the strategic importance of expanding domestic supply.1
The constraint is not only permitting. The IEA’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 puts the difficulty of adding copper supply anywhere in structural terms: the average global ore grade of copper mines has fallen 40% since 1991, the capital intensity of expanding an existing mine has risen 65% since 2020 to approach greenfield levels, and only 5% of all copper deposits discovered in the last 35 years were found in the most recent decade. Lead times from discovery to production average around 17 years. On the strength of that project pipeline the IEA projects a 25% global copper supply deficit in 2035, narrowed from the 30% it projected a year earlier as new capacity advanced in the DRC, Zambia, Peru and Canada. Notably, none of the U.S. contribution comes from Resolution: the IEA excludes the project from both its base and high-production supply cases because the litigation leaves it too uncertain to model.41
This guide profiles 11 publicly traded companies with operating or development-stage copper assets in the United States, spanning U.S., Canadian, U.K., Australian, and Japanese listings. Companies are included on the strength of their U.S. copper exposure, even where that exposure is a small piece of a much larger global portfolio. What unifies the 11 is geography rather than business model: the list runs from the only U.S. copper major still mining at scale (Freeport-McMoRan), through global majors with one transformational U.S. project (Rio Tinto and BHP at Resolution Copper), operators and rampers with a U.S. footprint (Capstone, and Trekor Metals, formerly Taseko Mines), a U.S. growth-via-development story (Hudbay), a passive stake-holder (Sumitomo at Morenci), and blocked or long-dated developers (Antofagasta, Ivanhoe Electric, Northern Dynasty, Teck).
In the comparison table below, 2025 output figures are mined copper on an attributable basis: Sumitomo’s figure is its 25% share of production at Freeport-operated Morenci, and Rio Tinto’s is Kennecott mined (not refined) output. Contained-copper figures carry the basis tags explained beneath the table and are not directly comparable or summable across rows.
| Company | U.S. assets | Stage | 2025 U.S. mine output (kt) | Contained Cu (Mt) | Mkt cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freeport-McMoRanFCX | 7 operations, AZ + NM | Operating | 592 | 19.3R | $91B |
| Rio TintoRIO | Kennecott + Resolution (55%) | Op + dev | 125 | 14.7RM* | $155B |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining5713.T | Morenci (25%, passive) | Operating | 78 | 2.0R* | $14B |
| Capstone CopperCS.TO | Pinto Valley | Operating | 42 | 1.0R | $7.2B |
| Trekor MetalsTKO.TO | Florence Copper | Ramping | – | 1.0R | $2.5B |
| BHP GroupBHP | Resolution (45%); Faraday pending | Development | – | 12.1RM* | $216B |
| Hudbay MineralsHBM.TO | Copper World, Cactus, Mason | Development | – | 3.7RM | $10B |
| Ivanhoe ElectricIE | Santa Cruz | Development | – | 1.5R | $1.5B |
| AntofagastaANTO.L | Twin Metals (MN) | Suspended | – | 13M | $49B |
| Teck ResourcesTECK | NewRange (50%) | Permitting | – | 4.6M* | $29B |
| Northern Dynasty MineralsNAK | Pebble (AK) | Blocked | – | 26M | $782M |
R = proven and probable reserves · M = measured and indicated resource (not directly comparable with reserves) · * = attributable share · RM = mixed basis. Figures approximate. Market caps as of August 3, 2026.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)
FCX mines more than half of all copper produced in the United States.
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is the key player in the U.S. copper industry. Of the roughly 1.0 million tonnes of copper produced in the United States in 2025, Freeport mined more than half of it.12 Seven producing operations across Arizona and New Mexico make FCX the only U.S.-listed copper major with material domestic production, and its U.S. refining and rod-mill network processes around 70% of total U.S. refined copper output. Morenci, Bagdad, and Safford/Lone Star are the three assets that carry the U.S. growth case; Sierrita, Miami, Chino, and Tyrone round out the seven-operation footprint, with Miami also home to one of the two operating primary copper smelters in the United States, alongside Rio Tinto’s Kennecott.
U.S. Copper Assets
Produced approximately 690 Mlbs of copper in 2025 on a 100% basis (497 Mlbs attributable to FCX at 72%). The largest single contributor to FCX’s leach-recovery growth programme. History at the site dates back to 1881.
