New Mexico Copper
New Mexico Copper Corporation

Responsible Copper for a Modern New Mexico

The Copper Flat Project pairs a historic mining district with 21st-century innovation — dry-stack tailings, water conservation, and a commitment to responsible production and social license.

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Why Copper

The metal behind a modern, electrified economy

Copper is essential to the technologies that power daily life and the transition to clean energy — and reliable domestic supply has never mattered more.

  • Copper keeps the lights on and machines working.
  • Copper creates good-paying jobs and economic activity.
  • Copper supports climate resilience and electrification.
  • Copper is endlessly recyclable and reusable.
  • Copper is on the USGS Critical Minerals List — vital to U.S. supply.
Why New Mexico Copper

Innovation and sustainability at the core

At New Mexico Copper Corporation, sustainability is at the heart of our operations. The Copper Flat Project is designed to produce high-quality copper while minimizing environmental impact, conserving water, fostering community growth, and adhering to the highest governance standards.

We're not just mining copper — we're building a sustainable future for New Mexico and beyond.

The Copper Flat Project

A historic mining district, responsibly restarted

Since the 1870s, the area surrounding Hillsboro, New Mexico has been known for its rich deposits of gold, silver, and copper. Located in Sierra County, Copper Flat sits within a large band of porphyry copper that passes through New Mexico and Arizona. As a brownfield restart, the project continues this history of economic contribution to the region and the State — built to a modern standard of safety, stewardship, and community partnership.

New Mexico Copper Corporation is a New Mexico company, formed in 2010 and run by New Mexicans. It owns, permits, develops, and will operate Copper Flat. The project is privately funded by Tulla Resources Group, a family-owned Australian group whose capital is invested directly into New Mexico — into local jobs, local contractors, state and federal taxes, and decades of reclamation that stay right here in Sierra County. Tulla is a long-term, patient owner: its Norseman Gold operation has run continuously for more than 65 years.

Copper Flat · Sierra County, New Mexico

A historic district, responsibly restarted

Aerial view of the Copper Flat site — worked since the 1870s and now being developed to a modern standard of safety and stewardship.

Innovation

Engineering a safer, lower-impact mine

Copper Flat is being designed around modern mining innovation — prioritizing tailings safety, water conservation, and responsible production from the ground up, and aligning with the leading international standards for the industry.

Dry-Stack Tailings (DSTSF)

Replacing the dam with an engineered landform

Rather than a conventional wet tailings dam, Copper Flat will use a Dry-Stack Tailings Storage Facility. Tailings are filtered to a low-moisture "cake," conveyor-placed and compacted into a stable, engineered landform. This removes the dam-failure modes associated with conventional wet tailings and dramatically reduces water demand — the design cuts water requirements from roughly 6,100 acre-feet under a conventional dam to about 1,050 acre-feet, among the largest dry-stack facilities in the Americas.

  • No water-retention dam — failure modes engineered out
  • High water recovery and recycling before deposition
  • Stable under seismic loading and steep terrain
  • Enables concurrent and progressive reclamation
Water Stewardship

~83% less water

From ~6,100 acre-feet under a conventional tailings dam to ~1,050 acre-feet with dry-stack — conserving New Mexico's most precious resource. NMCC has secured 1,051 acre-feet of perfected water right for mining use.

Standards & Assurance

GISTM conformance — and the road to The Copper Mark

Our tailings program is being developed for conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) — the leading international benchmark for tailings safety and governance, organized around 15 principles spanning affected communities, integrated knowledge, design, management, governance, and public disclosure. NMCC is conducting a principle-by-principle conformance review with our Engineer of Record.

Looking ahead, NMCC intends to pursue The Copper Mark — the metals industry's independent assurance framework for responsible production, evaluating a site against comprehensive environmental, social, and governance criteria aligned with international standards and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Responsible Production

Built to the standard

  • GISTM — 15-principle tailings conformance review underway
  • Engineer-of-Record–led design and stability validation
  • The Copper Mark — independent ESG assurance (future work)
  • Transparency and disclosure to communities and partners

Circular Economy

Designing waste out of the process — surplus and remanufactured equipment, reuse of wear components, refurbishing, and recyclable packaging to extend material life.

Waste Reduction

Supplier partnerships to recycle steel wear components, recyclable shipping containers, and biodegradable "green" chemistry for dust control.

Energy & Smart Tech

High-efficiency motors, electric vehicles, and renewable power — with AI and smart technology to optimize production and minimize footprint.

Water in Context

Our water footprint, in local terms

Every use of water in New Mexico earns its place — farms, families, recreation, and industry alike. Here is where Copper Flat fits, using the State's own numbers.

