Copper to be processed into museum building facade that will ultimately serve as the facade of the new Utah Museum of Natural History building has started its processing journey.

The museum says 136,000 pounds of copper mined from the Bingham Canyon Mine pulled away from the loading dock at Kennecott Utah Copper on Wednesday. The copper will travel to New York state and Arizona for various types of processing.

The copper will eventually be installed as the "skin" on the museum building. A combination of copper and copper alloys will be used to create the finished panels, which will create a subtle difference in how each weathers over time.

The copper is part of Rio Tinto's $15 million donation to the museum. Rio Tinto is Kennecott Utah's Copper's parent company.