In the sun-drenched landscape of Cochise County, Arizona, a quiet industrial revolution is unfolding—one that links the world’s largest cloud provider to a historic mining site through a nexus of high-purity copper and cutting-edge filtration technology.
According to The Wall Street Journal on January 15, 2026, Amazon has secured a landmark deal to purchase the first new copper output in the United States in more than a decade. The source? Gunnison Copper’s Johnson Camp Mine (Johnson Camp Mine Project).
The mine site is actively producing copper cathode from its run-of-mine stockpiles while it undertakes a significant technological shift with the introduction of RioTinto’s Nuton bioleaching technology. This kicks off a five-year Stage 2 initiative where mining restarts in year one, hitting a major milestone in 2025 with the first copper produced via the Nuton method. These steps are all part of a long-term strategy to scale up to full commercial operations at the site.
While Amazon’s name brings the headlines, and Rio Tinto’s Nuton technology develops new extraction possibilities, the unsung hero ensuring the metal meets Amazon’s rigorous "Grade A" standards is the Smith & Loveless DI-SEP® SX Filter system.
The AI Hunger for "Red Gold"
The explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has created a ravenous appetite for copper. Every hyperscale data center Amazon Web Services (AWS) builds requires tens of thousands of tons of copper for power distribution, busbars, circuit boards, and transformer windings.
To meet this demand sustainably and domestically, Amazon turned to the Johnson Camp Mine. Here, the proprietary Nuton process uses naturally occurring microorganisms and acid to extract copper from low-grade ore previously considered waste. This "Made-in-America" copper is vital for domestic supply chain resilience, but the process of turning "rock into tech" requires extreme precision.
The Critical Link: DI-SEP® SX Filtration
At the heart of the Johnson Camp Mine’s Solvent Extraction-Electrowinning (SX-EW) facility, Smith & Loveless DI-SEP® SX filtration technology is working behind the scenes to maintain organic entrainment control and suspended solids removal. To produce the 99.99% pure Grade A copper cathodes required for Amazon’s high-tech components, the mine relies on three (3) 9'-6" Diameter DI-SEP® SX Filters.
These dual-media pressure filters are engineered to handle a flow rate of 1,060 gpm, processing a rich electrolyte solution containing roughly 150 g/L of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and 60 g/L of copper ions.
Engineering Purity in a Harsh Environment
The SX-EW process is notoriously demanding. Without proper filtration, organic diluent and suspended solids can contaminate the electrowinning cells, leading to tank house "misting" and poor copper cathode quality. The S&L DI-SEP® SX Filters solve this with a sophisticated multi-media bed. The S&L DI-SEP® design keeps the layers stratified so that the system doesn't clog, maintaining a 90-plus percent removal rate of organic diluent and an 85-plus percent removal of suspended solids down to 5-10 microns.
Built for the Long Haul
Because the electrolyte is highly corrosive, Smith & Loveless constructed the filter vessels, internals, and piping from 316L stainless steel. The entire system, including optimized and automatic backwash cycles, is managed by a fully automatic PLC control program with a touchscreen HMI, housed in a NEMA 4-rated stainless steel panel, ensuring the mine can operate with the digital efficiency Amazon expects from its partners.
A High-Profile Partnership
The Johnson Camp Mine is now one of the most high-profile mining operations in the world. It represents a convergence of:
- The Customer: Amazon’s massive AI infrastructure needs.
- The Regeneration: Rio Tinto’s Nuton bioleaching process.
- The Reliability: Smith & Loveless DI-SEP® SX Filter technology.
As the AI boom continues to drive global copper prices toward record highs, the efficiency of the SX-EW process becomes a competitive necessity. By deploying S&L’s DI-SEP® SX Filters, the Johnson Camp mine isn't just mining metal; they are developing the high-purity foundation of the digital age.
DI-SEP® SX Filter Technical Specs at a Glance:
- Equipment: (3) 9'-6" Diameter DI-SEP® SX Filters
- Flow Rate: 1,060 gpm (Total)
- Performance: >90% Organic Removal; >85% Solids Removal (>5 microns)
- Construction: 316L Stainless Steel
- Automation: PLC/HMI in NEMA 4 Stainless Steel Panel
How to manage organic entrainment in SX-EW mining processes for higher grade copper »