Nov 13 (Reuters) - Australian miner Rio Tinto

said on Wednesday it had approved the construction of a new

25-megawatt (MW) solar plant at its Kennecott copper operation

in Utah, bringing the mine's total solar capacity to 30MW.

The previous solar plant of 5MW, along with the new one,

will reduce Kennecott's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by around

6%, or 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, Rio

said in a statement.

The company is targeting reductions in carbon emissions of

50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

The construction of the plant will also create short-term

employment opportunities for up to 100 labourers, as well as a

small number of long-term operations and maintenance roles, the

miner said.

The construction of the 25MW solar plant is expected to be

completed next year.

(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)