Freeport Board Approves $4.5 Billion Expansion of Bagdad Copper Mine in Arizona

Freeport-McMoRan's board of directors approved a $4.5 billion expansion and modernization program for its wholly owned Bagdad copper and molybdenum operation in northwest Arizona, the company announced Wednesday. The brownfield project is designed to more than double Bagdad's mining and milling rates and is expected to lift annual long-term copper production to over 400 million pounds per year, an increase of 200 to 250 million pounds per year over current output.

The $4.5 billion capital cost estimate represents roughly a 30 percent increase above the prior $3.5 billion figure that Freeport had prepared in 2023, reflecting updated technical and economic studies. The project will also increase molybdenum production by 10 to 12 million pounds per year, adding a meaningful secondary revenue stream for the Arizona site. Construction is expected to take three to four years once underway.

The Bagdad expansion is a significant bet on long-term copper demand, with preliminary economics indicating the project requires an incentive copper price of approximately $4.00 per pound to be viable. Freeport's overall U.S. copper mine production is expected to approximate 1.4 billion pounds for 2026, and the Bagdad project would materially add to that base once complete.