Freeport-McMoRan
Encyclopedia
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., (FMCG) often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper
producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold
. It was formerly based in New Orleans, Louisiana
but moved its headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona
, after acquiring copper producer Phelps Dodge
in 2007; its headquarters are located in the Freeport-McMoRan Center in downtown Phoenix. In addition to Phelps Dodge, its subsidiaries include PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Irja Eastern Minerals and Atlantic Copper, S.A. Freeport is the largest publicly traded copper and molybdenum
producer in the world.
Best known for its Grasberg mine
in Papua
province, Indonesia
, the company is the largest taxpayer to the Indonesian government. It mines and mills ore
s containing copper, gold, molybdenum and silver
for the world market. Richard C. Adkerson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and James R. Moffett is the company's Chairman.
McMoRan Exploration Company is a separately traded firm with some shared management with Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Richard C. Adkerson and James R. Moffett are co-chairmen of McMoRan Exploration. McMoRan Exploration, an oil and gas exploration and production firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana
, was created in 1998 by the merger of McMoRan Oil & Gas and Freeport-McMoRan Sulphur. In 2008, McMoRan Exploration acquired the famed Blackbeard offshore prospect in the Gulf of Mexico
, that Exxon Mobil Corp. abandoned in 2006 after drilling a 30000 feet (9,144 m) dry hole. As of mid-2008, McMoRan Exploration's Blackbeard well is below 32550 feet (9,921.2 m), the deepest oil exploration well ever recorded.
The company was founded as the Freeport Sulphur Company in 1912, and the company founded Freeport, Texas
that same year, near its new sulphur mines, then the largest in the world. Freeport pioneered mining sulphur by the Frasch Process
at mines along the US Gulf Coast.
Freeport Sulphur began to diversify in 1931, purchasing manganese deposits in Oriente Province, Cuba. The company produced nickel
during WW2, and potash
in the 1950s. In 1955, Freeport invested $119 million in constructing a nickel -cobalt
mine at Moa Bay, Cuba
and a refinery at Port Nickel, Louisiana
. On March 11, 1957 the US government announced a contract buying Freeport production of nickel and cobalt from Cuba
until June 30, 1965 as strategic commodities. In July 1957 the House Committee referred charges to the Justice Department against Freeport for investigation of a government trying to reduce the multi-million dollar contract. In 1960 the Castro
government nationalized the Cuban facility.
In 1956, the company formed Freeport Oil Company, and sold a Louisiana
oil discovery for $100 million in 1958. In 1961, the company entered the kaolin business, and in 1964 formed Freeport of Australia
to pursue mining opportunities there and in the surrounding Pacific Ocean
region. In 1960, a team of Freeport geologists confirmed the Dutch discovery of the rich Ertsberg
copper and gold deposits, located in extremely rugged, remote country in the Jayawijaya Mountains
, in then-Netherlands New Guinea
. In 1966, Freeport founded Freeport Indonesia, Inc. and negotiated a contract with the Indonesian government, which had taken over the former Dutch colony in 1963, to develop the Ertsberg deposit. In their feasibilty study, Freeport geologists estimated that the orebody totaled 33 million tons averaging 2.5% copper. The Ertsberg was the largest above-ground copper deposit ever discovered.
Construction of an open pit mine began in May 1970, and in mid-1973 the new Ertsberg mine was declared fully operational. Officials at Bechtel
, the primary contractor on the project,called mine development at Ertsberg "the most difficult engineering project they had ever undertaken." The many challenges included building a 101 kilometer long access road (a project that required boring kilometer long tunnels through two mountains) and constructing the world's longest single span aerial tramway
. Aerial tramways were needed to move people, supplies, and ore because a 2000 feet (609.6 m) cliff separates the Ertsberg mine (at 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) elevation) from the mill (at 10,000 feet). Getting copper concentrate from that mill to the shipping port required installation of a 109-kilometer long slurry
pipeline
- then the world's longest.