Produced 149 Mlbs in 2025 and holds the longest reserve life of any U.S. asset at over 80 years. The Bagdad 2X expansion targets FID in 2H 2026 at a preliminary capital estimate of approximately $4.5 billion per FCX’s July 2026 update (up from the earlier $3.5 billion figure), adding 200 to 250 Mlbs of annual copper.38
Produced 287 Mlbs in 2025 at 0.40% Cu, among the higher-grade U.S. open-pit operations. A pre-feasibility study is expected in 2026 on a potential expansion adding 300–400 Mlbs/yr of production beginning in the 2030s.2
What to watch in 2026
The Bagdad 2X FID, targeted for 2H 2026, is the single largest near-term U.S. copper growth decision on this list, with any remaining permitting steps sitting within an operating-site footprint rather than a greenfield process.2
The innovative leach initiative is already delivering: leach initiatives produced 101 million pounds of incremental copper in the first half of 2026, and management targets a 300 Mlbs annual run rate by year-end 2026, with roughly 800 Mlbs/yr still framed as the longer-term opportunity across FCX’s U.S. and South American operations and Morenci the largest single contributor.38 Further upside depends on leach testing underway at Morenci and other sites. Pre-feasibility work on a Safford/Lone Star sulfide expansion is also underway.2
Investment angle
FCX is the largest and most liquid direct expression of the U.S. copper thesis, with visible brownfield growth that does not depend on permitting a new mine from scratch. It is not a pure U.S. vehicle, though: roughly a third of company copper production is domestic, and Grasberg in Indonesia (where the September 2025 mud rush pushed full ramp-up to mid-to-late 2027) remains a material drag on 2026–27 earnings and free cash flow.
Rio Tinto (RIO)
After more than a decade of federal permitting battles, Resolution Copper’s land exchange closed in March 2026, unlocking a deposit that could supply up to 25% of U.S. copper demand.
Rio Tinto’s Kennecott, the historic Bingham Canyon operation in Utah, is a fully integrated mine-smelter-refinery complex and home to one of the two operating primary copper smelters in the United States (Freeport’s Miami smelter is the other). Kennecott produced 133,600 tonnes of refined copper in 2025 (mined production was 125,100 tonnes)5, down 31% from 2024, after planned concentrator and smelter shutdowns in Q3 suppressed output before a Q4 recovery.
Resolution Copper, a 55% Rio / 45% BHP joint venture in Arizona, holds one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world. After years of permitting delays, the land exchange enabling access to the orebody was completed in March 2026, the critical gating step before full feasibility and development can begin.
U.S. Copper Assets
Open-pit copper-gold-silver-molybdenum mine with integrated smelter and refinery; one of only two US copper smelters currently operating. The North Rim Skarn underground extension (first production Q4 2025) is expected to deliver approximately 250,000 tonnes of mined copper over 10 years.26
Undeveloped deep-underground porphyry resource of 1.787 Bt at 1.5% Cu, roughly 27 Mt of contained copper on a mixed measured-and-indicated-plus-inferred basis (Rio’s attributable share ~14.7 Mt). Federal land exchange completed March 16, 2026 following a Ninth Circuit ruling in the JV’s favour.
What to watch in 2026
Rio committed approximately $500 million over two years to enabling works at Resolution following the land exchange, covering surface drilling, funding for Native American Tribes and local communities, and land-exchange costs. Even with access resolved, Resolution is many years from first production: on GSR’s reading, shaft rehabilitation, infrastructure build, and engineering studies likely push first ore into the 2030s.
Closer in, the North Rim Skarn extension at Kennecott starts contributing in 2026, and the Nuton bioleaching demonstration at Johnson Camp (Rio technology on Gunnison Copper’s mine) continues toward roughly 30 kt of low-carbon cathode.6
Investment angle
Rio offers leveraged exposure to U.S. copper growth without abandoning iron ore’s cash flow: Kennecott is guided to material production growth from 2025 to 2028 on the North Rim Skarn underground extension4, while Resolution is long-dated, high-optionality exposure to one of the world’s largest undeveloped deposits. For investors already holding Rio for iron ore and Oyu Tolgoi, Resolution adds long-dated U.S. copper optionality at little incremental cost to the investment case, in our view.
