Rio Tinto (RIO.US) is counting on Trump to approve a major copper mine project in the US that has been on hold for 12 years.

After 12 years of regulatory battles, Rio Tinto (RIO.US) is counting on President Donald Trump to eventually approve its massive Resolution copper project in Arizona, according to a report on Wednesday. Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said in an interview that "I do believe we have a good opportunity to move this project forward. We have made good progress."

Resolution copper mine, first submitted to the U.S. Forest Service in 2013, would be the largest copper mine in North America if fully developed, producing up to 1 billion pounds of copper annually, or 25% of U.S. demand.

Rio Tinto owns 55% of the project, while BHP Group (BHP.US) has 45%. The project is one of several expected to benefit from Trump's policy of speeding up regulatory approvals for companies investing more than $1 billion in the U.S.

Industry executives say the Pebble Project, an Alaska-based copper and gold project owned by NAK, is also expected to get final approval during the new administration.