Kennecott Land: Our History

Our History

Although Kennecott Land was formed in April 2001, our history in the Salt Lake Valley begins with the creation of the Utah Copper Company in 1903. Daniel Jackling formed the large-scale mining company that was the birth of Utah’s rich mining history and the beginning of what is now known as the Bingham Canyon Mine. During World War II, the Bingham Canyon Mine produced one-third of all the copper used by the allies. Kennecott Utah Copper continues to mine and process the rich minerals found in the Bingham Mine and is the second largest copper producer in the nation today.

During the 1900’s, large tracts of land were purchased for potential mining or as buffer land to the growing community in the Salt Lake Valley. These combined lands now total nearly 93,000 acres along the West Bench of the Salt Lake Valley. While these lands were never mined, some parcels were impacted by adjacent mining activities which led to a period of unprecedented remediation, restoration and reclamation in the 1990’s.

During this period, Kennecott Utah Copper hired national planning experts to evaluate the potential use of the reclaimed landscape in the area of South Jordan. In 1999, a team of experts began a detailed evaluation of the potential for land development on Kennecott Utah Copper’s entire West Bench land holding. Calthorpe Associates, internationally recognized land planners, produced a general plan for the property that was unlike anything else in Utah.

Kennecott Utah Copper began working with the city of South Jordan to enact zoning that would allow a large-scale mixed-use development on 4,126 acres. The plan would provide for nearly 20,000 residential units as well as significant commercial entitlements, and more than 1,000 acres of parks and open space for the community to enjoy, making this the largest master-planned development in the history of Utah. The project was named Daybreak and is now home to more than 2,000 families.

In 2001, Kennecott Development Company was established by Rio Tinto to focus exclusively on this new opportunity -- to develop Kennecott Utah Copper's non-mining land and water assets in a way that creates enduring and sustainable communities. The company name was changed to Kennecott Land in November of 2002.