EXHIBIT 10.18

                      FREEPORT-MCMORAN INC.
            1991 PLAN FOR DEFERRAL OF DIRECTORS' FEES


          1.   Election  to  Participate.   (a) Any director of Freeport-
McMoRan Inc. (the "Company") may become a Participant  in  this 1991 Plan
for Deferral of Directors' Fees (the "Plan") by giving to the  Company  a
written  election  on  or  before the 15th day of December of any year in
accordance with this Section  1.   Participation  in  the  Plan  shall be
effective on the first day of the calendar year immediately following the
date of such election, and the Company shall thereupon establish for such
Participant a Deferred Cash Account and/or a Deferred Stock Value Account
(each  an  "Account"),  as  the  case  may  be, to which amounts shall be
credited as hereinafter provided.  Each election  made  by  a Participant
shall state that:

                (i)  the entire amount of annual fees for services  as  a
     member of the  Board  of Directors of the Company and as a member of
     any  committee of such Board  of  Directors  (including  any  amount
     relating  to  services  as  the  Chairman  of any such committee, if
     applicable), or

                  (ii)   the entire amount of attendance  fees  for  such
services, or

                  (iii)  the  entire  amount  of  both  annual  fees  and
     attendance fees for such services,

payable to such Participant  for  subsequent  years  shall be credited to
such Participant's Deferred Cash Account or Deferred Stock  Value Account
(or  a  combination  of  both  Accounts, provided that the amount  to  be
credited to a particular Account  shall  be  0,  25%,  75% or 100% of the
compensation  deferred)  on  the respective dates on which  such  amounts
shall become payable.  Each such  election  shall  also contain a payment
election providing for the manner in which amounts so  credited  shall be
paid from such Account in accordance with Section 4 below.

          (b) Each director currently participating in the Company's 1981
Plan   for   Deferral   of  Director's  Fees  (the  "Prior  Plan")  shall
automatically become a Participant in the Plan effective as of January 1,
1992 with respect to such  director's  outstanding Account balances under
the Prior Plan.  Such outstanding Account  balances  under the Prior Plan
shall be credited, effective January 1, 1992, to a Deferred  Cash Account
under the Plan, provided that, any such director may irrevocably elect in
writing  on  or  before  December  15,  1991 to have such Account balance
credited effective January 1, 1992 to a Deferred  Stock  Value Account in
accordance  with Section 3 hereof.  Any payment election previously  made
by any such director  pursuant  to  paragraphs  1 and 3 of the Prior Plan
with  respect  to his outstanding Account balance under  the  Prior  Plan
shall be irrevocable  with respect thereto and, for purposes of this Plan
only, shall be deemed to be an election made pursuant to Sections 1 and 4
hereof.

          2.  Increments  to Deferred Cash Accounts.  Amounts credited to
each Deferred Cash Account  in  any  year  shall be increased by the Plan
Rate (as hereinafter defined), compounded quarterly,  from  and after the
applicable  date  of  credit  until  the final date of payment from  such
Deferred Cash Account pursuant to Section  4.   The  "Plan Rate" shall be
the  prime commercial lending rate announced from time  to  time  by  The
Chase  Manhattan Bank, N.A., or any successor thereto, or such other rate
as the Board of Directors may establish for the purpose of the Plan.

          3.   Deferred  Stock  Value  Accounts.  (a) Amounts credited to
each Deferred Stock Value Account shall  be  converted  into  Stock Units
(including  fractions  thereof, if necessary, rounded to the nearest  one
thousandth of a Stock Unit)  as  of the applicable date of credit.  Stock
Units will be computed as of the applicable  date  of  credit by dividing
the aggregate amount of compensation deferred and credited  to a Deferred
Stock  Value  Account  by  the Fair Market Value of the Company's  common
stock, $1 par value (the "Common Stock").  For purposes of the Plan, Fair
Market Value of the Common Stock  shall  mean  the  average  of the Daily
Price  (as hereinafter defined) of the Common Stock on each of  the  last
five trading  days  on  which  reported  sales  of  Common Stock occurred
immediately preceding the month of the date in question.  For purposes of
the determination of Fair Market Value the Common Stock,  the Daily Price
of the Common Stock shall be the average of the high and low  quoted  per
share  sales  prices  of  the  Common Stock on the day in question on the
Composite Tape for the New York  Stock  Exchange-Listed  Stocks or if, on
the date of any determination of the Daily Price of the Common  Stock the
Common  Stock  is  not listed on such Composite Tape, the average of  the
high and low quoted per share sales prices on the New York Stock Exchange
on such day.

