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Contingencies and Commitments | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2022
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Contingencies and Commitments | 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 approximately every six years and financial assurance mechanisms are required to be updated every two years. During the first nine months of 2022, FCX’s Morenci and Bagdad mines increased each of their ARO liability and asset retirement cost asset by $117 million and $65 million, respectively, associated with their updated closure strategies and plans for stockpiles and tailings impoundments that were submitted to ADEQ for approval. FCX will continue updating its closure plans 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 than the matter discussed below. Louisiana Parishes Coastal Erosion Cases. Certain FCX affiliates were named as defendants, along with numerous co-defendants, in 13 cases out of a total of 42 cases filed in Louisiana state courts by six south Louisiana parishes (Cameron, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. John the Baptist and Vermilion), alleging that certain oil and gas exploration and production operations and sulfur mining and production operations in coastal Louisiana contaminated and damaged coastal wetlands and caused significant land loss along the Louisiana coast. In 2019, affiliates of FCX reached an agreement in principle to settle all 13 cases. The settlement agreement has now been executed by all parties as of the end of October 2022. The agreement in principle does not include any admission of liability by FCX or its affiliates. FCX recorded a charge in 2019 for the initial payment of $15 million. In connection with execution of the settlement agreement by all parties, the FCX affiliates will fund the $15 million initial payment and be fully released and dismissed from all 13 pending cases. Asbestos and Talc Claims. As previously disclosed, in 2021, Imerys obtained an injunction temporarily staying approximately 950 talc-related lawsuits against Cyprus Amax Minerals Company (CAMC), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of FCX, and Cyprus Mines Corporation (Cyprus Mines), a wholly owned subsidiary of CAMC, which has been extended through at least January 2023. The interim stay is a component of the global settlement but there can be no assurance that the bankruptcy court will continue to impose the interim stay. Mediation to resolve open issues in the Imerys and Cyprus Mines bankruptcy cases is ongoing and expected to continue through the end of 2022, and FCX expects the overall process for its global settlement to continue into 2023. 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 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.

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