Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.'s (FCX) restart of the Climax molybdenum mine won't be rolled back or stopped due to uncertainty in the global metals market, Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said Wednesday.

Freeport has already spent the capital and hired staff for the project, Adkerson said on the company's third-quarter earnings call.

"In terms of completing the project, we've crossed the Rubicon," Adkerson said.

Freeport restarted operations at the Climax molybdenum mine in Colorado during the summer, Adkerson said.

Molybdenum is used to make stainless steel harder and more resistant to corrosion. Freeport is the world's largest producer of molybdenum, with two mines in Colorado and as a byproduct of copper mining at some of its other operations.

Rather than suspending work at Climax, Freeport will "flex production" at its two molybdenum projects to adjust to macroeconomic conditions, Adkerson said.

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, Adkerson said.

-By Tatyana Shumsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3095; tatyana.shumsky@dowjones.com

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