BHP Group (BHP)
BHP has spent more than a decade and hundreds of millions on Resolution Copper without producing a single pound of U.S. copper.
BHP’s U.S. copper story is one major project, a pending district investment, and an exploration alliance. The world’s largest mining company by market cap currently produces zero copper on U.S. soil despite holding 45% of Resolution Copper, the long-delayed Arizona joint venture that Rio Tinto leads and operates.7
In July 2026, BHP agreed to transfer its San Manuel property in Arizona to Faraday Copper in exchange for an equity stake of about 30% on a fully diluted basis.32
BHP’s operating copper portfolio is anchored outside the United States, led by Escondida in Chile. The U.S. position is development optionality plus, pending closing, a strategic equity stake in an emerging Arizona copper district.
U.S. Copper Assets
BHP’s attributable share of Resolution’s roughly 27 Mt contained-copper resource (mixed measured-and-indicated-plus-inferred basis) is ~12.1 Mt. BHP is the non-operating partner with no independent path to accelerate the project; see the Rio Tinto profile for the project’s status and timeline.3
In July 2026 BHP agreed to transfer San Manuel, adjacent to Faraday Copper’s Copper Creek project north-east of Tucson, to Faraday in exchange for shares equal to about 30% fully diluted, plus offtake and participation rights. Closing is expected in the quarter ending September 30, 2026.32
What to watch in 2026
BHP’s role at Resolution is largely financial: Rio leads the post-exchange enabling-works campaign, and BHP funds its 45% share of the roughly $500 million two-year programme. Drilling under the Ivanhoe Electric exploration alliance across roughly 3,655 km² of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah could add discovery upside, with any discoveries becoming 50/50 joint ventures.8
Capstone Copper (CS.TO)
Pinto Valley first entered production in 1974, making it one of America’s oldest active copper mines and Capstone’s only U.S. asset.
Capstone Copper is, in GSR’s assessment, the cleanest mid-tier pure-play copper company on the list with a U.S. operating asset. Pinto Valley, in Arizona’s Globe-Miami mining district, first produced copper in 1974 and has run continuously under Capstone since 2013;31 today it provides about 19% of the company’s total copper output. Capstone’s other three mines (Mantoverde and Mantos Blancos in Chile, Cozamin in Mexico) produced most of its record 224,764 tonnes of 2025 copper9, but Pinto Valley is the only U.S. footprint and the platform for a potential district expansion.
U.S. Copper Assets
Open-pit copper-molybdenum mine with the largest mill in Capstone’s portfolio (60,000 tpd design). 2025 production was 42,382 tonnes of copper in concentrate at C1 of $3.72/lb, the highest cost in Capstone’s portfolio. P&P reserves of 954 kt of copper sit on a much larger M&I resource of 3,897 kt at mill grades of roughly 0.28 to 0.32% Cu.
Evaluating the inclusion of roughly 1 billion tonnes of M&I resource (not currently in reserve) into the mine plan, potentially extending operations through 2050.
What to watch in 2026
Pinto Valley’s biggest issue is operating reliability.10 Q1 2026 throughput was only 35,000 tpd against 60,000 tpd design, hit by roughly 12 days of unplanned maintenance from filter plant and concentrate storage roof failures. 2026 guidance is 42 to 48 kt copper at C1 of $3.00 to $3.30 per pound11, and a planned 10-day shutdown in Q3 2026 to rebuild the primary crusher mainframe is framed as a reliability reset. The district growth study could be a multi-year catalyst if it converts a meaningful slice of the roughly 1 Bt M&I resource into reserves.
Trekor Metals (TKO.TO)
Florence Copper produced its first cathode in February 2026, the first new copper production from a greenfield U.S. facility since 2008.