Mine construction and startup cost about US$200 million. The development of the Ertsberg District was an engineering marvel, but the mine's early financial performance was disappointing. Depressed copper prices and high operating costs kept the operation marginal during the 1970s.
In 1971 the company changed its name to Freeport Minerals Company (FMC) to reflect its role as a diversified mineral producer. FMC formed Freeport Gold Company in 1981 to operate a rich new gold discovery at Jerrit Canyon, Nevada.
McMoRan Oil & Gas was formed in 1967 by three partners, William Kennon McWilliams Jr. ("Mc"), James R. (Jim Bob) Moffett ("Mo"), who were both petroleum geologists, and B.M. Rankin, Jr. ("Ran"), "a specialist in land-leasing and sales operations." During the 1970s, the company acquired a reputation as an aggressive petroleum explorer with cost-efficient drilling programs. It formed drilling partnerships with several companies, including Freeport. In 1981 Freeport Minerals merged with McMoRan Oil & Gas to form Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
Since 1973, Freeport has operated the world's largest gold mine, located in Indonesia's Papua province.
In 1982 Freeport Gold Company was the world's largest gold producer, producing 196000 troy ounces (6,096.3 kg) of gold in its first full year of operation.
By 1989 Freeport-McMoRan had two world-class mines to develop: the new discovery at Grasberg
, Indonesia, with the world's largest gold ore reserve, and one of the world's largest copper reserves; and the Main Pass sulfur-oil-gas deposit offshore from Louisiana, with estimated reserves totalling 67 million tonnes of sulfur, 39 Moilbbl of oil, and 7000000000 cubic foot (0.198217929 km³) of natural gas. These were rich deposits, but would be very expensive to develop. Freeport sold about $1.5 billion in assets to finance the development of these two projects.
By 1991, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. was basically a holding company for its two principal assets, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FMCG) and Freeport-McMoRan Resource Partners, which ran the sulphur and fertilizer business. Freeport's focus was to raise enough cash to finance the development of the huge finds at Grasberg and Main Pass. Both of these assets got better the more they were studied: Main Pass was the second largest recoverable sulphur reserve then known, and Grasberg's ore reserves—and profit potential—were truly enormous.
In 1994 Freeport-McMoRan spun off
its entire interest in Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, which became an independent company, fully focussed on the Indonesian operation. In 1997 Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the former parent company, was itself acquired by IMC Global
, a large fertilizer producer.
In 1997 the company exposed the Bre-X
Gold Scandal. Brought in by the Indonesian government, Freeport was not able to substantiate Bre-X's claims to having found the largest gold mine ever discovered; Bre-X subsequently was exposed as a fraud and went bankrupt.
The Grasberg mine, FMCG'S crown jewel, soon became a source of violent trouble and terrible publicity, which continues today. It is also the world's most profitable mine. The Grasberg mine's tailings have "severely impacted" more than 11 square miles (28 km²) of rainforest, according to a 1996 Dames & Moore environmental audit. The report, endorsed by Freeport, also estimates that during the life of the mine 3.2 billion tons of waste rock - a great part of which generates acid - will be dumped into the local river system. Overburden
(waste rock) from the mine has polluted a nearby lake due to acid mine drainage
.
Freeport-McMoRan is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
South American operations:
European operations:
African project:
Asian operations:
.
In 2005, the New York Times
reported that company records showed the total amount paid between 1998 and 2004 amounted to nearly US$20 million, distributed among both officers and units, with one individual receiving up to US$150,000. The company response was that there was "no alternative to our reliance on the Indonesian military and police in this regard", and that the support provided was not for individuals, but rather for infrastructure, food, housing, fuel, travel, vehicle repairs and allowances to cover incidental and administrative costs.
