Pilot aims to demonstrate a new source of domestic copper supply by recovering metal from legacy mining water at BHP’s historic Copper Cities site
MIT-Spinout SiTration and BHP Launch Arizona Pilot to Trial Copper Recovery Technology at Historic BHP Mine Site
WATERTOWN, Mass., Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As demand for copper accelerates, SiTration and BHP are excited to announce the launch of two pilot deployments to trial SiTration’s valorization technology in the historic Globe-Miami mining district of Arizona at BHP’s Copper Cities site.
The initiative will begin in August with an initial small-scale pilot designed to validate the continuous, autonomous production of copper from legacy mining water over one month. A larger deployment planned for later this year will seek to produce up to two tonnes of commercial scale copper cathodes over a two-month period.
The historic Copper Cities site produced nearly 400,000 tonnes of copper between the 1950s and early 1980s. Today, SiTration and BHP see an opportunity to recover value from legacy mining assets, with the potential to create new pathways for increasing domestic U.S. copper supply.
Building on momentum for mineral recovery at Copper Cities, SiTration and BHP have executed an agreement establishing a framework for collaboration on the pilot program and evaluation of future opportunities that may arise from successful pilot outcomes.
Through bench-scale testing using real feedstock from the site, SiTration has already demonstrated LME Grade A copper production. Without using any chemicals or generating new waste products, preliminary tests have yielded energy consumption below 3-4 kWh/kg to recover copper from the diluted legacy mining water.
“The American Southwest houses legacy mining water containing billions of dollars’ worth of copper,” says Brendan Smith, CEO and Co-founder of SiTration. “With global copper demand projected to grow by around 70% by 2050 to support the rapid buildout of energy infrastructure and data centers, tapping into these resources is an excellent pathway to bolster domestic supply chains while producing copper at the bottom of the global cost curve.”
“The Copper Cities pilot provides an opportunity to evaluate an innovative approach to recover copper from mining-impacted water while generating valuable technical and operational insights,” said Kevin Ramsay, General Manager Legacy Assets, BHP. “We are excited to work with SiTration to test this technology under real operating conditions and better understand its potential to recover value from legacy mining water sources.”
About SiTration: SiTration is a spin-out of MIT, supported by BHP Ventures, enabling full value mining by efficiently recovering critical minerals from even the most dilute and complex streams. The company’s core technology combines uniquely durable silicon filtration and electro-extraction stages to enable profitable and sustainable recovery of critical minerals including copper, cobalt, nickel, precious metals, and rare earth elements. SiTration’s technology can replace traditional resource-intensive mining processes and can be deployed to recover materials from traditionally inaccessible sources, including waste. SiTration is quickly scaling up its validated technology, while working with global mining leaders to deploy pilot systems.
Media inquiries for SiTration: [email protected]
About BHP: BHP is a global resources company that produces essential commodities the world needs, including iron ore, copper, steelmaking coal – and soon potash. With operations and projects in over 90 countries around the world, BHP is the world’s largest copper producer. BHP has an unwavering commitment to safety, and a focus on operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation, and delivering long-term value for shareholders, employees, partners and communities. BHP’s purpose is to bring people and resources together to build a better world.
For more information, visit bhp.com.
Media inquiries for BHP: [email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f03d838d-d5e7-4cfa-984e-18141b771fec
