Commodities Buzz: Freeport to boost US Copper output

Mining major Freeport or FCX has announced that its Board of Directors approved a $4.5 billion expansion and modernization program for its wholly owned Bagdad copper and molybdenum operation in northwest Arizona. The brownfield project is designed to maximize the full potential of the resource and is expected to more than double Bagdad?s mining and milling rates. This investment would increase annual long-term copper production to over 400 million pounds of copper per annum (incremental production of approximately 225 million pounds per annum) and molybdenum production to over 20 million pounds per annum (incremental production of 12 million pounds per annum). Freeport plans to deploy modern technologies, automation and leverage existing operations to improve Bagdad?s long-term cost position and performance. The expansion would position Bagdad as the second-largest copper mine in the US, behind FCX?s Morenci operation, as well as a leading US molybdenum producer and one of the lowest-cost operations in FCX?s US portfolio.

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