[Wen/Observer Net Wang Yi] At the edge of an ancient mining town in Arizona, USA, Freeport-McMoRan's only copper smelter in the country is operating around the clock. Fiery flames burst out from the factory, resembling an industrial volcano. Hundreds of workers, wearing heat-resistant suits and fireproof masks, transform molten metal into regular copper plates in the high-temperature workshop, then transport them to the refining plant in El Paso, Texas, and finally produce copper coils for wires.

This factory is one of the three remaining copper smelters in the United States. According to a recent report by Bloomberg News, it is a precious remnant of the nearly extinct mineral supply chain in the US, also revealing the challenges faced by the Trump administration in rebuilding the critical mineral supply chain in the country.

The report said that the US has abundant copper reserves, even more than China, but on average, it takes 29 years from discovering a copper deposit to starting production, making it the second longest development cycle in the world after Zambia. Even if the Trump administration can speed up the approval process, the US still lacks sufficient smelting and refining facilities to process these ores domestically.

Bloomberg introduced that Freeport-McMoRan's copper smelter in Arizona is one of many smelters built in the southwest region during the booming period of American mining in the early 20th century. Now, it is one of the few remaining operational copper smelters in the US, but its operating costs in the US are about three times higher than those abroad. Many miners now choose to process copper ore overseas because of sufficient capacity and lower costs there.

Freeport-McMoRan's copper smelter in Arizona, screenshot from video

"We must be very innovative and competitive to continue," said Michael Cross, an engineer at the smelter, wiping sweat in front of the red-hot furnace. Currently, the smelter survives by processing ore from nearby mines and selling sulfuric acid.

Bloomberg said that this kind of factory reveals the challenges faced by Trump in promoting the restoration of the US critical mineral supply chain.

Copper has a wide range of applications, from electric vehicles and construction to various equipment. After decades of layout and development, China has become the center of the copper supply chain. However, due to high environmental protection costs, energy prices, labor expenses, and inability to compete with Chinese counterparts, domestic copper smelting facilities in the US are increasingly unsustainable.

To rebuild the US copper supply chain, Trump has instructed the US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to investigate the impact of imported copper on domestic supply and proposed the idea of imposing a 25% tariff on this metal.

The US has rich copper reserves. According to data from the US Geological Survey, the country has about 47 million tons of copper reserves, ranking seventh globally, higher than China. GEM Mining Consulting estimates that if all existing US projects are put into operation, theoretically, annual output could increase by about 1.5 million tons, enough to meet almost all domestic demand.

The Arizona Resolution copper project, co-developed by two global mining giants, Rio Tinto and BHP, recently made progress. After the Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit by indigenous people, the federal government has also included the project in the priority review.

44% of the world's copper is refined in China. Bloomberg map

However, Bloomberg pointed out that in the US, it takes an average of 29 years from discovering a deposit to starting production. Even if the approval process is accelerated, the US still lacks sufficient smelting and refining facilities.

Patricio Faúndez, a mining consultant at GEM in Singapore, said that unless there is increased investment in downstream infrastructure, the US will continue to rely on overseas smelting and find it difficult to regain leadership in the copper industry.

The US copper industry reached its peak in 1997, when it had 35 mines and 11 smelters producing 1.9 million tons of copper annually. Now, only 25 mines, 2 smelters processing ore, and 1 smelter specializing in anode copper and scrap remain. In contrast, China's refined copper production is currently about 13 times that of the US, with the largest number of smelters in the world.

The last copper smelter in the US was the Kennecott Copper Mine, which started operations in 1995. Simon Jowitt, director of the Nevada Division of Mines and Geology, said that building another similar facility today would cost as much as $3 billion.

"This is a very difficult business," admitted Kathleen Quirk, CEO of Freeport-McMoRan, "problems often occur inside the smelter, and the economic benefits of this business are not very attractive."

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