Kennecott Copper: Land and Wildlife

Land and Wildlife

Kennecott owns approximately 93,000 acres of land and only 30% of that land has been affected by mining. The remaining land has been minimally managed or leased for dry farming, grazing, or wildlife. In 2006, KUC finalized its first comprehensive land use management plan. Guidelines were established based on Rio Tinto’s new Land Use Stewardship Standard, which promotes better stewardship of all properties under ownership or lease, as well as improved understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with managed land.

The Land Use Management Plan (LUMP) includes a system for planning, implementation and operations, performance measurements, and audits. To ensure the LUMP is successfully implemented, KUC has a senior management team and steering committee to manage, direct, and implement the system.

The plan's goals are to:

Enhance value for shareholders while remaining consistent with business goals
Optimize environmentally sustainable populations
Maximize community value for future generations

The desired result is healthy, sustainable ecosystems that take into consideration multiple community uses now and into the future. LUMP objectives are aligned with Rio Tinto’s sustainable development policy and biodiversity strategies.

Although many aspects of land management have been implemented over time, such as reclamation activities, deer and elk management, grazing practices, and vegetation control around buildings, the LUMP is more encompassing. For example, a specific weed management program is in place in coordination with Salt Lake County and the Bonneville Cooperative Weed Management Areas. A wild land fire prevention program is also being developed. KUC will continue working with the Utah Department of Wildlife Resources and local universities to better understand wildlife and their habitat and to identify potential impacts from our activities.

Mining by its very nature must disturb the land. But we are committed to minimizing the impact that our operations have on the environment and returning the land, where practical, back to its natural state. At the southern end of Kennecott's property near the Bingham Canyon Mine, we removed material containing high levels of lead and arsenic, deposited clean soil where needed, and re-contoured and reseeded more than one thousand acres of land. Kennecott Utah Copper has received three prestigious Earth Day Reclamation Awards and several national and international awards for these successful projects.