US-based copper developer Gunnison Copper has announced that its Johnson Camp mine, in Arizona, has been selected to receive $13.9-million in tax credits to expand production of ‘Made in America’ copper.

Gunnison is expanding the Johnson Camp mine, which is under construction, with first copper production expected in mid-2025.

The asset is fully funded by Nuton, a Rio Tinto venture, with a production capacity of up to 25-million pounds a year of finished copper cathode.

The competitive process for funding under the 48C programme was managed by the US Department of Energy as adviser to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which selected recipients based on a review of each project.

"We are honoured to receive this significant support from the Department of Energy (DoE) and the IRS," said Gunnison CEO Stephen Twyerould. He highlighted that the tax credit would allow Gunnison to produce significant quantities of copper metal domestically to directly supply US production in a variety of critical industries.

"The goal of 48C is to support projects that achieve a cleaner and more sustainable energy future. At Nuton, our ambition is to redefine how copper is produced by applying nature-based technologies that achieve more positive social, economic and environmental outcomes," said Nuton CEO Adam Burley. "Our first industrial-scale deployment of the Nuton technology at Johnson Camp is a major step on the journey to achieving that ambition."

The 48C tax credit is part of the $10-billion in funding under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to intensify clean energy manufacturing and recycling, industrial decarbonisation, and critical materials projects in the US.

In March 2024, the IRS allocated $4-billion in 48C credits. In April 2024, the Department of the Treasury and the IRS, in partnership with DoE, announced up to $6-billion in a second round of tax credit allocations and Gunnison and Nuton applied for these credits for the Johnson Camp project.