Freeport-McMoRan Sees Promise in Arizona Copper Mine

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Executives with Freeport-McMoRan Incorporated (NYSE:FCX) (Phoenix, Arizona) on Wednesday talked up the production potential of the Lone Star above-ground copper mine project in Arizona.

Industrial Info is tracking more than $32 billion worth of copper mining projects that are in various stages of development in the U.S.

Click on the image at right for a graph showing project activity by state.

Located seven miles from the company's Safford mine, the $850 million Lone Star project has reserves of 4.4 billion pounds of copper. The Safford mine was on track to be depleted by 2021, but the Lone Star project will extend the mine life by 20 years to support 200 million pounds per year of copper production. First copper oxide production at Lone Star is expected by yearend 2020. The oxide material will be transported to the Safford site for processing. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

"Now as we drill this ore body, the [copper] oxide resources are expanding, and this has given us some opportunities," Chief Executive Officer Richard Adkerson said during Freeport-McMoRan's third-quarter earnings conference call. He noted "what appears to be a very large [copper] sulfide resource" beneath the copper oxide, and that "current drilling is confirming this and extending the sulfide resource. So what we are doing in the oxide project is in essence stripping this material to expose what could be a world-class sulfide resource."

However, current copper market conditions have prompted Freeport-McMoran to defer some of its decisions on future projects, Adkerson said. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.3 billion in global project activity by Freeport McMoRan in various stages of development.

Adkerson said, "Physical markets are tight. Fundamental drivers remain very positive. And yet sentiment about the commodity, and companies like ours in the investor market place, is what it is. There are concerns about global growth and China and so forth."

As a result of bearish market sentiment, stemming in part from global trade uncertainties, copper inventories are low, but so are prices, he said.

For third-quarter 2018, the company reported $556 million in net income attributable to common stock, compared with $280 million in the same period a year earlier. The company expects capital expenditures for all of 2018 to total $2 billion, with $1.2 billion earmarked for major projects such as Lone Star and the Grasberg underground mine in Indonesia.

The company operates seven open-pit copper mines in North America.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.