Litigation Settlement, Amount Awarded to Other Party, Initial Payment

No definition available.

Name:	fcx_LitigationSettlementAmountAwardedtoOtherPartyInitialPayment
Namespace Prefix:	fcx_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount awarded to other party in judgment or settlement of litigation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LitigationSettlementAmountAwardedToOtherParty
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount of litigation expense, including but not limited to legal, forensic, accounting, and investigative fees.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LitigationSettlementExpense
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Number of pending claims pertaining to a loss contingency.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=121557415&loc=d3e14435-108349

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amounts payable for money transfers, money orders, and consumer payment service arrangements. Settlement liabilities include amounts payable to intermediaries for global payment transfers.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_SettlementLiabilitiesCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LitigationStatusAxis=us-gaap_SettledLitigationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=fcx_LouisianaParishesCoastalErosionCasesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	dei_LegalEntityAxis=fcx_FCXAffiliatesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
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Contingencies and Commitments (Unaudited) - Litigation (Details) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 case
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Settlement Liabilities, Current			$ 130.0
Settlement Liabilities, Current			$ 130.0
Settled litigation \| Louisiana Parishes Coastal Erosion Cases \| FCX affiliates
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss Contingency, Pending Claims, Number \| case				13
Litigation settlement, agreed to pay, initial payment	$ 15.0
Charges for Cerro Verde royalty dispute		$ 15.0
Litigation Settlement, Amount Awarded to Other Party	$ 23.5