Kennecott copper mine

Company History

There are really two histories of Kennecott…one began in Utah and the other in Alaska.

The Utah version began on June 4, 1903 when the original Utah Copper Company was created to mine and process low grade copper ore found in a mountain in Bingham Canyon, about 25 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Most experts of that day said the company would never make money: the ore grade was too low, only 39pounds of copper per ton of ore.

Steam shovels began working on the mountain in 1906, and for the next 100 years shovels, trains and trucks converted that mountain into the world famous Bingham Canyon Mine, a huge open pit copper mine that is more than three-quarters of a mile deep and more than 2 3/4 miles wide across the top, and it is still growing

The Alaska version began in 1910 when the newly formed Kennecott Mines Company started mining a very rich copper deposit in the Wrangell St. Elias Mountains about 300 miles northwest of Juneau.

In 1915, Kennecott Mines became Kennecott Copper Corporation, which purchased a 25 percent interest in the Utah Copper Company and acquired all assets and property in 1936.

In 1947, Utah Copper Company was dissolved and became the Utah Copper Division of Kennecott Copper Corporation. In 1981, Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) purchased Kennecott and in 1987 British Petroleum bought SOHIO’s interests. In 1989, RTZ Corporation, now known as Rio Tinto, became the owner of Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation.

Kennecott has been a leading producer of copper and valuable by-products, gold, silver and molybdenum from the ores of the Bingham Canyon Mine.