4+ MILLION oz of silver is mined at Rio’s Kennecott Facility annually…
Tragic Fatality Prompts Shutdown at Rio Tinto’s Kennecott Mine
In a devastating incident at Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, a 37-year-old contract worker named Brian Cameli lost his life early Thursday morning on March 12, 2026. According to authorities, Cameli was working on heavy equipment in a maintenance shop when a large boom attached to the machinery collapsed, striking him fatally despite immediate first aid efforts from colleagues and emergency responders.
In a devastating incident at Rio Tinto’s Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, a 37-year-old contract worker named Brian Cameli lost his life early Thursday morning on March 12, 2026. According to authorities, Cameli was working on heavy equipment in a maintenance shop when a large boom attached to the machinery collapsed, striking him fatally despite immediate first aid efforts from colleagues and emergency responders.
The accident, described as an industrial mishap, prompted Rio Tinto to suspend all surface and underground mining operations at the Kennecott facility, one of the world’s largest open-pit copper mines.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Simon Trott expressed profound regret, extending sympathies to the victim’s family and announcing his personal visit to the site to support the team, while counseling services were made available to employees.
The shutdown at Kennecott, which employs over 2,000 people and produces significant amounts of copper alongside by-products like silver and gold, underscores ongoing safety challenges in the mining industry.
This marks the latest in a series of fatal incidents at Rio Tinto operations, following a similar tragedy at its Simandou project in Guinea last month.
While investigations by local authorities and the company are underway, the halt in production could impact global supply chains for copper and precious metals, given Kennecott’s role as a key U.S. smelter.
Rio Tinto emphasized its commitment to safety, stating that operations would resume only after thorough reviews ensure the well-being of all workers.
Rio Tinto’s Kennecott facility (Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, USA) is a primary copper mine where silver is produced as a by-product during copper refining (captured from electrolytic slimes).
Recent production figures for silver at Kennecott are not always broken out separately in public reports (Rio Tinto aggregates mined/refined silver across operations), but data from quarterly/annual production reports and historical context indicate:
Recent annual mined silver (Rio Tinto total, but Kennecott contributes significantly as a major source): Around 3.8–4.2 million ounces in recent full years (e.g., ~4.236 million oz in one reported period, with Kennecott as a key contributor).
Refined silver (processed at Kennecott’s facilities): Typically in the range of 1.4–2.3 million ounces annually in recent data (e.g., 2.314 million oz in one full-year snapshot, with quarterly refined figures like 392k–766k oz varying by quarter due to processing cycles and maintenance).
