University in Salt Lake City in Salt Lake County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Rock solid support for the Natural History Museum of Utah

June 20, 2025

1. Rock solid support for the Natural History Museum of Utah Marker

Inscription. Sheathed in 42,000 square feet of native Utah copper, the Rio Tinto Center is rooted in Utah's stunning natural landscape. The Museum's copper shell began as ore deep in Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine, excavated and processed in 2009 with the help of many of the nearly 2,400 Rio Tinto and Kennecott Utah Copper employees who call Utah home. In continuous operation since 1890, the Bingham Canyon Mine has produced more copper than any mine in the United States history. Museum visitors can see the mine, 22 miles to the west, across the Salt Lake Valley.

Look closely at the Rio Tinto Center's exterior, and you'll see the copper that shelter the Museum is a combination of three materials. Reminiscent of the layers and fractures in a canyon cliff, the design combines pure copper with scattered panels of copper-zinc alloys.

The materials will weather uniquely, mirroring the remarkable diversity in Utah's rock layers. Just as the Utah landscape changes with time, the skin of the Rio Tinto Center will mellow in a subtle mosaic, from mint-copper penny brilliance to dark brown to a rich variegated green.

Since 1989, Kennecott

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Utah Copper has been part of the global mining corporation, Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto | Kennecott Utah Copper's copper donation was part of an extraordinary gift to the Museum that was critical in the creation of the Rio Tinto Center - designed and constructed to LEED standards. Resting on a partnership stretching back more than 30 years, the company's contribution included copper, financial support, plus advice on safe construction practices and sustainable operations-affirming Rio Tinto's Sustainable Development Commitment to balancing economic prosperity, social wellbeing, and environmental stewardship. At the time of its announcement, the gift represented the largest single corporate donation in University of Utah history. The name the Rio Tinto Centers honors this gift.

The more than 100,000 pounds of copper that cover the Museum sounds like a lot of copper. But copper also moves through the Rio Tinto Center every day-in the pennies and electronics in our pockets. In roughly 15 years, Museum visitors will have carried that same amount copper through the Museum. 6 1/2 grams at a time, in their cell phones.

Topics. This historical

June 20, 2025

2. Rock solid support for the Natural History Museum of Utah Marker

marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 2009.

Location. 40° 45.845′ N, 111° 49.408′ W. Marker is in Salt Lake City, Utah, in Salt Lake County. It is in University. It can be reached from Wakara Way. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City UT 84108, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Wasatch Front

and in Greater Salt Lake.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and on the Colorado Plateau.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: On the Edge of Wilderness (within shouting distance of this marker); Written in Stone (approx. ¼ mile away); Fort Douglas Cemetery (approx. ¼ mile away); Patrick Edward Connor (approx. 0.3 miles away); Building 55 (approx. 0.4 miles away); Fort Douglas Post Theater (approx. half a mile

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away); Fort Douglas Officers' Quarters (approx. half a mile away); Type 95 Field Gun (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Salt Lake City.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 21, 2025. It was originally submitted on June 20, 2025. This page has been viewed 152 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 20, 2025. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.