Since October 17, 2011 the company halted mining operation in Papua, amid a strike that has led to a deteriorating security situation and intensified calls for independence. 70 percent of workers joined the strike appeal to increase the salary since September 15, 2011, block the roads, clash with policemen, killing of 3 people by unidentified gunmen and cut concentrate pipeline in several places.
in Indonesia has led The Government Pension Fund of Norway
, the world's largest pension fund , to exclude Freeport-McMoRan from its investment portfolia, after a recommendation from the fund's ethical council.
The Political Economy Research Institute ranks Freport-McMoRan 22nd among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. The ranking is based on the emission quantity (4 million pounds in 2005) and toxicity.
collaborated with Payne Whitney to regain control of the company. In 1935 the Board of Directors included chairman John Hay Whitney
, Kidder, Peabody & Co.
, Eugene L. Norton, Langbourne M. Williams Jr.
(president), Monro B. Lanier, Chauncey Stillman
, Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller
, David M. Goodrich. The company change name to Freeport Sulphur in December 1936. Other directors have included Augustus Long
, Robert A. Lovett
, Charles Wight from 1947, Benno Schmidt 1954-1997, Jean Mauzé
, Robert W. Bruce III, Robert C. Hills, Paul W. Douglas 1981-1983 after serving on Freeport Minerals 1975-1981, Henry Kissinger
1988-1995, George Putnam
, Mikhael Yosia and J. Taylor Wharton.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
. It was formerly based in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
but moved its headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, after acquiring copper producer Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge
Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 by Anson Greene Phelps and William Earle Dodge, Sr.. On March 19, 2007, it was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan and now operates under the name Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.-History:...
in 2007; its headquarters are located in the Freeport-McMoRan Center in downtown Phoenix. In addition to Phelps Dodge, its subsidiaries include PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Irja Eastern Minerals and Atlantic Copper, S.A. Freeport is the largest publicly traded copper and molybdenum
Molybdenum
Molybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The name is from Neo-Latin Molybdaenum, from Ancient Greek , meaning lead, itself proposed as a loanword from Anatolian Luvian and Lydian languages, since its ores were confused with lead ores...
producer in the world.
Best known for its Grasberg mine
Grasberg mine
The Grasberg Mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, and it has 19,500 employees...
in Papua
Papua (Indonesian province)
Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...
province, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, the company is the largest taxpayer to the Indonesian government. It mines and mills ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s containing copper, gold, molybdenum and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
for the world market. Richard C. Adkerson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold and James R. Moffett is the company's Chairman.
McMoRan Exploration Company is a separately traded firm with some shared management with Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Richard C. Adkerson and James R. Moffett are co-chairmen of McMoRan Exploration. McMoRan Exploration, an oil and gas exploration and production firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, was created in 1998 by the merger of McMoRan Oil & Gas and Freeport-McMoRan Sulphur. In 2008, McMoRan Exploration acquired the famed Blackbeard offshore prospect in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, that Exxon Mobil Corp. abandoned in 2006 after drilling a 30000 feet (9,144 m) dry hole. As of mid-2008, McMoRan Exploration's Blackbeard well is below 32550 feet (9,921.2 m), the deepest oil exploration well ever recorded.
History
Freeport, Texas
Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is situated in Southeast Texas. As of the 2000 U.S...
that same year, near its new sulphur mines, then the largest in the world. Freeport pioneered mining sulphur by the Frasch Process
Frasch process
The Frasch process is a method to extract sulfur from underground deposits. It is the only economic method of recovering sulfur from elemental deposits...
at mines along the US Gulf Coast.
Freeport Sulphur began to diversify in 1931, purchasing manganese deposits in Oriente Province, Cuba. The company produced nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
during WW2, and potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
in the 1950s. In 1955, Freeport invested $119 million in constructing a nickel -cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
mine at Moa Bay, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and a refinery at Port Nickel, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. On March 11, 1957 the US government announced a contract buying Freeport production of nickel and cobalt from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
until June 30, 1965 as strategic commodities. In July 1957 the House Committee referred charges to the Justice Department against Freeport for investigation of a government trying to reduce the multi-million dollar contract. In 1960 the Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
government nationalized the Cuban facility.