Copper Flat Mine — entire operation · ~1,051 acre-feet/year

The homes of Sierra County — all ~11,400 of us (NM residential average, 81 gallons/person/day) · ~1,030 acre-feet/year

Three 18-hole Southwest golf courses (USGA regional average) · ~1,050–1,300 acre-feet/year

The conventional tailings-dam design Copper Flat rejected · ~6,100 acre-feet/year

The water is already ours: NMCC holds 1,051 acre-feet of perfected water rights of record with the State Engineer — no new appropriation, and no call on anyone else's allocation. Inside the plant, our dry-stack design recovers and recycles 85–93% of process water before a drop of new water is needed.

Jobs per drop

Roughly four acre-feet of water supports one full-time career with benefits at Copper Flat — about 270 operations jobs on ~1,050 acre-feet, year after year. No other use of an acre-foot of water in Sierra County creates more jobs, more payroll, or more tax revenue.

Designed for a drier future

At a time when New Mexico is being pressed to reduce Rio Grande water use, Copper Flat's dry-stack design cut the project's water demand by roughly 83% — from ~6,100 acre-feet under a conventional tailings dam to ~1,050. We aren't just mining copper. We're mining hope for a community — on a fraction of the water anyone expected a copper mine to need.

Among the most water-efficient copper mines anywhere

Measured the way the industry measures it — fresh water per ton of ore processed — Copper Flat's dry-stack design uses roughly one-quarter of the fresh water of a typical conventional copper operation. Put another way: it takes less than ten gallons of water to produce a pound of Copper Flat copper. Your morning cup of coffee carries more embedded water than that.

≈ ¼

the fresh water per ton of ore of conventional copper mining

200+ EVs

worth of copper produced from each acre-foot of water

⅓ inch

of Elephant Butte's lake level at normal storage — our entire annual use

0.03%

of New Mexico's total annual water withdrawals — all uses, statewide

Sources: New Mexico 50-Year Water Action Plan (statewide residential use of 81 gallons per person per day); U.S. Census (Sierra County population); USGA Water Resource Center, Southwest-region golf-course water use (~4 acre-feet per irrigated acre); NM Office of the State Engineer, Water Use by Categories (statewide withdrawals); Cochilco (Chilean Copper Commission) published industry benchmarks for fresh-water use per tonne of ore processed; Copper Flat NI 43-101 feasibility production basis; WSP Feasibility Study design basis for conventional vs. dry-stack water demand and process-water recovery; NMCC perfected water rights of record with the NM Office of the State Engineer. Figures rounded.

Our Commitment

Environmental, Social & Governance leadership

NMCC is focused on earning and maintaining social license by implementing world-class ESG strategies across the planning, construction, and operation of Copper Flat.

Environmental

Designed to support climate action, innovation, water and energy efficiency, circular economy, waste management, and biodiversity conservation.

Social

High safety standards and safe, healthy workplaces — plus job opportunities for local, regional, and Indigenous people.

Governance

Committed to ethical business policies, equality, and growth opportunities for community workers, local contractors, and suppliers.

Strategic Alliances

Aligning with partners actively engaged in initiatives that drive global climate action and responsible development.

Community & Economic Benefits

Investment that stays in New Mexico

Copper Flat brings capital into New Mexico — and keeps the value here. Wages, local purchasing, state and federal taxes, and decades of reclamation are spent and captured in Sierra County and across the state, through a long-term commitment to our neighbors.

1,156
total construction jobs in NM
270
full-time operations jobs — competitive wages + benefits
~$200M
federal & state taxes
$58.5M
construction spend in Sierra County
Visit the Copper Flat Community Site

Economic figures: Arrowhead Center (NMSU) socioeconomic impact study of the Copper Flat Mine Project in Sierra County, New Mexico (2012), updated to 2024 economics.

Permitting & Status

A thoroughly reviewed, transparent project

Copper Flat has advanced through years of rigorous state and federal review in partnership with cooperating agencies — spanning the full scope of approvals required to build and operate responsibly.

State of New Mexico

Air Quality Permit — NMED
Groundwater Discharge Permit — NMED
Cultural & Historic Resources — SHPO
State Highway / SH-152 — NMDOT
Water Supply — NMOSE
Mine Operating Permit (MORP) — NMMMD
Reclamation & Closure Plan / Financial Assurance — NMMMD

Federal

Environmental Impact Statement — BLM
Clean Water Act §404 — USACE
Plan of Operations (43 CFR 3809) — BLM
Reclamation & Closure / Financial Assurance — BLM
NPDES — EPA
Mine Registration · FCC · Explosives — MSHA / FCC / ATF
Careers & Workforce

Building a skilled, local workforce

Copper Flat will create hundreds of good-paying jobs — with a strong priority on hiring locally and developing New Mexico talent through training and institutional partnerships.