          (b) Until the date of final payment from a Deferred Stock Value
Account pursuant to  Section  4,  each  Stock Unit that is credited to an
Account as of the record date of any dividend  paid  on  the Common Stock
shall  be credited, as of the payment date of any such dividend  paid  on
the Common  Stock,  with  a dividend equivalent equal in value to the per
share amount of such dividend.  Dividend equivalents so credited shall be
converted  to a number of additional  Stock  Units  (including  fractions
thereof, if  necessary,  rounded to the nearest one thousandth of a Stock
Unit) as of such date of credit by dividing the total dividend equivalent
amount by the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock.

          (c) In the event of any dividend or other distribution (whether
in  the  form  of  cash, Common  Stock,  or  other  securities  or  other
property),  recapitalization,   stock   split,   reverse   stock   split,
reorganization,  merger,  consolidation, split-up, spin-off, combination,
repurchase  or  exchange of Common  Stock  or  other  securities  of  the
Company, issuance of warrants or other rights to purchase Common Stock or
other securities  of  the Company, or other similar corporate transaction
or event, such adjustments  shall  be  made  to  the Deferred Stock Value
Account of each Participant as may be deemed appropriate  by the Board of
Directors  of the Company in order to prevent dilution or enlargement  of
the benefits  or  potential  benefits intended to be made available under
the Plan.

          4.  Payments from Accounts.   (a)  Each  payment  election by a
Participant   made  pursuant  to  Section  1  above  shall  provide  that
distributions from  such Participant's Account(s) shall be made in one or
more  annual  cash payments  (not  exceeding  ten).   Each  such  payment
election shall  also  provide for the determination of the date that such
payment shall commence  (the "Payment Commencement Date"), which shall be
no earlier than the first  day  of  the month following the date on which
such Participant shall cease to be a  director  of  the  Company  (or, if
earlier,  the  last  day  of  the calendar year in which such Participant
shall cease to be a director of the Company) and no later than December 1
of  the  calendar year immediately  following  the  year  in  which  such
Participant shall cease to be a director of the Company.

          (b)   Except   as   otherwise   provided  in  this  Section  4,
distributions from a Participant's Deferred  Cash  Account  and  Deferred
Stock  Value  Account  shall  be paid in cash on the Payment Commencement
Date in an amount (i) in the case  of  a  Deferred Cash Account, equal to
the  balance of the Account as of such Payment  Commencement  Date  (such
amount being hereinafter referred to as the "Final Cash Balance") or (ii)
in the  case of a Deferred Stock Value Account, equal to the value of the
number of  Stock  Units  in  such  Account as of the Payment Commencement
Date,  which  includes  such  Stock  Units   attributable   to   dividend
equivalents  determined in the manner described in Section 3 (hereinafter
referred to as  the  "Final  Unit Balance").  The value of the Final Unit
Balance to be paid in cash shall  be  determined by multiplying the Final
Unit Balance by the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock.

          (c) In the event that a Participant  elects  to receive a Final
Cash Balance and/or Final Unit Balance in a number of annual  payments as
contemplated by paragraph (a) of this Section 4, with respect to  a Final
Cash Balance, each such annual payment shall be in an amount equal to the
outstanding  balance  in such Participant's Deferred Cash Account, as  of
the date of such annual payment, divided by the number of annual payments
remaining to be paid immediately  prior to the payment in question.  With
respect to a Final Unit Balance, each  such annual payment shall be in an
amount  equal  to  the  value  of  the number  of  Stock  Units  in  such
Participant's Deferred Stock Value Account  (which  includes  such  Stock
Units  attributable  to  dividend  equivalents  determined  in the manner
described  in Section 3), as of the date of such annual payment,  divided
by the number  of  annual payments remaining to be paid immediately prior
to the payment in question (the "Payment Date Distribution Amount").  For
purposes of this Section 4(c), the value of the Payment Date Distribution
Amount shall be determined  by  multiplying the Payment Date Distribution
Amount by the Fair Market Value of  the  Common  Stock.   Upon  each such
annual  payment, the number of Stock Units credited to such Participant's
Deferred  Stock  Value  Account  shall  be  reduced  by  the Payment Date
Distribution Amount with respect to such annual payment.

          5.   Death of a Participant.  Upon a Participant's  death,  the
Company shall within  twelve months thereafter pay to such beneficiary as
such Participant may have designated by written notice to the Company (or
in the absence of such  designation,  to  such Participant's estate), the
entire amount in such Participant's Deferred Cash Account and/or Deferred
Stock Value Account at the date of payment.   A  Participant  may by like
notice  cancel  such  designation,  and  may  make  a new designation  as
hereinabove provided.

