Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

What is Freeport-McMoRan?
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is a publicly traded American mining company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. It is the world's largest publicly traded copper producer, operating copper, gold, and molybdenum mines in North America, South America, and Indonesia. The company trades on the NYSE under ticker FCX.

Is Freeport-McMoRan publicly traded?
Yes. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FCX. Shares are widely held by institutional investors, and no single shareholder controls the company.

When was Freeport-McMoRan founded?
The holding company was formed in 1987, following the 1981 merger of Freeport Minerals and McMoRan Oil & Gas. Its oldest predecessor, Freeport Sulphur Company, was founded in 1912 in Freeport, Texas. McMoRan was founded in 1969 in New Orleans by William Kennon Williams, James R. Moffett, and B.M. Rankin Jr.

Who is the CEO of Freeport-McMoRan?
Kathleen Quirk has served as president and chief executive officer since June 2024. She previously spent more than two decades as the company's chief financial officer. Richard Adkerson, who led the company for two decades, remains chairman of the board.

What mines does Freeport own?
Freeport operates seven copper mines in North America including Morenci and Bagdad in Arizona, the Cerro Verde mine in Peru, the El Abra mine in Chile, and the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia through PT Freeport Indonesia. It also owns the Henderson and Climax molybdenum mines in Colorado, the Atlantic Copper smelter in Spain, and a 66% stake in the PT Smelting facility in Indonesia.

What happened at Grasberg in 2025?
On September 8, 2025, a mud rush at the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine released roughly 800,000 tonnes of wet material into the workings, killing seven workers and halting production. The unaffected DMLZ and Big Gossan mines restarted in late October 2025, and a phased Block Cave restart began in the second quarter of 2026, with about 85% of Grasberg production expected back online in the second half of 2026.

What was Freeport's revenue in 2025?
Freeport reported revenue of $25.9 billion for fiscal year 2025 and net income attributable to common stock of $2.2 billion, or $1.52 per diluted share. Copper provided about 75% of revenue, gold about 15%, and molybdenum about 8%.

The company's oldest predecessor, Freeport Sulphur Company, was founded in 1912 near Freeport, Texas, where it mined sulfur from salt dome formations using the Frasch process. The company developed the Grand Isle offshore sulfur mine in 1960, the first offshore sulfur mine of its kind, and reorganized as Freeport Minerals Company in 1966.

In parallel, McMoRan Oil & Gas Company was founded in 1969 in New Orleans by three partners: William Kennon "Bubba" Williams, James R. "Jim Bob" Moffett, and B.M. "Mack" Rankin Jr., with the name drawn from their surnames. Moffett, a geologist, became the dominant figure in the company's history and ran the business for decades.

McMoRan merged with Freeport Minerals in 1981 to form Freeport-McMoRan Inc., initially focused on sulfur, oil and gas, and geothermal resources. A holding company structure was adopted in 1987. The transformative moment came through Freeport's work in Indonesia, where geologist Jean Jacques Dozy had discovered a rich copper deposit in 1936. Freeport signed a contract of work with the Indonesian government in 1967 and began mining the Ertsberg ore body in 1973, eventually developing the Grasberg deposit, discovered in 1988, into one of the world's largest copper and gold mines.

Under Moffett, Freeport pursued expansion in copper. The company spun off its Indonesian operations into a separate public entity in the 1990s before recombining them, and divested its remaining oil and gas interests over time. The 2007 acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corporation for approximately $25.9 billion was the largest transaction in company history, making Freeport the largest publicly traded copper producer and bringing major mines including Morenci, Bagdad, and Cerro Verde into the portfolio.

The Phelps Dodge deal loaded the company with debt just before the 2008 commodity crash, forcing asset sales and equity issuance. Freeport subsequently rebuilt through the 2010s, acquiring Plains Exploration and McMoRan Exploration in 2013 in a contentious return to oil and gas, then exiting those businesses by 2016 amid another commodity downturn. Moffett stepped down as chairman in 2021; Adkerson ran the company until Quirk's appointment in June 2024.

In September 2025, a mud rush incident at the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine killed seven workers and halted production, the most serious operational crisis in the company's recent history. A phased restart of the Block Cave began in the second quarter of 2026, with roughly 85% of Grasberg production expected back online in the second half of 2026.

Freeport publishes an annual sustainability report and has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with 2030 intensity targets for its Americas and Indonesia operations and an aspiration toward net zero by 2050. It is a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals and implements the Copper Mark responsible-production framework at several sites, with Morenci, Cerro Verde, and other operations having achieved Copper Mark assurance.

The company manages one of the largest tailings footprints in the industry at Grasberg, where tailings are deposited in a controlled river system, a practice that has drawn criticism from environmental groups for decades. Freeport defends the system as engineered and monitored, but it remains the company's most cited environmental exposure. Community investment programs in Central Papua fund health, education, and Indigenous community development, with spending exceeding $100 million annually in some years.

In 2024, Freeport opened a new $3.7 billion copper smelter in Indonesia as required under its PTFI divestment commitments, shifting more processing in-country. The company is not a B Corp and does not hold consumer-facing certifications, which is typical for upstream mining.

The September 8, 2025 mud rush at the Grasberg Block Cave mine killed seven workers when approximately 800,000 tonnes of wet material flooded underground workings. It was among the deadliest incidents in company history. Operations at the unaffected DMLZ and Big Gossan mines restarted in late October 2025, and a phased Block Cave restart began in the second quarter of 2026. The incident cut 2026 production guidance and generated charges for idle capacity and recovery costs.

Freeport's Grasberg operations have attracted criticism for decades over the riverine tailings disposal system, which deposits mine waste into the Aghawagon/Otomona river system under Indonesian permits. Environmental groups have called for the practice to end; the company says an alternative would be technically unworkable at current volumes and points to its approved closure plan through 2041.

The company has also faced recurring disputes with the Indonesian government over fiscal terms, export permits, and divestment obligations, most of which were resolved through the 2018 agreement that gave Indonesia majority share ownership of PTFI. Labor unrest and security incidents near the mine have occurred periodically, including worker strikes and violence attributed to separatist groups in the Papua region.