Trekor Metals (TKO on the TSX, TGB on NYSE American; known as Taseko Mines until its June 2026 name change33) is the smallest, most U.S.-focused producer on this list. The British Columbia-based company runs the Gibraltar copper-molybdenum mine in Canada (its 2025 cash generator) and is ramping up Florence Copper in Pinal County, Arizona, a low-cost in-situ copper recovery (ISCR) operation that produced its first cathode in February 2026, the first new copper production from a greenfield U.S. facility since 2008.1213
Florence is now producing at scale: Q2 2026 output was 5.2 million pounds of copper cathode with 5.3 million pounds sold, with 110 production wells feeding the SX/EW plant by quarter-end and the ramp progressing in line with management expectations. 2026 Florence guidance is unchanged at 30 to 35 million pounds.34
U.S. Copper Assets
In-situ copper recovery (ISCR) operation extracting copper from an in-situ wellfield with on-site SX/EW. Design capacity 85 Mlbs per year of LME Grade A cathode at life-of-mine C1 of $1.11 per pound per the March 2023 NI 43-101; P&P reserves of about 1.0 Mt of contained copper over a 22-year mine life.
What to watch in 2026
Florence is the most concrete near-term U.S. copper supply growth story on this list, with the ramp toward design capacity targeted for 2027.34 A successful ramp would validate ISCR technology for U.S. domestic copper production and could become a template for similar oxide deposits. A Mitsui copper stream (2.67% of Florence production, with an option to convert to a 10% JV) and a separate net smelter royalty affect realised pricing.
The key risks are ramp execution, reliance on the Gibraltar mine in Canada as the sole cash generator until Florence reaches scale, and roughly C$559 million of net debt with 8.25% senior secured notes due 2030.
Hudbay Minerals (HBM.TO)
Hudbay’s major near-term copper growth projects (Copper World, Cactus, Mason) all sit in Arizona and Nevada, while its operating mines remain in Canada and Peru.
Hudbay Minerals is the cleanest “growth via U.S. development” story on this list. Its three operating mines (Constancia in Peru, Copper Mountain in British Columbia, and Snow Lake in Manitoba) all sit outside the United States, but all three of its near-term development assets are U.S.-located, in Arizona’s porphyry copper belt and Nevada.
Three things converged in 2026 to make Hudbay’s U.S. pipeline real. Mitsubishi closed its $600 million Copper World joint-venture investment on January 12, 2026.14 Hudbay agreed to acquire Arizona Sonoran Copper Company for roughly US$1.48 billion all-stock15 and completed the acquisition on June 24, 202628, folding the Cactus project into the portfolio. And the Copper World final-investment-decision sanction is expected in 2H 2026.
U.S. Copper Assets
Phase I PFS (2023) targets an average 85 kt Cu per year over a 20-year mine life, using 385 Mt of reserves on a much larger ~1.2 Bt M&I base. The Mitsubishi joint venture leaves Hudbay’s residual equity contribution at roughly $200 million, deferred to 2028 at the earliest.
Per the October 2025 PFS, 465 Mt of reserves at 0.52% Cu with a life-of-mine average of 103 kt Cu per year via conventional open pit, heap leach, and SX/EW cathode. Sits on private land with water rights to 2070 and existing power and rail access. Hudbay intends to update the PFS to its own technical assumptions.
PEA-stage (2021) with a 27-plus year mine life and 139 kt Cu per year first-decade average production; pre-feasibility study work to be initiated in 2026.
What to watch in 2026
The Copper World sanction decision is the milestone. Per Hudbay’s July 2026 Q2 report, the definitive feasibility study is progressing with 95% of engineering work complete and a sanctioning decision on track for late 2026; the DFS is expected to reflect higher capital costs than the 2023 pre-feasibility study.39 Sanctioning an 85 kt-per-year mine in Arizona, with Mitsubishi alongside, would mark the first major new U.S. open-pit copper mine sanction in years. On closing the Cactus acquisition, Hudbay pointed to more than 250 kt of annual copper production by 2030 and over 350 kt with staged Cactus development.
Investment angle
Hudbay offers leveraged exposure to U.S. permitting tailwinds without the multi-decade timeline of Resolution or Pebble, and the Mitsubishi partnership plus $1.04 billion of total liquidity at June 30, 2026 (including $890.9 million of cash) keep Copper World’s financing de-risked.39 The key risks are Cactus integration, capex inflation between PFS and FID, and Peru concentration at Constancia while its next satellite pits mature.
Sumitomo Metal Mining (5713.T)
SMM owns 25% of FCX’s Morenci mine as a passive investor.
