Search Search ABOUT US OPERATIONS INVESTORS SUSTAINABILITY CAREERS FEATURES NYSE: FCX $37.24 -1.41 OUR HISTORY Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (“FCX”), formerly known as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., was established in 1988 following the discovery of the Grasberg copper and gold deposit in Papua, Indonesia, when FCX’s former parent company, then known by the New York Stock Exchange trading symbol of “FTX”, sold 20 percent of the company in an initial public offering, or IPO. Following the acquisition of Phelps Dodge in 2007, FCX transformed into a dynamic industry leader, and combined the assets and technical teams of two great companies. FCX’s unique portfolio of mining assets was developed and acquired by several predecessor companies, including Freeport Minerals, Phelps Dodge, Cyprus Minerals, American Metal Company (AMAX), and Climax Molybdenum, among others. The many important milestones, which transpired over decades, make FCX’s portfolio of assets difficult to replicate today. 1834 Phelps, Dodge & Company formed as a metals and mercantile firm; produced brass and copper kettles, rivets, buttons and copper wire 1870s First mining claims established in Morenci, Arizona; first copper smelter built in Clifton, Arizona 1881 Phelps Dodge entered into copper mining by buying into the Detroit Copper Mining Company in Morenci, Arizona, where copper was discovered in 1866 1887 The American Metal Company founded 1912 Freeport Sulphur (renamed Freeport Minerals Company in 1971) founded; established the city of Freeport in Texas near its new sulphur mines 1918 First Climax Molybdenum Company founded to mine molybdenum deposit near Leadville, Colorado; mine began production in 1918, with increased demand for molybdenum-steel alloys during World War I 1957 Climax Molybdenum merged with The American Metal Company (Limited) to form American Metal Climax Inc. (renamed AMAX Inc. in 1974). A new Climax Molybdenum Company formed on the same date. 1960 Freeport expedition explored Ertsberg, which was initially identified in 1936 by Jean-Jacques Dozy and the first outside group to reach the Jayawijaya mountain glacier 1967 Freeport Sulphur established PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) (originally Freeport Indonesia, Incorporated); signed first Contract of Work to develop the Ertsberg deposit 1969 McMoRan Exploration formed by Ken McWilliams (“Mc”), Jim Bob Moffett (“Mo”) and Mack Rankin (“Ran”) as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in South Louisiana 1969 Phelps Dodge began production from new open-pit mine in Tyrone, New Mexico 1972 PT-FI commenced exports of Ertsberg copper concentrate 1976 Climax Molybdenum’s Henderson mine began operations 1981 McMoRan Oil & Gas (formerly McMoRan Exploration) merged with Freeport Minerals (formerly Freeport Sulphur) to create Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FTX); the combined company became a major independent oil and gas producer with interests in agricultural minerals— sulphur and phosphoric acid—and in gold, copper, silver and uranium 1981 PT-FI commenced Block Cave mining activities at the GBT underground mine located below the Ertsberg open pit 1984 In response to low copper prices, Phelps Dodge pioneered the Solution Extraction (SX), Electrowinning (EW) process to produce copper cathode at the Tyrone mine site, thus eliminating the need to smelt and refine copper concentrate 1985 Cyprus Minerals Company spun off by Amoco (Standard Oil Company) 1987 The first SX/EW plant at Morenci was commissioned 1988 PT-FI discovered the Grasberg copper and gold deposit in Papua, Indonesia, near the Ertsberg deposit; FCX listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the name Freeport-McMoRan Copper Company, Inc. 1989 FTX began a major asset restructuring program and initiated a series of expansions following the Grasberg discovery 1991 PT-FI entered a new Contract of Work with a 30-year term and provisions for two 10-year extensions with the Indonesian government. FCX changed name to Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. to reflect significant growth in gold reserves 1993 AMAX merged with Cyprus Minerals Company to form Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, which owned several copper mines 1993 FCX completed acquisition of Atlantic Copper, a downstream copper smelter and refinery located in Huelva, Spain 1995 PT-FI established strategic joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto to finance fourth concentrate expansion at Grasberg; remaining 80 percent of FCX spun off from FTX, to form independent public company 1997 FTX merged into IMC Global Inc. 1998 FCX became a world leader in high-volume/low-cost copper and gold production with the Grasberg mill expansions, following completion of the fourth concentrator mill expansion 1999 Phelps Dodge acquired Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, including mines in Bagdad, Miami and Sierrita, Arizona; Cerro Verde mine in Peru; El Abra mine in Chile; and Climax Molybdenum in Colorado 2001 FCX becomes founding member of International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM), an international organization dedicated to a safe, fair and sustainable mining industry 2002 PT-FI completed Grasberg Deep Ore Zone underground mine, with further expansion initiated 2007 FCX acquired Phelps Dodge and becomes the world’s largest publicly traded producer of copper in what was then the largest mining acquisition in history 2007 Construction of a major new copper mine in Safford, Arizona, completed and copper production commenced 2009 Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mining concession in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo produced first copper cathode 2013 FCX acquired Plains Exploration & Production and McMoRan Exploration Co. in oil & gas transactions creating a U.S.-based natural resource company 2014 Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. corporate name changed to Freeport-McMoRan Inc. to simplify the corporate name and better reflect FCX’s expanded portfolio of assets 2015 FCX’s announced new board structure and strategy to focus on its global leading position in the copper industry 2015 Completed a major expansion at the world-class Cerro Verde copper mine in Peru; concentrator facilities expanded from 120,000 metric tons of ore per day to 360,000 metric tons of ore per day 2016 Generated cash proceeds to reduce net debt by over $8 billion through a series of transactions, including the sale of Tenke Fungurume, a 13 percent stake in Morenci and substantially all of the company’s oil & gas assets 2018 Completed transaction with the Indonesian government regarding PT-FI’s long-term mining rights and share ownership, marking the beginning of a new partnership with Indonesian state-owned enterprise, PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Persero) (PT Inalum) Footer Menu Two SITEMAP CONTACT SUPPLIERS TERMS OF USE PRIVACY POLICY CAUTIONARY STATEMENT © 2021 Freeport-McMoRan