In 1956, the company formed Freeport Oil Company, and sold a Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
oil discovery for $100 million in 1958. In 1961, the company entered the kaolin business, and in 1964 formed Freeport of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to pursue mining opportunities there and in the surrounding Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
region. In 1960, a team of Freeport geologists confirmed the Dutch discovery of the rich Ertsberg
Grasberg mine
The Grasberg Mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, and it has 19,500 employees...
copper and gold deposits, located in extremely rugged, remote country in the Jayawijaya Mountains
Jayawijaya Mountains
The Jayawijaya Mountains, formerly known as the Orange Range, are the eastern mountain range of the Maoke Mountains in the central highlands region of the Indonesian part of New Guinea. The range extends for 230 miles east of the Sudirman Range to the Star Mountains. Its highest point is Trikora...
, in then-Netherlands New Guinea
Netherlands New Guinea
Netherlands New Guinea refers to the West Papua region while it was an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. Until 1949 it was a part of the Netherlands Indies. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea...
. In 1966, Freeport founded Freeport Indonesia, Inc. and negotiated a contract with the Indonesian government, which had taken over the former Dutch colony in 1963, to develop the Ertsberg deposit. In their feasibilty study, Freeport geologists estimated that the orebody totaled 33 million tons averaging 2.5% copper. The Ertsberg was the largest above-ground copper deposit ever discovered.
Construction of an open pit mine began in May 1970, and in mid-1973 the new Ertsberg mine was declared fully operational. Officials at Bechtel
Bechtel
Bechtel Corporation is the largest engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 5th-largest privately owned company in the U.S...
, the primary contractor on the project,called mine development at Ertsberg "the most difficult engineering project they had ever undertaken." The many challenges included building a 101 kilometer long access road (a project that required boring kilometer long tunnels through two mountains) and constructing the world's longest single span aerial tramway
Aerial tramway
An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion...
. Aerial tramways were needed to move people, supplies, and ore because a 2000 feet (609.6 m) cliff separates the Ertsberg mine (at 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) elevation) from the mill (at 10,000 feet). Getting copper concentrate from that mill to the shipping port required installation of a 109-kilometer long slurry
Slurry
A slurry is, in general, a thick suspension of solids in a liquid.-Examples of slurries:Examples of slurries include:* Lahars* A mixture of water and cement to form concrete* A mixture of water, gelling agent, and oxidizers used as an explosive...
pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
- then the world's longest.
Mine construction and startup cost about US$200 million. The development of the Ertsberg District was an engineering marvel, but the mine's early financial performance was disappointing. Depressed copper prices and high operating costs kept the operation marginal during the 1970s.
In 1971 the company changed its name to Freeport Minerals Company (FMC) to reflect its role as a diversified mineral producer. FMC formed Freeport Gold Company in 1981 to operate a rich new gold discovery at Jerrit Canyon, Nevada.
McMoRan Oil & Gas was formed in 1967 by three partners, William Kennon McWilliams Jr. ("Mc"), James R. (Jim Bob) Moffett ("Mo"), who were both petroleum geologists, and B.M. Rankin, Jr. ("Ran"), "a specialist in land-leasing and sales operations." During the 1970s, the company acquired a reputation as an aggressive petroleum explorer with cost-efficient drilling programs. It formed drilling partnerships with several companies, including Freeport. In 1981 Freeport Minerals merged with McMoRan Oil & Gas to form Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
Since 1973, Freeport has operated the world's largest gold mine, located in Indonesia's Papua province.
In 1982 Freeport Gold Company was the world's largest gold producer, producing 196000 troy ounces (6,096.3 kg) of gold in its first full year of operation.
By 1989 Freeport-McMoRan had two world-class mines to develop: the new discovery at Grasberg
Grasberg mine
The Grasberg Mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, and it has 19,500 employees...
