GOLD-COPPER: FCX announces cost cutting plans

PHOENIX, Arizona – Freeport-McMoRan, one of North America's largest copper-gold producers, has announced plans to trim costs in the face of shrinking prices for its major products. The company said investors should expect it to make cuts in capital spending, operating expenses and administrative costs. Weak prices will also force the company to re-evaluate its mineral resources.

The company is nearing the finish line on major development projects (such as the Morenci mill expansion in Arizona) that will reduce the need for capital. Such projects also raise production rates and lower unit costs.

Freeport's portfolio includes the Grasberg copper-gold mine (which boasts 29 billion lb of copper in reserves) in Indonesia, several copper mines in the southwest United States, Cerro Verde and El Abra mines in South America, and the Katanga copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With the price of gold dismally low (see Norther Miner article, below, and CMJ editorial opinion for July 27, 2015), Freeport is unlikely to be alone in its quest to cut costs.

More information about Freeport's operations is posted at FCX.com.