Amazon Secures First U.S.-Mined Copper in a Decade for AI Data Centers

Amazon has struck a deal to purchase the first new U.S.-mined copper in over a decade, a move designed to fuel the company's rapidly expanding AI data center operations within the country. The agreement, reported by The Wall Street Journal, partners Amazon with mining giant Rio Tinto to source copper from the Johnson Camp mine in Arizona, utilizing an innovative extraction method called Nuton Technology that promises to drastically shorten the traditional mine-to-market supply chain.

This deal emerges from a critical juncture in the semiconductor and data center supply chain. Copper is an essential conductor for power distribution, cooling systems, and interconnects within server racks and data center facilities. As AI model training and inference workloads scale exponentially, the demand for copper-intensive infrastructure has surged. Industry analysts have repeatedly warned that global copper supply may struggle to keep pace; recent projections suggest that by 2035, demand could outstrip supply by as much as 30%, with only 70% of projected needs potentially being met. For a company like Amazon, which operates some of the world's largest data center networks, securing a stable, domestic supply of this critical material is a matter of operational resilience and strategic autonomy.

The Nuton Technology Breakthrough

The copper will be sourced from Gunnison Copper's Johnson Camp mine, a site that has been restarted specifically as a testbed for Rio Tinto's Nuton Technology. Deployed at an industrial scale for the first time last month, Nuton represents a fundamental departure from conventional copper extraction. Traditional methods involve mining ore, crushing it, and using chemical processes (flotation) to concentrate the copper before sending it to smelters and refineries for final purification. This multi-step chain is energy-intensive, water-heavy, and geographically fragmented.

Nuton Technology, by contrast, is a leaching process that can directly treat low-grade copper deposits. Rio Tinto states that the process produces 99.99% pure copper cathode right at the mine gate, eliminating the need for concentrators, smelters, and separate refineries. This consolidation of steps shortens the supply chain from months to weeks, reduces transportation costs, and significantly lowers the carbon footprint. The company claims the method uses substantially less water and generates fewer emissions compared to traditional copper production.

For Amazon, this aligns directly with its Climate Pledge goal of reaching net-zero carbon by 2040. Kara Hurst, Amazon's Chief Sustainability Officer, emphasized that sourcing lower-carbon materials is critical to decarbonizing its infrastructure at scale. "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," Hurst stated.

Scale, Supply Chain, and Market Implications

Despite the strategic significance, the immediate volume from this deal is modest relative to Amazon's total needs. The Arizona Nuton output is projected to reach approximately 14,000 metric tons over four years. To contextualize this figure, a single large-scale AI data center can require tens of thousands of tons of copper for its power distribution, networking, and cooling infrastructure. The 14,000-ton output would not even fulfill the copper requirements for one such facility.

To bolster the deal's volume, Rio Tinto will also supply an additional 16,000 tonnes from a conventional run-of-mine leaching pad at the same site. This brings the total committed volume to nearly 30,000 tonnes. However, this structure means that less than half of the copper sourced for Amazon will come from the more environmentally friendly Nuton process in the initial phase. The arrangement highlights a common tension in industrial scaling: pioneering technologies often start at a limited capacity before expanding.

From a market perspective, this deal is a bellwether for the tech industry's growing involvement in raw material supply chains. Historically, companies like Amazon have sourced copper and other metals through commodity markets and long-term contracts with smelters and traders. Direct investment in mining projects, especially those employing novel technologies, signals a deeper vertical integration to secure cost stability and supply chain resilience. It also places tech giants in a position to influence mining practices toward lower environmental impact, leveraging their purchasing power to drive innovation.

The choice of Arizona is also notable. The state is becoming a hub for both semiconductor manufacturing (with TSMC and Intel investments) and data center construction, thanks to its favorable climate for cooling and available land. Sourcing copper locally reduces transportation emissions and logistics complexity, further supporting Amazon's sustainability and operational goals.

Looking Ahead: A Model for the Future?

The Amazon-Rio Tinto partnership may serve as a template for how other technology companies approach critical material sourcing. As AI infrastructure continues to demand unprecedented levels of power and interconnectivity, the strain on copper, alongside other materials like silicon, rare earths, and lithium, will intensify. Companies that proactively secure supply through innovative, lower-carbon methods could gain a competitive edge in both cost and sustainability metrics.

For the mining industry, collaboration with tech firms provides a clear demand signal and potentially de-risks investment in new technologies like Nuton. If scaled successfully, such methods could unlock vast, previously uneconomical low-grade deposits, expanding global copper supply. However, the technology must prove its scalability and economic viability beyond a single test site.

In the near term, this deal ensures Amazon has a dedicated, domestic source of copper for its AI data centers, albeit a small one. It represents a strategic hedge against market volatility and supply disruptions, while advancing its environmental commitments. As the data center industry grapples with its material footprint, the intersection of mining innovation and tech demand will be a critical space to watch.