FCX Initiating Activities To Restart Production At Miami Mine

 

PHOENIX, AZ, - Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) reported third quarter 2009 net income attributable to common stock of $925 million, compared with $523 million, for the third quarter of 2008. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, FCX reported net income attributable to common stock of $1.6 billion, compared with $2.6 billion in the 2008 nine-month period.

James R. Moffett, Chairman of the Board, and Richard C. Adkerson, President and Chief Executive Officer, said,  Our third-quarter results reflect strong operating performance, high volumes from our Grasberg mine in Indonesia and improved commodity prices for our products Ð copper, gold and molybdenum. We are benefiting from improvements in our cost structure, particularly at our North America mines. We are positioned to pursue additional investments and growth opportunities within our existing asset base, when economies in the developed countries recover.

For the year 2009, FCX expects sales from North America copper mines to approximate 1.2 billion pounds of copper, compared with 1.4 billion pounds of copper for 2008. By-product molybdenum production is expected to approximate 26 million pounds in 2009, compared with 30 million pounds in 2008. North America copper production in 2010 is currently expected to approximate 1.0 billion pounds, reflecting impacts of reduced 2009 mining activities on 2010 leaching operations.

North America unit site production and delivery costs were significantly lower in the 2009 periods as compared with the 2008 periods primarily because of cost reduction and efficiency efforts, including the impact of lower operating rates and reduced input costs, primarily for energy. These decreases were partly offset by changes in inventory, reflecting the impact of historical production in inventory with a higher cost basis. Molybdenum by-product credits were significantly lower in the 2009 periods compared with the 2008 periods primarily because of lower molybdenum prices.

Based on current operating plans and assuming achievement of current sales estimates, an average molybdenum price of $10 per pound for the fourth quarter of 2009 and estimates for commodity-based input costs, FCX estimates that average unit net cash costs, including molybdenum credits, for its North America copper mines would approximate $1.12 per pound of copper for the year

2009. Unit net cash costs for the year 2009 would change by approximately $0.003 per pound for each $1 per pound change in the average price of molybdenum for the fourth quarter of 2009.

FCX is initiating activities to restart copper production at the Miami mine in Arizona. These activities will improve efficiencies of ongoing reclamation projects associated with historical mining operations at the site. During the approximate five-year mine life, FCX expects to ramp

up production to approximately 100 million pounds of copper per year by the second half of 2011. This project, which was initially expected to require a $100 million investment, was deferred in late 2008 in response to market conditions. FCX intends to transfer existing mining equipment from other North American sites to reduce the investment in the project to approximately $40 million. Operating plans at the other North American sites continue to be reviewed and additional adjustments will be made in response to changes in market conditions.

The Company’s address is One North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ (928) 633-3260 www.fcx.com.