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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES: (Details) $ in Millions | 12 Months Ended |  |
--- | --- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) segment item $ / lb | Dec. 31, 2014 $ / lb | Dec. 31, 2013 $ / lb
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES: |  |  |
Average estimated recovery period of long-term leach material | 5 years |  |
Increase in total reserves at a property to qualify as a major expansion (as a percent) | 10.00% |  |
Period considered for calculation of average metal price | 3 years |  |
Current price of copper (in dollars per pound) | $ / lb | 2.99 | 3.36 | 3.65
Impairment in the carrying value of long-term assets | $ | $ 0.0 |  |
Number of years of average prices for copper and molybdenum used for impairment analysis | 3 years |  |
Number of reportable segments | segment | 3 |  |
Minimum |  |  |
Financial information related to segments |  |  |
Estimated useful lives of buildings and equipment | 5 years |  |
Maximum |  |  |
Financial information related to segments |  |  |
Maximum period after shipping within which pricing is based by customer contracts in most cases | 3 months |  |
Estimated useful lives of buildings and equipment | 40 years |  |
Peruvian Operations |  |  |
Financial information related to segments |  |  |
Number of open-pit copper mines | 2 |  |
Mexican IMMSA Unit |  |  |
Financial information related to segments |  |  |
Number of underground poly metal mines | 5 |  |

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