Operations roles offer competitive wages and benefits, with opportunities spanning the full project lifecycle.

Get in Touch
  • Priority on local, regional, and Indigenous hiring
  • Workforce development and skills training
  • Partnerships with regional educational institutions
  • Long-term careers across operations, reclamation & monitoring

Current Openings

NMCC posts open positions here as the project advances toward construction. Click a position to see responsibilities and qualifications. To apply, email your resume to info@nmcopper.com with the position title in the subject line.

Construction Manager

Lead NMCC's owner construction organization through pre-construction and execution — contractor coordination across all packages, schedule and quality oversight, and interface management with our Engineer of Record.

Full-time · Hillsboro, NM · Posted July 2026 · View responsibilities & qualifications

Key responsibilities

  • Direct the owner's construction team across all project packages from pre-construction through commissioning handover
  • Manage contractor performance — safety, schedule, quality, and cost — under CMAR and T&M NTE delivery structures
  • Own the construction schedule interface with the master project schedule and report progress to the executive team
  • Coordinate design-to-field interfaces with the Engineer of Record and resolve constructability issues
  • Champion site safety culture and lead constructor onboarding to NMCC standards

Qualifications

  • 15+ years of heavy-industrial or mining construction experience, including 5+ years leading construction at site level
  • Delivery experience under construction-management-at-risk or open-book contracting models
  • Demonstrated multi-contractor coordination on brownfield or greenfield process-plant builds
  • Working knowledge of Primavera P6 schedules, earned-value reporting, and QA/QC documentation systems
  • Degree in construction management or engineering, or equivalent depth of field experience
  • Strong safety leadership record; MSHA familiarity valued

To apply, email your resume to info@nmcopper.com with the position title in the subject line.

Area Construction Leads — Multiple Openings

Owner's-team construction leads for defined plant areas: process plant (crushing, grinding & flotation), dewatering & filtration, site infrastructure, and earthworks & tailings.

Full-time · Multiple positions · Hillsboro, NM · Posted July 2026 · View responsibilities & qualifications

Key responsibilities

  • Provide day-to-day owner oversight of contractor execution within an assigned plant area
  • Verify work conforms to issued-for-construction drawings, specifications, and quality plans
  • Walk down completed systems, track punch lists, and support mechanical-completion turnover
  • Monitor field safety practices and stop work where standards are not met
  • Report area progress, quantities, and issues to the Construction Manager

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of field construction experience in the assigned discipline (mechanical, civil/earthworks, structural, or E&I)
  • Trade background or engineering qualification — both paths welcomed
  • Experience supervising or overseeing contractor crews on industrial sites
  • Ability to read and interpret construction drawings, P&IDs, and specifications
  • Safety-first mindset; OSHA 30 or equivalent, MSHA experience valued

To apply, email your resume to info@nmcopper.com with the position title in the subject line.

Mine Manager

Senior operating leader for the Copper Flat restart — pre-production planning through commercial operations. Open-pit experience required; contract-miner oversight experience valued.

Full-time · Hillsboro, NM · Posted July 2026 · View responsibilities & qualifications

Key responsibilities

  • Lead mine operations readiness — plans, budgets, staffing, and systems — ahead of first production
  • Oversee the contract-mining interface: performance, safety, grade-control coordination, and reconciliation
  • Own MSHA compliance and the mine safety program
  • Build the operations leadership team with a priority on local and regional hiring
  • Integrate mine planning, grade control, and processing requirements into daily execution

Qualifications

  • 15+ years of open-pit mining experience, including 5+ years in senior mine management
  • Experience managing or overseeing contract-mining arrangements
  • Strong MSHA compliance record and safety leadership
  • Mine-planning literacy — able to direct planning engineers and challenge schedules
  • Startup, restart, or ramp-up experience strongly valued
  • Mining engineering degree or equivalent experience

To apply, email your resume to info@nmcopper.com with the position title in the subject line.

Project Controls Specialist

Cost, schedule, and progress reporting for the owner's team through engineering and construction.

Full-time · Hillsboro, NM · Posted July 2026 · View responsibilities & qualifications

Key responsibilities

  • Maintain the integrated project schedule and coordinate contractor schedule submittals
  • Run monthly cost reporting, forecasting, and change management
  • Produce earned-value and progress metrics for executive and lender reporting
  • Support tender evaluations with schedule and cost analysis

Qualifications

  • 8+ years in project controls on industrial or mining capital projects
  • Advanced Primavera P6 and Excel skills; earned-value methods
  • Experience with open-book contractor cost structures preferred
  • Engineering, construction management, or quantity-surveying background

To apply, email your resume to info@nmcopper.com with the position title in the subject line.

