RG
Rick Gittleman
President
Fmr. Senior VP Freeport Africa; senior management team Tenke Fungurume; senior management copper group, Glencore. A.B., J.D.
The Processing GapAmerica mines the copper.
America mines the copper.
China smelts it.
“Long-term tolling charges collapsed to ~$25/t and the spot market hit $0/t, or negative, in 2026. The U.S. depends on imported refined copper to meet domestic demand, and Chinese smelters dominate global processing capacity. Falcon Domestic Smelting and Refining is advancing to change that.”
>50%
China's share of global
smelting & refining (ICSG, 2024)
smelting & refining (ICSG, 2024)
The Processing Chokepoint
China has deliberately consolidated smelting capacity. Spot tolling at $0/t signals strategic positioning, not a market equilibrium.
$0/t
Spot tolling
charges in 2026
charges in 2026
TC/RC Collapse
U.S. dependence on Chinese smelting and refining capacity is a national security question, not a commercial one.
4
Decades since the last
U.S. primary smelter was built
U.S. primary smelter was built
The Domestic Void
No major new-build primary copper smelter has been built in the United States in four decades. China operates approximately 60–65 copper smelters and produces roughly 13–14 million tonnes of refined copper annually. The United States has two active smelters. Falcon Domestic Smelting and Refining is advancing to close that gap. (Fastmarkets, Oct. 2025)
~⅓
of U.S. mine output ships
abroad as raw concentrate
abroad as raw concentrate
Mined here, processed there
About 340,000 t of U.S. mine output leaves the country each year as concentrate; roughly half is smelted in China. (USGS MCS 2026 · Rio Tinto, BIS-2025-0010)
57%
U.S. reliance on
imported refined copper
imported refined copper
Bought back on their terms
China processes 57–60% of the world’s refined copper and sets the price. America buys back more than half of what it uses on those terms. (USGS MCS 2026 · ICSG 2025)
~910 kt
U.S. refining capacity
not yet built
not yet built
The capacity gap
The U.S. consumes about 1.7 Mt of refined copper a year but refines only ~790 kt at home. Closing the gap means building that capacity here. (USGS MCS 2026 · ACI Jun 2026)
The Build-OutFour pathways to domestic
Four pathways to domestic
processing capacity.
Falcon is pursuing the full range of routes that add U.S. copper processing capacity, from restarting existing assets to building new. The new-build primary smelter is the most defined; the restart, anode, and secondary pathways are in active discussion.
01In Discussion
Restart
Idled smelting & refining
Returning idled or underutilized U.S. copper smelting and refining capacity to production. The fastest route to incremental domestic output, built on sites that already carry permits, infrastructure, and an established processing footprint.
02In Discussion
Anode
Copper anode refinery
An electrolytic refinery that finishes copper anode into cathode on U.S. soil. Anode feed comes from allied supply today and, in time, from Falcon’s own domestic smelting, including the secondary scrap smelter.
03In Discussion
Secondary
Scrap & recycled feed
A secondary smelter that processes domestic copper scrap and recycled feed into refined metal, recirculating material currently exported back into the U.S. supply chain.
04In Development
New-Build
Primary flash smelter
A greenfield primary copper smelter and refinery in Arizona, the first new-build primary U.S. smelter in four decades, built around proven flash-smelting technology. The most defined of the four pathways.
Pathways are at varying stages of evaluation and discussion. Sites, capacities, partners, and timing for the restart, anode, and secondary pathways will be disclosed as individual projects are confirmed.
Pathway 04 · The New-Build SmelterA greenfield primary smelter,
A greenfield primary smelter,
built where the copper is.
Arizona produces approximately 70% of U.S. mined copper. The state has the geology, the rail infrastructure, the water rights framework, and the regulatory relationships that a large-scale smelting operation requires.
The project is being advanced in Arizona, where established federal coordination mechanisms, including FAST-41 for qualifying projects, are available to large-scale critical-minerals investment.
Engineering work is being advanced with world-class EPC and technology partners. The leadership team carries direct operating experience from the world's largest copper processing operations.
Capacity
400,000+ tpa
Primary copper cathode output (subject to refinement)
Site
Arizona
Rail, power, and water infrastructure access
Technology
Flash Smelting
Proven primary copper smelting technology
EPC Partner
World-class EPC firm
Engineering, procurement, and construction integrator
Output
Refined Copper Cathode
Mine concentrate → cathode on U.S. soil
Status
In Development
Engineering and permitting advancing
Operations LeadershipOperators who have
Operators who have
run this before.
Falcon Domestic Smelting and Refining is led by Rick Gittleman, Eric Best, and Mike Ciricillo. The operating team carries direct credits from the world's largest copper processing operations, including Freeport's Tenke Fungurume and Miami Smelter, Glencore's Mutanda and KCC, Mopani, Nevada Copper, and Barrick's Cortez District.
EB
Eric Best
Executive Vice President
Fmr. President Freeport Africa (Tenke Fungurume); Fmr. CEO Nevada Copper; Fmr. Glencore Head of Global Copper Production.
MC
Mike Ciricillo
Executive Vice President
Fmr. Process Plant Manager Freeport Tenke Fungurume and Miami Smelter; Fmr. CEO Glencore Mutanda Mining; Fmr. GM Cortez District, Barrick.
The Falcon Platform
Explore the other two platforms.