, Indonesia, with the world's largest gold ore reserve, and one of the world's largest copper reserves; and the Main Pass sulfur-oil-gas deposit offshore from Louisiana, with estimated reserves totalling 67 million tonnes of sulfur, 39 Moilbbl of oil, and 7000000000 cubic foot (0.198217929 km³) of natural gas. These were rich deposits, but would be very expensive to develop. Freeport sold about $1.5 billion in assets to finance the development of these two projects.
By 1991, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. was basically a holding company for its two principal assets, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FMCG) and Freeport-McMoRan Resource Partners, which ran the sulphur and fertilizer business. Freeport's focus was to raise enough cash to finance the development of the huge finds at Grasberg and Main Pass. Both of these assets got better the more they were studied: Main Pass was the second largest recoverable sulphur reserve then known, and Grasberg's ore reserves—and profit potential—were truly enormous.
In 1994 Freeport-McMoRan spun off
Spin out
A spin-out, also known as a spin-off or a starburst, refers to a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" sections of itself as a separate business....
its entire interest in Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, which became an independent company, fully focussed on the Indonesian operation. In 1997 Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the former parent company, was itself acquired by IMC Global
The Mosaic Company
The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Mosaic offers two key crop nutrients—phosphate and potash—plus specialty products K-Mag®, MicroEssentials® and Pegasus™...
, a large fertilizer producer.
In 1997 the company exposed the Bre-X
Bre-X
Bre-X was a group of companies in Canada. A major part of the group, Bre-X Minerals Ltd. based in Calgary, was involved in a major gold mining scandal when it was reported to be sitting on an enormous gold deposit at Busang, Indonesia...
Gold Scandal. Brought in by the Indonesian government, Freeport was not able to substantiate Bre-X's claims to having found the largest gold mine ever discovered; Bre-X subsequently was exposed as a fraud and went bankrupt.
The Grasberg mine, FMCG'S crown jewel, soon became a source of violent trouble and terrible publicity, which continues today. It is also the world's most profitable mine. The Grasberg mine's tailings have "severely impacted" more than 11 square miles (28 km²) of rainforest, according to a 1996 Dames & Moore environmental audit. The report, endorsed by Freeport, also estimates that during the life of the mine 3.2 billion tons of waste rock - a great part of which generates acid - will be dumped into the local river system. Overburden
Overburden
Overburden is the material that lies above an area of economic or scientific interest in mining and archaeology; most commonly the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lies above a coal seam or ore body. It is also known as 'waste' or 'spoil'...
(waste rock) from the mine has polluted a nearby lake due to acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage
Acid mine drainage , or acid rock drainage , refers to the outflow of acidic water from metal mines or coal mines. However, other areas where the earth has been disturbed may also contribute acid rock drainage to the environment...
.
Freeport-McMoRan is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
Operations
North American operations:- Morenci, ArizonaMorenci, ArizonaMorenci is a census-designated place in Greenlee County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,879 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Safford Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, 85% owned by FMCG (copper) - Bagdad, ArizonaBagdad, ArizonaBagdad is a copper mining community and census-designated place in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States, in the western part of the state. It is one of only two remaining company towns in Arizona...
, 100% owned (copper, molybdenum) - Sahuarita, ArizonaSahuarita, ArizonaSahuarita is a town in Pima County, Arizona, United States. Sahuarita is located south of the Tohono O'odham Nation and abuts the north end of Green Valley, 15 miles south of Tucson...
(includes Twin Buttes & Esperanza) , 100% owned (copper, molybdenum) - Miami, ArizonaMiami, ArizonaMiami is a town in Gila County, Arizona, United States. Miami is a classic Western copper boomtown, though the copper mines are largely dormant now...
, 100% owned (copper) - Safford MineSafford MineThe Safford Mine is an open-pit copper mine located in Graham County, Arizona, eight miles north of the city of Safford. The mine is owned and operated by Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold....
, Safford, ArizonaSafford, Arizona- History :Safford was founded by Joshua Eaton Bailey, Hiram Kennedy and Edward Tuttle, who came from Gila Bend, in southwestern Arizona. They left Gila Bend in the winter of 1873-74; their work on canals and dams having been destroyed by high water the previous summer...
