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Contingencies and Commitments (Unaudited) | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS Litigation. The following information includes a discussion of updates to previously reported legal proceedings included in Note 12 of FCX's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, as updated in Note 8 of FCX's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2015. Shareholder Litigation. On April 7, 2015, the Delaware Court of Chancery approved the settlement of FCX’s consolidated stockholder derivative litigation captioned In Re Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Derivative Litigation, No. 8145-VCN, and awarded the plaintiffs legal fees and expenses. This settlement resolved all pending derivative claims against directors and officers of FCX challenging FCX's 2013 acquisitions of Plains Exploration & Production Company and McMoRan Exploration Co. During first-quarter 2015, insurers under FCX’s directors and officers liability insurance policies and other third parties funded an escrow account with the $125 million settlement amount, from which the proceeds, net of plaintiffs’ legal fees and expenses totaling $33 million, were released to FCX in May 2015. Upon the release of funds, FCX recognized a gain of $92 million in second-quarter 2015. As a result and in accordance with the approved settlement terms, FCX's Board declared a special dividend that was paid on August 3, 2015, together with the regular quarterly dividend paid on the same day (refer to Note 6 for further discussion). Tax and Other Matters. There were no significant changes to the Cerro Verde royalty dispute or other Peruvian tax matters during the second quarter of 2015 (refer to Note 12 of FCX’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, for further discussion of these matters). Indonesia Tax Matters. The following information includes a discussion of updates to previously reported Indonesia tax matters included in Note 12 of FCX’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, as updated in Note 8 of FCX's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2015. PT-FI received assessments from the local regional tax authority in Papua, Indonesia, for additional taxes and penalties related to water rights tax payments for the period from January 2011 through June 2015. PT-FI has filed or will file objections to these assessments. In March 2015, the local government of Papua rejected PT-FI’s objections to the assessments related to the period from January 2011 through December 2014, and in April 2015, PT-FI filed appeals with the Indonesian tax court. The aggregate amount of all assessments received through August 3, 2015, including penalties, was 2.5 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($190 million based on exchange rates at June 30, 2015). Additional penalties, which could be significant, may be assessed depending on the outcome of the appeals process. No amounts have been accrued for these assessments as of June 30, 2015, because PT-FI believes its Contract of Work (COW) exempts it from these payments and that it has the right to contest these assessments in the tax court and ultimately the Indonesian Supreme Court.

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