Sumitomo Metal Mining is a uniquely Japanese take on the U.S. copper supply chain: a Tokyo-listed integrated metals company that takes passive equity stakes in major copper mines alongside dominant operators rather than operating itself. Its largest U.S. exposure is a 25% stake in Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci mine in Arizona, first acquired in 1986 and expanded in 2016. Morenci is SMM’s single most productive copper asset by attributable tonnes, but production decisions are entirely Freeport’s: SMM is a long-term silent partner with full economic exposure to the mine’s performance and no operational say.
U.S. Copper Assets
Operated by Freeport-McMoRan; see the Freeport profile for the asset itself. SMM’s attributable share of 2025 Morenci production was roughly 78,300 tonnes of copper (25% of ~313,000 t at 100%).2 Per SMM’s 3-Year Business Plan 2027 materials, its Morenci interest holds approximately 1.95 Mt of copper in proven and probable reserves on a 25% attributable basis.36
What to watch in 2026
SMM has no operational levers at Morenci. What it gains from is Freeport’s leach-recovery programme: Morenci is the largest single contributor to a growth target that spans FCX’s U.S. and South American operations, and SMM’s 25% share of any Morenci gains scales proportionally. Beyond the U.S., SMM continues to expand its copper portfolio, agreeing in May 2025 to acquire 30% of Rio Tinto’s Winu copper-gold project in Western Australia for up to $430.4 million.1617
Antofagasta (ANTO.L)
Antofagasta’s Twin Metals Minnesota project holds 13 million tonnes of copper resource, but federal lease cancellations have it frozen in litigation with no production timeline.
Antofagasta is a UK-listed, Chilean-controlled copper major with a single U.S. asset: Twin Metals Minnesota, blocked since the Biden administration cancelled the federal mineral leases in 2022.
In April 2026, Congress passed a joint resolution overturning the 20-year mineral withdrawal that had closed 225,504 acres of the Superior National Forest to new leasing.35 The reversal removes the area-wide leasing ban but does not by itself reinstate Twin Metals’ cancelled leases, which remain in dispute, and any restored leases would still face a multi-year federal and state permitting process. The resource is genuinely enormous (2,509 Mt at 0.52% Cu, about 13 Mt of contained copper), but the path to production still runs through federal courts and, after that, Minnesota state regulation.
U.S. Copper Assets
Underground copper-nickel-PGM project near Ely in northern Minnesota.18 Resource of 2,509 Mt at 0.52% Cu, equivalent to 13 Mt of contained copper. On legal hold pending litigation over the federal lease cancellations.
What to watch in 2026
The lease dispute is the binary catalyst. If federal courts or the administration restore the cancelled leases, the project could re-enter the permitting pipeline, a process that would still take years at both federal and state level, with environmental opposition a live variable. The November 2025 USGS critical-mineral designation for copper provides a federal-policy tailwind that did not exist when the leases were originally cancelled.1 In the meantime, Antofagasta remains overwhelmingly a Chilean operating story: all 653,700 tonnes of its 2025 copper production came from its four Chilean mines.18
Ivanhoe Electric (IE)
Ivanhoe Electric anticipates first copper cathode from Santa Cruz in Q2 2029, a 72 kt-per-year operation that would meaningfully add to U.S. domestic supply.
Ivanhoe Electric is the closest thing to a pure-play U.S. copper development equity in the public markets. The NYSE American-listed company owns the Santa Cruz Copper Project in Arizona’s porphyry belt, an advanced-stage underground development targeting first cathode production in Q2 2029 under the revised schedule announced in May 2026. It pairs Santa Cruz with the Typhoon deep-imaging geophysical platform, deployed through exploration partnerships with BHP in the southwestern U.S., Ma’aden in Saudi Arabia, and SQM in Chile. Robert Friedland is Executive Chairman.
U.S. Copper Assets
Underground copper development on roughly 5,975 acres of company-owned private land between Phoenix and Tucson. Mineral reserves of approximately 1.5 Mt of contained copper at 1.08% Cu. June 2025 PFS: $1.24 billion initial capex20, 23-year mine life, first-15-year average of 72 kt Cu per year, and first-quartile life-of-mine C1 of $1.32/lb. Heap-leach SX/EW produces 99.99% pure cathode on site with no smelting. Following the May 2026 decision to develop the access decline with a tunnel-boring machine29, first cathode is expected in Q2 2029.
