Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) has appointed Kathleen Quirk as its new CEO, marking a significant leadership change as the company gears up to increase copper production to meet growing global demand.
Quirk, who joined Freeport in 1989 and previously served as CFO since 2003, is the only female CEO of a major mining company. She inherits several challenges, including a persistent labor shortage, lower ore grades at aging mines, and higher costs amid recent inflationary pressures. Despite these issues, Quirk is optimistic about the future, focusing on internal growth projects and technological innovations.
Over the past decade, Freeport has concentrated on cutting costs, reducing debt, and resolving legal disputes, particularly in Indonesia. Now, with a stronger financial position, the company is ready to enhance its production capabilities. Freeport operates major copper mines across the U.S., Indonesia, Peru, Chile, and Spain.
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The rise in copper prices, driven by its essential role in the energy transition and increasing global demand, has bolstered the company's market position. Freeport's stock rose 30% over the past year, outpacing the 17% rise in copper futures.
With a strong financial position, the market participants speculated whether the company would pursue major acquisitions, like its rival BHP, which recently abandoned a $49 billion bid for Anglo American. However, Quirk has no plans for major acquisitions. Instead, she aims to leverage technology to extract copper from waste rock accumulated over decades.
Quirk stated that the company hopes to use this technology to generate as much as 800 million pounds of copper annually over the next three to five years.
"That's the size of a big mine. That's meaningful. Our team is working very aggressively to get that done," Quirk said in an interview for Bloomberg. This innovative approach will enable Freeport to access previously unreachable material, a method also being explored by other industry players like BHP, Rio Tinto Group, and Antofagasta.
The company has already recovered an additional 200 million pounds of copper through its new processes and aims to recover another 200 million pounds in the next two years.
"We think we're going to get there — it's just a matter of time," Quirk said.
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