Henderson And Climax High Purity Chemical Grade Molybdenum Concentrate

 

PHOENIX, AZ - Freeport-McMoRan Inc. has two wholly owned molybdenum mines in North America - the Henderson underground mine and the Climax open-pit mine, both in Colorado. The Henderson and Climax mines produce high-purity, chemical-grade molybdenum concentrate, which is typically further processed into value-added molybdenum chemical products. The majority of molybdenum concentrate produced at the Henderson and Climax mines, as well as from FCX's North America and South America copper mines, is processed at FCX's conversion facilities.

In response to market conditions, the Henderson molybdenum mine continues to operate at reduced rates. Production from the Molybdenum mines totaled 8 million pounds of molybdenum in first-quarter 2017 and 7 million pounds in first-quarter 2016. Refer to summary operating data on page 3 for FCX's consolidated molybdenum sales, which includes sales of molybdenum produced at the Molybdenum mines, and from FCX's North America and South America copper mines.

Average unit net cash costs for the Molybdenum mines of $7.10 per pound of molybdenum in first-quarter 2017 were lower than $7.43 per pound in first-quarter 2016, primarily reflecting higher volumes. Based on current sales volume and cost estimates, unit net cash costs for the Molybdenum mines are expected to average approximately $7.85 per pound of molybdenum for the year 2017.