Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) sees scope to increase US copper production by 60% over the next four years through leaching initiatives and potential brownfield expansions.
CEO Kathleen Quirk outlined the opportunity during a 10 September interview with CNBC, saying Freeport’s established US operations provide options to bring additional supply online faster than greenfield developments.
“We have this opportunity in the US to increase our copper production by 60% over the next four years, and that’s what we’re aggressively going after,” Quirk says.
Freeport says it accounts for about 70% of refined copper produced in the US.
She says Freeport is monitoring possible US copper tariffs but bases its investment decisions on longer-term supply-and-demand fundamentals rather than measures that may not remain in place throughout a project’s development.
Speaking separately at the Jefferies Global Industrials Conference on the same day, Quirk outlined plans to recover additional copper from previously mined stockpiles.
Freeport estimates these stockpiles contain about 40 billion pounds of copper. Its leaching initiatives currently produce about 200 million pounds annually, with the company seeing potential to lift output to 800 million pounds per year through chemical additives, targeted injections, and heat-assisted recovery.
However, Quirk says the technology still requires further testing, with limited production from the program included in current guidance.
The company is also preparing its proposed Bagdad Copper Mine expansion in Arizona, US, for board consideration. Quirk says she expects the project to proceed, although formal approval has not been announced.
Freeport has not finalised the capital estimate. However, its July disclosure says costs are about 30% above the previous US$3.5 billion estimate, which would put the figure at roughly US$4.55 billion ($6.37 billion).
The expansion could add 200–250 million pounds of copper and 10–12 million pounds of molybdenum production annually. Construction is expected to take three–four years.
Freeport-McMoRan produces copper, gold, and molybdenum across operations in the Americas and Indonesia.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Freeport-McMorRan