What to watch in 2026
Ivanhoe received its Site Development Plan approval in March 2026 and says it holds the permits needed to commence initial construction: box-cut excavation is scheduled for Q3 2026, with first oxide ore on the heap-leach pads targeted for Q4 2028.29 Production permits (including the Individual Aquifer Protection Permit for steady-state operation) and project financing close remain the outstanding execution gates. IE closed a $200 million senior secured bridge facility in December 202540 and holds an $825 million Export-Import Bank letter of interest, which is explicitly non-binding.21
Investment angle
IE is the highest-beta pure-play U.S. copper developer on this list: pre-revenue, single-project, and carrying a $1.24 billion initial build. If Santa Cruz delivers on schedule, IE becomes a U.S. copper producer while domestic-supply policy attention remains elevated; the risks are permitting slippage, dilutive financing, and execution complexity. Exploration upside at Tintic (Utah), Hog Heaven (Montana), and the BHP and SQM alliances sits outside the core Santa Cruz case.
Northern Dynasty Minerals (NAK)
The Pebble deposit holds an estimated 26 million tonnes of copper in measured and indicated resources, but the EPA’s 2023 veto effectively blocks the current mine plan.
Northern Dynasty Minerals is a Vancouver-based, single-asset developer whose investment case rests on the Pebble Project in southwest Alaska. Pebble is one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold-molybdenum-rhenium deposits, but it faces two separate federal obstacles: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied the project’s Clean Water Act Section 404 permit in 2020 (a decision Northern Dynasty is still contesting through the appeals process), and the EPA invoked Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act in January 2023 to effectively veto the current mine plan, citing risks to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery.22 Northern Dynasty is currently in summary judgment litigation seeking to overturn the EPA veto.30
In GSR’s assessment, Northern Dynasty is a binary policy bet more than a mining bet. Even a court win over the veto would not by itself make Pebble construction-ready: the project would still need the separate Corps permit denial resolved, feasibility-level engineering and declared reserves, financing and a development partner, and durable local support in a region where commercial-fishing and Alaska Native coastal stakeholders have long opposed the mine.23
U.S. Copper Assets
One of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold-molybdenum deposits: measured and indicated resources of 6.5 Bt at 0.40% Cu, roughly 26 Mt of contained copper, plus significant gold, molybdenum, and silver. No mineral reserves are declared; the blocked permitting path has kept feasibility-level work from being completed.22
What to watch in 2026
The court case challenging the EPA’s 2023 Final Determination is the binary catalyst. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a brief on February 17, 2026 that backed the EPA veto, a setback signalling that the current administration’s posture on Pebble is opposition rather than the settlement openness initially anticipated.30 The Alaska Federal District Court heard oral argument on June 25, 2026, and the decision is pending. Outside the courts, copper’s November 2025 critical-mineral designation gives the project federal-policy backing that did not previously exist, but it has not translated into executive-branch support for unblocking Pebble.1
Teck Resources (TECK)
Teck’s U.S. copper exposure is its 50% stake in NewRange, a Minnesota project that has spent more than a decade in permitting and may now be reshaped by the pending Anglo-Teck merger.
Teck Resources holds U.S. copper exposure that is strategically small relative to its Chilean, Peruvian, and Canadian operating portfolio. Its U.S. asset is a 50% stake in NewRange Copper Nickel, the Minnesota joint venture with Glencore that combines the NorthMet (formerly PolyMet) and Mesaba deposits, two large undeveloped polymetallic resources in the Duluth Complex.
Teck is also in the middle of a proposed merger of equals with Anglo American, announced September 9, 2025 and expected to close between September 2026 and March 2027, which adds a strategic-allocation overlay: the combined group’s capital priorities will determine how hard a long-dated Minnesota asset gets pushed.
U.S. Copper Assets
Two polymetallic (Cu-Ni-Co-PGM) deposits: NorthMet, the more advanced, previously permitted project with key permits challenged in litigation and remand, and the earlier-stage Mesaba.27 Combined 100%-basis M&I resource of roughly 2,909 Mt at approximately 0.31% Cu, equivalent to roughly 9 Mt of contained copper (Teck attributable share approximately 4.6 Mt).