Office & Site Administrator

Front-of-house administration for the Hillsboro project office — document control support, visitor coordination, and community inquiries. Sierra County candidates encouraged.

Full-time · Hillsboro, NM · Posted July 2026 · View responsibilities & qualifications

Key responsibilities

  • Run day-to-day office administration for the project office
  • Support document control — filing, transmittals, and records for the project team
  • Coordinate visitors, meetings, and site-access logistics
  • Serve as first point of contact for community phone and email inquiries

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of office administration experience
  • Strong Microsoft Office skills; document-management experience valued
  • Professional, welcoming communication style with community members
  • Bilingual English/Spanish valued
  • Sierra County and regional candidates strongly encouraged to apply

To apply, email your resume to info@nmcopper.com with the position title in the subject line.

Future Operations Roles — Talent Register

Operations hiring for approximately 270 full-time roles — equipment operators, plant operators, maintenance technicians, supervisors, and technical staff — begins ahead of first production. If you want to be considered as roles open, email info@nmcopper.com with the subject line "Talent Register" and tell us your trade, experience, and where you live. Sierra County and regional applicants are prioritized.

Official Notices

Notices that New Mexico Copper Corporation is required to make available to workers or the public under federal or state law are posted here for the required posting period.

  • No notices are currently posted.
Frequently Asked Questions

Answers for our neighbors and partners

Straight answers about Copper Flat — what it is, who is behind it, and how we are building it responsibly.

Where is the Copper Flat Project located?
Copper Flat is in Sierra County, New Mexico, near the historic community of Hillsboro and a short drive from Truth or Consequences. It sits within a band of porphyry copper that runs through New Mexico and Arizona.
Who owns Copper Flat — and what does outside investment mean for New Mexico?
NMCC is a New Mexico company, organized in 2010 and operated by New Mexicans under New Mexico and federal regulation. It is privately funded by Tulla Resources Group, a family-owned Australian investment group. Importantly, the investment flows into New Mexico, not out of it — construction, wages, local purchasing, taxes, and reclamation are all spent and captured here. Tulla is a long-term, patient owner whose Norseman Gold operation has run for more than 65 years. The copper produced helps rebuild a secure domestic supply of a metal on the U.S. Critical Minerals List. And Copper Flat is a restart of a historic New Mexico mining district worked since the 1870s — we are continuing the state's own mining heritage to a modern standard.
Is this a brand-new mine?
No — Copper Flat is a brownfield restart of a mining district worked since the 1870s. Building on existing disturbance and infrastructure, the project is being developed to a modern standard of safety, water stewardship, and community partnership.
What will Copper Flat produce?
A copper concentrate, with molybdenum, gold, and silver recovered as by-products — metals essential to everyday life and the transition to clean energy.
How will the project protect water?
Water stewardship is central to the design. Copper Flat uses a dry-stack tailings facility that reduces water demand from roughly 6,100 acre-feet under a conventional design to about 1,050 acre-feet, with high water recovery and recycling. NMCC has secured a perfected water right for mining use.
Is the tailings facility safe?
Yes. The dry-stack approach filters tailings into a compacted, engineered landform — removing the failure modes associated with conventional wet tailings dams. The program is being developed for conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) under our Engineer of Record, and NMCC intends to pursue independent responsible-production assurance through The Copper Mark.
What are the benefits to the community?
Copper Flat is expected to create hundreds of construction and operations jobs — with a priority on local, regional, and Indigenous hiring — generate significant state and federal tax revenue, and support Sierra County businesses, with benefits continuing through decades of reclamation and monitoring.
What permits does the project require, and where does it stand?
Copper Flat has advanced through years of rigorous state and federal review in partnership with cooperating agencies, spanning the full scope of approvals required to build and operate responsibly. We are committed to transparency and ongoing engagement with regulators and the community throughout the process.
How can I learn more or get involved?
We welcome questions from neighbors, partners, and prospective employees. Reach us anytime through the contact section below — we are committed to an open, long-term relationship with the Sierra County community.
Rooted in New Mexico

Built here, for the long term

A lasting commitment to Sierra County — through construction, operations, and decades of reclamation.

Contact

Let's talk about Copper Flat

Project Office85 Copper Rock Road, Hillsboro, NM 88042

MailingPO Box 4209, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901

General Inquiriesinfo@nmcopper.com

Stephen Crosby — SVP, Project Developmentinfo@nmcopper.com
1-505-382-5770