Comments from Rio Tinto Copper Boss

Exploration juniors holding ground near Rio Tinto’s Winu copper discovery in WA’s north may be worth keeping an eye on today, after the mining giant’s copper boss became the latest senior Rio executive to talk up the prospects for the early-stage find.

Speaking at a copper conference in Chile overnight, Rio copper and diamond chief executive Arnaud Soirat listed Winu as one of the company’s top two future prospects, alongside the later stage Resolution project in Arizona.

Under Rio’s structure, Soirat doesn’t even have control of the Winu project yet, as it still sits within the portfolio of growth and innovation chief Stephen McIntosh, so the clear indication he is keeping a close eye on the project is a good sign as Rio kicks off a round of resource definition drilling.

Last night he listed it as an “exciting growth option”.

“Its early days, with more drilling to do, but our initial results are strong for both copper and gold – a great sign as we move to Phase 2 drilling,” he said.

A February exploration report showed Rio’s early drilling had struck thick lengths of gold and copper close to surface, with more recent reports suggesting the company is now drilling out a strike length of up to 3km, spurring suggestions the Paterson’s province in the East Pilbara - already home to Newcrest Mining’s rich Telfer operations - could play host to other major mines.