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Contingencies and Commitments
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies CONTINGENCIES AND COMMITMENTS
Asset Retirement Obligations (ARO)
Arizona Environmental and Reclamation Programs. FCX’s Arizona operations are subject to regulatory oversight by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). ADEQ has adopted regulations for its aquifer protection permit (APP) program that require permits for, among other things, certain facilities, activities and structures used for mining, leaching, concentrating and smelting, and require compliance with aquifer water quality standards during operations and closure. An application for an APP requires a proposed closure strategy that will meet applicable groundwater protection requirements following cessation of operations and an estimate of the implementation cost, with a more detailed closure plan required at the time operations cease. A permit applicant must demonstrate its financial ability to meet the closure costs approved by ADEQ. Closure costs for facilities covered by APPs are required to be updated every six years and financial assurance mechanisms are required to be updated every two years. During first-quarter 2022, Bagdad increased its ARO liability and asset retirement cost asset by $45 million associated with an updated closure strategy that Bagdad submitted to ADEQ for approval. Morenci is also preparing an update to its closure strategy for submission to ADEQ, which is expected to result in increased costs that could be significant. FCX will continue updating its closure strategy and closure cost estimates at other Arizona sites, and any such updates may also result in increased costs that could be significant.
Litigation
There were no significant updates to previously reported legal proceedings included in Note 12 of FCX’s 2021 Form 10-K.

Other Matters
Smelter Development Progress. On January 7, 2021, the Indonesia government levied an administrative fine of $149 million for the period from March 30, 2020, through September 30, 2020, on PT-FI for failing to achieve physical development progress on its greenfield smelter as of July 31, 2020. On January 13, 2021, PT-FI responded to the Indonesia government objecting to the fine because of events outside of its control causing a delay of the greenfield smelter’s development progress. PT-FI believes that its communications during 2020 with the Indonesia government were not properly considered before the administrative fine was levied.

In June 2021, the Indonesia government issued a ministerial decree for the calculation of an administrative fine for lack of smelter development in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2021, PT-FI recorded charges totaling $16 million for a potential settlement of the administrative fine. On January 25, 2022, the Indonesia government submitted a new estimate of the administrative fine totaling $57 million. In March 2022, PT-FI paid the administrative fine and recorded a charge of $41 million in first-quarter 2022. Based on PT-FI’s revised smelter construction schedule, PT-FI does not believe any additional fines should be applied and will dispute any attempts by the Indonesia government to levy additional fines, which could be significant.
PT-FI Export License. Export licenses are valid for a one-year period, subject to review and approval by the Indonesia government every six months, depending on smelter construction progress. In March 2022, PT-FI obtained a one-year extension of its concentrate export license through March 19, 2023, for two million metric tons of concentrate, the approval of which was based on PT-FI’s revised smelter construction schedule as modified to reflect impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.