What to watch in 2026
NewRange faces continued permitting and litigation around NorthMet, while Mesaba would require a separate development pathway. The Anglo-Teck transaction overlay now matters as much: the merger would create a top-five global copper producer with more than 70% copper exposure25, Investment Canada Act approval was received in December 2025 and South Korea approval in Q1 202624, and per Anglo American’s July 2026 production report, Chinese antitrust approval is the final outstanding regulatory milestone, with the expected completion window of September 2026 to March 2027 unchanged.19
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Risks
Permitting and legal risk is the single largest variable across this list. Resolution Copper’s federal land exchange closed only after a 12-year court battle and the project remains many years from first production; Twin Metals has been on legal hold since the federal mineral leases were cancelled in 2022; Pebble sits under an EPA Section 404(c) veto that the U.S. Department of Justice reaffirmed in a February 2026 court filing; and NorthMet permitting continues in active litigation. Any of these may break favourably; none can be timed.
Timelines from final investment decision to first production for major new underground U.S. copper mines run a decade or longer, and minority or non-operating positions (BHP and Rio at Resolution, Sumitomo at Morenci, Teck at NewRange) leave shareholders exposed to decisions they do not control. Resources are not reserves: several of the largest contained-copper figures on this page, including Pebble and Twin Metals, carry no feasibility-level economics behind them.
Trade policy is an open variable. Refined copper cathode has so far remained outside the Section 232 copper tariffs. Semi-finished and derivative copper products have been tariffed since August 2025, with the regime materially revised from April 6, 2026. The 2025 proclamation also directed the Commerce Department to update the President by June 30, 2026 on whether phased refined-copper duties should begin in 2027 (15%, rising to 30% in 2028); that deadline passed without a public determination as of late July 2026, so tariff treatment could still shift in either direction37 and would materially affect the economics of new domestic supply versus the 57% of refined consumption met by imports in 2025.
Copper price cyclicality is the macro overlay. 2025 was a record price year (U.S. producer cathode at US$4.90/lb per USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026). Higher copper prices through the first half of 2026 supported earnings and cash generation at the producing companies on this list and improved financing conditions and project economics for the developers; a price reversion would compress operator cash flow and could push capital-allocation decisions toward more conservative timing across both U.S. and non-U.S. projects.
Conclusion
The November 2025 critical-mineral designation formalised a policy shift that had been building through 2025’s tariff and permitting actions, and the next 12 to 24 months deliver the concrete tests. Hudbay’s Copper World FID and Freeport’s Bagdad 2X decision are both expected in 2H 2026, Ivanhoe Electric’s Santa Cruz financing and box-cut works are scheduled for 2026, Florence Copper is ramping toward 2027 design capacity, and the Resolution enabling-works programme runs through 2027. Together, they could mark one of the most active U.S. copper development windows in decades.
The harder question is the blocked half of the list: Twin Metals remains frozen in court, Pebble’s veto is being defended by the current administration, and Resolution remains, on GSR’s reading, a decade from production. Whether 2026 marks the inflection or another year of waiting will determine which of the 11 names compound from here, and which continue to sit on optionality.
For the full global producer set beyond these 11 U.S.-focused names, see our copper stocks list; for one-ticket exposure to the theme, our copper ETFs list covers every US-listed copper fund with assets, fees and holdings.
References
- U.S. Geological Survey, “Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Copper,” February 2026.
- Freeport-McMoRan, “2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K,” February 2026.
- Rio Tinto plc, “United States Forest Service and Resolution Copper Complete Land Exchange (Form 6-K),” March 2026.
- Rio Tinto plc, “Full Year 2025 Results press release,” 19 February 2026.
- Rio Tinto plc, “Q4 2025 Production Results,” January 2026.
- Rio Tinto plc, “Rio Tinto’s Nuton technology produces first copper,” 4 December 2025.
- BHP Group, “Resolution Copper Arizona project page,” Accessed May 2026.
- Ivanhoe Electric / BHP, “Ivanhoe Electric Announces Exploration Alliance with BHP to Accelerate the Search for Copper and Other Critical Minerals in the United States,” May 2024.
- Capstone Copper Corp., “Capstone Copper Announces Record 2025 Production Results,” 15 January 2026.
