Mitsubishi (MC) announced that it would increase its stake in Jetti Resources and form a new business alliance with Colorado-based Jetti Resources, which has developed a catalytic technology that can extract copper from primary sulphide ores.
BHP Billiton and Freeport joined MC last week in announcing a $50 million investment in the company.
Demand for copper, a metal vital to the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy, is rising as the global decarbonization race intensifies. In the face of low-grade aging mines, the industry is studying how much copper they can produce from existing operations-Chile's Codelco, for example, is planning a massive upgrade of its aging mines.
Jetti Resources, a start-up founded in 2014, says its technology can extract copper from low-grade primary sulfides, such as chalcopyrite, the world's richest copper ore.
Jetti's catalytic technology can carry out heap leaching and heap leaching extraction of copper from primary sulphide ores. These primary sulphide ores are usually discarded because of their low copper production and can not prove the rationality of traditional processing methods.
Capstone Mining confirmed the commercial scale effectiveness of Jetti technology through a trial application at the Pinto Valley Copper Mine in Arizona last year. Capstone announced in July last year that cathode production per irrigated area had doubled in the first year of the miner's partnership with Jetti.
Mitsubishi has supported the commercialization of the technology since 2019, when it first invested in Jetti to ensure a stable supply of copper and contributed to MC's efforts to address the decline in natural resources.
Mitsubishi said that by forming a new business alliance, Jetti and MC would strengthen the framework for their future cooperation and effectively use MC's assets to promote widespread adoption of Jetti technology.
Partners will begin to discuss the active use of Jetti catalytic technology in mines, which have so far been unable to extract copper effectively due to the high concentration of low-grade primary sulphide ores.
Global demand for copper is expected to remain strong for at least the foreseeable future, so MC's Mineral Resources Group has identified it as one of its core products.