          6.   Changes in Election.   (a) A Participant  may,  by  giving
written  notice  to  the  Company  in  any  year,  elect  to  discontinue
participation in the Plan with respect to annual fees and attendance fees
becoming payable to  such  Participant  for  subsequent  years.   By like
notice,  a  Participant  may resume participation in the Plan at any time
after one year from the date  of such discontinuance.  A Participant may,
by like notice in any year, cancel  any  election with respect to amounts
to be credited to such Participant's Accounts  for  subsequent  years and
submit  a  new  election, made in accordance with Sections 1 and 4,  with
respect to such amounts.   In  the event such new election includes a new
payment  election,  the  Company  shall   thereupon  establish  for  such
Participant  an additional Deferred Cash Account  and/or  Deferred  Stock
Value Account to which amounts subject to such new payment election shall
be credited.

          (b)  A  Participant  who has Stock Units credited to a Deferred
Stock Value Account pursuant to an election may, by giving written notice
to the Company, modify at any time  the investment direction set forth in
such election by directing the Company  to  transfer, effective as of the
date specified in such notice, 25%, 50%, 75%,  or  100%  of the number of
Stock  Units,  including  any  fraction  thereof  and  any  Stock   Units
attributable  to  dividend  equivalents,  credited in such Deferred Stock
Value Account to a Deferred Cash Account established or to be established
for such Participant.  The number of Stock Units subject to such transfer
shall be valued by multiplying the number of such Stock Units by the Fair
Market Value of the Common Stock as of the  transfer  date  specified  in
such  notice,  and  such  value  shall  be credited to such Deferred Cash
Account  as  of  such  date.  Similarly, a Participant  who  has  amounts
credited to a Deferred Cash  Account  pursuant  to  an  election  may, by
giving  written  notice to the Company, modify at any time the investment
direction  set forth  in  such  election  by  directing  the  Company  to
transfer, effective  as  of  the date specified in such notice, 25%, 50%,
75%, or 100% of the amount credited  in  such  Deferred Cash Account to a
Deferred Stock Value Account established or to be  established  for  such
Participant.   The  amount  transferred  from  such Deferred Cash Account
shall be converted into a number of Stock Units,  including  any fraction
thereof  rounded  to  the  nearest  one  thousandth  of a Stock Unit,  by
dividing such amount by the Fair Market Value of the Common  Stock  as of
the  transfer date specified in such notice, and the resulting number  of
Stock  Units shall be credited to such Deferred Stock Value Account as of
such date.  In  addition,  a  Participant who has an outstanding election
may, by giving written notice to  the  Company,  modify  at  any time the
investment  direction set forth in such election with respect to  amounts
payable to such  Participant  on  and  after  the  date specified in such
notice,  the receipt of which was deferred under such  election,  by  re-
directing  the  Company  to  credit  all  such amounts to a Deferred Cash
Account established or to be established for such Participant, a Deferred
Stock   Value  Account  established  or  to  be  established   for   such
Participant,  or  both  such  Accounts  in accordance with the allocation
specified in such notice, which allocation  shall  be  made in conformity
with the relevant provisions of Section 1 hereof.

          (c)  Except  as  hereinabove  provided in this Section  6,  all
elections under the Plan shall be irrevocable.

          7.  Status of Accounts.  Accounts  established  pursuant to the
Plan shall represent the unsecured obligations of the Company  to  pay to
the  respective  Participants  the amounts in such Accounts in accordance
with the Plan.  In no event shall  this  Plan  be construed as creating a
trust  in  favor  of any Participant or any beneficiary,  nor  shall  any
Participant or beneficiary  have  any property interest in any Account or
in any other assets of the Company.   Accounts shall not be assignable or
transferable by Participants except as  and  to  the  extent  provided in
Section 5 above.

          8.   Plan  Amendment  or  Termination.  The Plan may be amended
from time to time, and may be terminated  at  any  time, by resolution of
the  Board of Directors of the Company.  No such amendments  shall  alter
the date  or  dates for making payments in respect of amounts theretofore
credited to Accounts,  and  in  case  of such termination, the Plan shall
continue in full force and effect with respect to all amounts in Accounts
at the date of termination.

          9.  Effective Date.  Except as  set  forth in Section 1(b), the
Plan shall be effective with respect to annual fees  and  attendance fees
payable to directors for services on and after January 1, 1992.


                             As amended effective August 14, 1996