- Capstone Copper Corp., “Capstone Copper Reports First Quarter 2026 Results,” 29 April 2026.
- Capstone Copper Corp., “Capstone Copper Announces 2026 Guidance,” 17 February 2026.
- Taseko Mines Limited, “Taseko announces First Cathode Harvest at Florence Copper,” 2 March 2026.
- Trekor Metals Corp. (Taseko Mines), “Florence Copper project website,” Accessed July 2026.
- Hudbay Minerals Inc., “Closing of $600 Million Strategic Investment from Mitsubishi Corporation for 30% Joint Venture Interest in Copper World,” 12 January 2026.
- Hudbay Minerals Inc., “Hudbay to Acquire Arizona Sonoran Creating the Third Largest Copper District in North America,” 2 March 2026.
- Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., “Consolidated Financial Results for the Year Ended March 31, 2026,” 11 May 2026.
- Rio Tinto plc / Sumitomo Metal Mining, “Rio Tinto and Sumitomo Metal Mining sign Definitive Agreement for Winu Project joint venture,” 12 May 2025.
- Antofagasta plc, “Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2025,” 17 February 2026.
- Anglo American plc, “Q2 2026 Production Report,” 23 July 2026.
- Ivanhoe Electric Inc., “Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Santa Cruz Copper Project,” 23 June 2025.
- Ivanhoe Electric Inc., “Indication for Up to $825 Million in Financing from Export-Import Bank of the United States,” April 2025.
- Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., “Response to DOJ Brief,” February 2026.
- Anchorage Daily News, “Trump administration defends Biden-era rejection of Pebble mine by EPA,” 25 February 2026.
- Teck Resources Limited, “Q1 2026 Results News Release,” 22 April 2026.
- Anglo American plc, “Anglo American and Teck shareholders approve merger of equals to form Anglo Teck,” 9 December 2025.
- Rio Tinto plc, “Rio Tinto invests $498 million to develop North Rim Skarn underground at Kennecott (~250,000 tonnes of mined copper over 10 years),” 20 June 2023.
- Teck Resources / PolyMet, “NewRange Copper Nickel JV launch: NorthMet 702 Mt M&I + Mesaba 2,207 Mt M&I in the Duluth Complex,” February 2023.
- Hudbay Minerals Inc., “Hudbay Completes Acquisition of Arizona Sonoran to Create the Third Largest Copper District in North America,” 24 June 2026.
- Ivanhoe Electric Inc., “Ivanhoe Electric to Acquire Robbins Tunnel Boring Machine for Mine Access Development at Santa Cruz,” 11 May 2026.
- KDLG, “Federal judge hears oral arguments in Pebble mine case; decision pending,” 26 June 2026.
- Capstone Copper Corp., “Annual Information Form (Pinto Valley operating history),” March 2024.
- BHP Group, “BHP and Faraday Copper sign definitive San Manuel agreement,” July 2026.
- Trekor Metals Corp., “Taseko announces name change to Trekor Metals Corp.,” June 2026.
- Trekor Metals Corp., “Trekor Announces 36 Million Pounds of Copper Production from Gibraltar and Florence Copper in the Second Quarter,” 14 July 2026.
- CNBC, “Senate overturns Boundary Waters protections (H.J. Res. 140 reversing the Superior National Forest mineral withdrawal),” 16 April 2026.
- Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., “3-Year Business Plan 2027 presentation, slide 63: Metal Volume Under Mineral Resource Interests (1) Copper I (Morenci, 25% attributable, 31 December 2024 data),” May 2025.
- Congressional Research Service, “Section 232 National Security Tariffs on Copper Imports (IN12614),” 30 September 2025.
- Freeport-McMoRan, “Freeport Reports Second-Quarter and Six-Month 2026 Results,” 23 July 2026.
- Hudbay Minerals, “Hudbay Delivers Strong Second Quarter 2026 Results and Improves Cash Cost Guidance,” 29 July 2026.
- Ivanhoe Electric Inc., “Ivanhoe Electric Closes $200 Million Bank Credit Facility to Support Santa Cruz Copper Project Development,” 15 December 2025.
- International Energy Agency, “Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 (Chapter 2, Outlook for copper),” July 2026.
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