, 100% owned (copper) - El Chino mineEl Chino MineThe Chino Mine , also known as the Santa Rita mine, is an open-pit copper mine located in the town of Santa Rita, New Mexico east of Silver City. The mine was started as the Chino Copper Company in 1909 by mining engineer John M. Sully, and is currently owned and operated by Freeport-McMoRan...
, Santa Rita, New MexicoSanta Rita, New MexicoSanta Rita is a ghost town in Grant County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The site of El Chino copper mine, Santa Rita was located fifteen miles east of Silver City.-History:...
, 100% owned (copper, molybdenum) - Tyrone, New MexicoTyrone, New MexicoTyrone is a ghost town located in Grant County, New Mexico, United States, in the southwestern part of the state.Tyrone was an elaborately planned community financed by the Phelps Dodge Corporation, based on Mediterranean and European styles, designed by well-known architect Bertram Goodhue and...
, 100% owned (copper) - Henderson molybdenum mineHenderson molybdenum mineThe Henderson molybdenum mine is a large underground molybdenum mine west of the town of Empire in Clear Creek County, Colorado, USA. The Henderson mine, which has produced molybdenum since 1976, is owned by Freeport-McMoRan....
, Empire, ColoradoEmpire, ColoradoThe historic Town of Empire is a Statutory Town located in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The population was 355 at the U.S. Census 2000. The town is a former mining settlement that flourished during the Colorado Silver Boom in the late 19th century. It is located in the valley Clear...
100% owned - Climax mineClimax mineThe Climax mine, located in Climax, Colorado, United States, was a major molybdenum mine in Lake and Summit counties, Colorado. In its heyday, the Climax mine was the largest molybdenum mine in the world, and for many years it supplied three-fourths of the world's supply of molbdenum...
, Leadville, ColoradoLeadville, ColoradoLeadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
, currently inactive (molybdenum)
South American operations:
- Candelaria/Ojos del Salado, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, 80% owned by FMCG (copper) - El Abra, Chile, 51% owned (copper)
- Cerro Verde, PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, 53.6% owned (copper, molybdenum)
European operations:
- Atlantic Copper http://www.atlantic-copper.es/2006/index.php, copper refineryRefineryA refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
in Huelva, Spain
African project:
- Tenke FungurumeTenke FungurumeThe Tenke Fungurume Mine holds one of the world's largest known copper and cobalt resources. The deposits are located within two concessions totaling over in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo .-Ownership:...
, Democratic Republic of Congo (copper, cobalt)
Asian operations:
- GrasbergGrasberg mineThe Grasberg Mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, and it has 19,500 employees...
, Papua provincePapua (Indonesian province)Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, 76.6% owned by FMCG (through subsidiaries) (copper, gold, silver)
Indonesian operations
In 2003 Freeport acknowledged it had been paying the local Indonesian military and police to handle the Grasberg mine's security operations. Freeport argues that this is necessary to provide security to its employees, both local and foreign. The Indonesian security forces commit systematic human rights violations, particularly against environmental groups and supporters of a return to West Papuan independence as before the Indonesian military seized power in 1969Act of Free Choice
Act of Free Choice was an event in July to August 1969 by which Indonesia asserts that the Western New Guinea population decided to relinquish their sovereignty in favor of Indonesian citizenship...
.
In 2005, the New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported that company records showed the total amount paid between 1998 and 2004 amounted to nearly US$20 million, distributed among both officers and units, with one individual receiving up to US$150,000. The company response was that there was "no alternative to our reliance on the Indonesian military and police in this regard", and that the support provided was not for individuals, but rather for infrastructure, food, housing, fuel, travel, vehicle repairs and allowances to cover incidental and administrative costs.
