Freeport CEO: Restarts Climax Molybdenum Mine In Colorado
21 Juli 2011 - 8:25PM
Dow Jones News
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) restarted
operations at its Climax molybdenum mine in Colorado in the second
quarter, Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said on the company's
conference call.
Molybdenum is used to make stainless steel harder and more
resistant to corrosion, it keeps cutlery from bending and car
exhausts from corroding.
Construction at Climax was suspended in October 2008 in response
to falling molybdenum prices and a steep decline in steel demand.
The mine, near Leadville, Colo., is the world's largest and
cheapest molybdenum mine.
"We have made the decision to restart Climax...we are now taking
steps to be able to start up the operations," ramping up output to
20 million pounds of molybdenum a year in 2013, Adkerson said.
The decision to restart the mine comes as molybdenum prices have
yet to recover to pre-recession highs, and at a time when a number
of Freeport's competitors are also eyeing molybdenum projects.
"We want to get out ahead of some of these projects to help us
maintain our market share and market leadership," Adkerson
said.
Molybdenum ore is found both individually and in combination
with copper, thus the metal is often produced as a byproduct of
copper mining.
Adkerson described Climax as the "best molybdenum development
project in the world" and said the mine will support Freeport's
"leading position as the world's lowest cost and largest
moly[bdenum] producer." Freeport-McMoRan, which also mines
molybdenum at its Henderson underground mine, is the world's
largest producer of molybdenum, and the world's largest listed
copper mining company.
Engineering work at the mine is complete, and construction is
75% complete, Adkerson said.
Freeport forecasts annual molybdenum sales to increase to 77
million pounds in 2011 and 80 million pounds in 2012, from 67
million pounds in 2010, as the Climax project comes on line.
-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095;
tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com
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