Freeport Approves $4.5 Billion Bagdad Copper Expansion

The Bagdad Expansion

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) said on November 4, 2026 that its board had approved a $4.5 billion expansion and modernization program at Bagdad, its copper and molybdenum operation in northwest Arizona. The centerpiece is a new concentrator with about 115,000 tons per day of incremental nameplate capacity, which Freeport expects to more than double the mine’s mining and milling rates.

The program also covers a new primary crusher, an overland conveyor, a water pipeline, a power line and additional mining equipment. Freeport estimates the expanded operation would produce more than 400 million pounds of copper and more than 20 million pounds of molybdenum a year.

The approval follows Freeport’s second-quarter 2026 results, released on July 23, 2026, in which the company said it was preparing for a potential investment decision in the second half of the year. That update put the project capital cost about 30% above the earlier $3.5 billion estimate from 2023.

Cost, Schedule and Economics

Freeport expects to spend about 20% of the project cost in 2027 and 30% to 35% in 2028, with the balance in 2029 and 2030. Construction is expected to take about 3.5 years. The company said the spending will be added to its updated capital expenditure outlook and classified as discretionary under its financial policy.

Freeport said the project’s economics hold at a copper price of about $4.00 per pound and a molybdenum price of $20 per pound. It expects long-term unit net cash costs at Bagdad to fall by about 20%, through economies of scale, technology and molybdenum by-product credits.

The company said construction would support more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs in Arizona. Freeport is advancing engineering, procurement planning and early works.

“This low-risk brownfield project builds on Bagdad’s substantial reserve base, long operating history, existing infrastructure and experienced workforce to deliver new U.S. copper and molybdenum production and further strengthen Freeport’s position as America’s Copper Champion®.”

— Kathleen Quirk, President and Chief Executive Officer, Freeport-McMoRan

Bagdad in Freeport’s U.S. Portfolio

Freeport mined more than half of the roughly 1.0 million metric tons of copper produced in the United States in 2025, from seven operations in Arizona and New Mexico. Bagdad produced 149 million pounds of copper in 2025, less than Morenci or Safford/Lone Star.

The mine has operated since 1945 and has a reserve life of more than 80 years before additional mineral resources are counted. In 2025 it completed a fleet conversion that made it the first major U.S. mine with a fully autonomous haulage fleet. Freeport said the expansion would make Bagdad the second-largest copper mine in the United States, behind Morenci, and a leading U.S. molybdenum producer.

GSR’s guide to listed companies with copper projects in the U.S. compares Freeport with other U.S. producers and developers by output, reserves and development stage. Our copper stocks list covers the wider global universe.