Australian Foundation Investment Company is starting to look at the sector and last year bought a small position in diversified miner Mineral Resources.
Funds are adopting an increasingly bearish stance in the copper market, preferring to focus on a globally weak demand picture rather than signs of supply-chain stress.
Once developed and approved, the Upper Calliope solar farm will have the potential to cut down Rio's operating carbon emissions by 1.8 million tonnes per year.
