Freeport-McMoRan stock: 4.5 billion dollar Bagdad expansion approved

Published on 11/13/2026 at 13:20 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Freeport-McMoRan stock is linked to a major U.S. copper growth project. Bagdad is designed to add 225 million pounds of annual copper output by mid-2030.

Bagdad sets a long-term growth path

Freeport's board approved the Arizona expansion on November 4, 2026.
The project is designed to add 225 million pounds of annual copper production and 12 million pounds of molybdenum production.
Capital spending is planned across 2027 to 2030, with initial production targeted for mid-2030.

Freeport-McMoRan, US35671D8570, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Freeport-McMoRan's board approved a 4.5 billion dollar expansion and modernization program at the company's wholly owned Bagdad copper and molybdenum operation in northwest Arizona on November 4, 2026. The company presented the decision in a Freeport-McMoRan news release.

Freeport expects the brownfield project to more than double Bagdad's mining and milling rates. Long-term annual copper production is planned to exceed 400 million pounds, an increase of approximately 225 million pounds, while molybdenum production is expected to exceed 20 million pounds, including approximately 12 million pounds of additional output.

Investment arrives before production

The expansion includes a new concentrator with approximately 115,000 tons per day of incremental nameplate processing capacity. Supporting infrastructure is planned through a new primary crusher, overland conveyor, water pipeline, power line and additional mining equipment.

Construction is expected to take approximately three and a half years, with initial production targeted for mid-2030. Freeport said roughly 20 percent of project costs are expected to be funded in 2027, 30 to 35 percent in 2028 and the balance in 2029 and 2030. Engineering, procurement planning and early works are already advancing.

The company expects the expanded operation to reduce long-term unit net cash costs by approximately 20 percent through economies of scale, technology and molybdenum by-product credits. Freeport also said the project would position Bagdad as the second-largest copper mine in the United States, behind its Morenci operation in Arizona.

Management emphasizes U.S. growth

Chief Executive Kathleen Quirk described the project as an important step in Freeport's U.S. copper growth strategy. Her assessment highlights Bagdad's existing infrastructure, long operating history, reserve base and experienced workforce as advantages for a brownfield development.

For investors, the project adds a sizable long-term production option but also shifts significant spending into the next four years. Freeport cautioned that its capital estimate is based on current market conditions and could be affected by inflation and cost escalation. The company said the project's break-even economics are supported at a copper price of approximately 4.00 dollars per pound and a molybdenum price of 20 dollars per pound.

Freeport-McMoRan stock traded at 55.01 euros on Lang & Schwarz at 13:15 CET on Friday, November 13, 2026.