Since October 17, 2011 the company halted mining operation in Papua, amid a strike that has led to a deteriorating security situation and intensified calls for independence. 70 percent of workers joined the strike appeal to increase the salary since September 15, 2011, block the roads, clash with policemen, killing of 3 people by unidentified gunmen and cut concentrate pipeline in several places.
Environmental record
Claims of severe environmental damages caused by the company's engagements in the Grasberg mineGrasberg mine
The Grasberg Mine is the largest gold mine and the third largest copper mine in the world. It is located in the province of Papua in Indonesia near Puncak Jaya, the highest mountain in Papua, and it has 19,500 employees...
in Indonesia has led The Government Pension Fund of Norway
The Government Pension Fund of Norway
The Government Pension Fund of Norway comprises two entirely separate sovereign wealth funds owned by the Government of Norway:* The Government Pension Fund - Global...
, the world's largest pension fund , to exclude Freeport-McMoRan from its investment portfolia, after a recommendation from the fund's ethical council.
The Political Economy Research Institute ranks Freport-McMoRan 22nd among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. The ranking is based on the emission quantity (4 million pounds in 2005) and toxicity.
Directors
The company was founded by Langbourne Williams Snr. as Freeport Texas in 1912 in the sulphur mining industry, in 1929 Langbourne Williams Jnr.Langbourne Meade Williams, Jr.
Langbourne Meade Williams, Jr. was an American businessman. Williams was one of eight children born to Langbourne Meade Williams and Susanne Catherine Nolting of Richmond Virginia...
collaborated with Payne Whitney to regain control of the company. In 1935 the Board of Directors included chairman John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:...
, Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Kidder, Peabody & Co. was a U.S.-based securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. Its operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading....
, Eugene L. Norton, Langbourne M. Williams Jr.
Langbourne Meade Williams, Jr.
Langbourne Meade Williams, Jr. was an American businessman. Williams was one of eight children born to Langbourne Meade Williams and Susanne Catherine Nolting of Richmond Virginia...
(president), Monro B. Lanier, Chauncey Stillman
Chauncey Stillman
Chauncey Devereux Stillman was the grandson of James Stillman president of what became the Citigroup bank whose sons married two of William Rockefeller's daughters...
, Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller
Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller
Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller son of William Goodsell Rockefeller served as a second lieutenant in World War One, was a member of the Skull and Bones society graduating from Yale University in 1921, and served as a lieutenant colonel during World War Two...
, David M. Goodrich. The company change name to Freeport Sulphur in December 1936. Other directors have included Augustus Long
Augustus Long
Augustus C. Long was a director of Texaco from 1950–1977, serving as President 1953-1956, Chairman and CEO 1956-1965, and Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO 1970-1971. He was also a director of Freeport Sulphur Co., Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, and the Federal...
, Robert A. Lovett
Robert A. Lovett
Robert Abercrombie Lovett was the fourth United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from 1951 to 1953 and in this capacity, directed the Korean War. Promoted to the position from deputy secretary of defense Domhoff described Lovett as a "Cold War...
, Charles Wight from 1947, Benno Schmidt 1954-1997, Jean Mauzé
Jean Mauzé
Jean Mauzé was a Manhattan banker, senior vice president of United States Trust Company and married Abby Rockefeller on April 23, 1953. After his wife created the Greenacre Foundation in 1968 he donated Greenacre Park to City of New York in 1971....
, Robert W. Bruce III, Robert C. Hills, Paul W. Douglas 1981-1983 after serving on Freeport Minerals 1975-1981, Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
1988-1995, George Putnam
Putnam Investments
Putnam Investments is a privately owned investment management firm founded in 1937 by George Putnam, who established one of the first balanced mutual funds, The George Putnam Fund of Boston...
, Mikhael Yosia and J. Taylor Wharton.
Company publications
- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. 2007 Annual Report
- McMoRan Exploration Co. 2007 Annual Report and Form 10-K
- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. 2007 Working Towards Sustainable Development Report
- PT Freeport Indonesia 2007 Working Towards Sustainable Development Report