| The TEX Report Topics < Ferro Alloys > | |
| HOME >> Topics List >> November, 2006 >> 24 (Fri) |
| Freeport-McMoRan Plans To Increase Production Of Molybdenum Concentrates |
| = Scheduled To Produce 85 Million Lbs. / Year Of Moly In Concentrates In 2010 |
|
Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ( FCX ) of the USA, which takes over Phelps Dodge Corporation of the USA for approximately US$25,900 million, has planned to increase steadily their production of molybdenum concentrates on a long run from 2007 and to produce 85 million lbs. per annum of molybdenum in molybdenum concentrates in 2010. FCX so far had no record of molybdenum production and this program to increase their production of molybdenum concentrates has been based exclusively on the plan to expand production of molybdenum concentrates made up by Phelps Dodge from a previous time. According to a plan to increase the production of molybdenum in molybdenum concentrates released by FCX, this expansion of molybdenum production will be proceeded as follows ; <> 2006 ( anticipated ) : 69 million lbs., <> 2007 : 75 million lbs., <> 2008 : 80 million lbs., <> 2009 : 80 million lbs., and <>2010 : 85 million lbs.( Note : Codelco of Chile produced 81 million lbs. of molybdenum in molybdenum concentrates in 2005 and will produce 60-65 million lbs. in 2006, decreasing from that in 2005 for an accident happened at mine. ) In the era of Phelps Dodge, the matter to reopen the Climax open-cast molybdenum mine in Colorado State of the USA was already decided and this plan to increase molybdenum production at the Climax mine is expected to be added thereafter to the quantities of molybdenum being produced at the mines under operations ( Henderson primary mine, Sierrita by-product mine and Bagdad by-product mine ). For a reference, in the first nine months ( January - September ) of 2006, Phelps Dodge produced molybdenum in molybdenum concentrates <> at primary mine : 27.90 million lbs. ( compared with 25.30 million lbs. in the same period of 2005 ), <> at by-product mines : 23.50 million lbs. ( compared to 22.50 million lbs. in 2005 ) and <> total : 51.40 million lbs. ( compared with 47.80 million lbs. in the same period of 2005 ). The resumption to produce molybdenum at the Climax open-cast mine was decided in the first half of 2006 and Phelps Dodge said that the Climax primary mine aims to produce 20 - 30 million lbs. per annum of molybdenum in molybdenum concentrates by means of investing US$200 - 250 million in this resumption. Also, by the acquisition of Phelps Dodge, FCX will have a similar scale of copper production to that at Codelco of Chile. FCX is scheduled to produce copper in the next 4 years as follows ; <> 2007 : 4,100 million lbs. ( 1,860,000 tons ), <> 2008 : 4,500 million lbs. ( 2,040,000 tons ) and <> 2009 - 2010 : 4,600 million lbs. ( 2,086,000 tons ) per annum. |
| last modified : Wed 29 Nov, 2006 [11:27] |
