Freeport McMoran - Business Ethics

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FREEPORT MCMORAN

          Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) is a leading international natural resources company with headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. It operates large, long-lived, geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable reserves of copper, gold, cobalt, oil and natural gas. It is also the world’s largest producer of molybdenum. In 2013, its overall revenue was of $20.9 billion and its net income of $707 million.

          The company was founded in 1912 by Langbourne Williams Snr. as Freeport Texas, in the sulphur mining industry. “Freeport Sulphur Texas” began to diversify in 1931, entering the nickel business, investing in cobalt and oil mines in the 50s, purchasing kaolin, copper and gold deposits in the 60s. In 1971 the company changed its name to Freeport Minerals Company to reflect its role as a diversified mineral producer. In 1981 it merged with McMoRan Oil & Gas to form Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

          Freeport’s portfolio of minerals assets includes the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia since 1973, one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits; significant mining operations in the Americas, including the large-scale Morenci minerals district in North America and the Cerro Verde operation in South America; and the Tenke Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Freeport’s portfolio of oil and natural gas assets includes oil production facilities onshore and offshore California, in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, in Louisiana and in Wyoming. The company’s global workforce includes over 36,000 employees.

          Freeport is a founding member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and is committed to implementation of the ICMM Sustainable Development Framework. On their website, Freeport states the company has a strong commitment to safety performance, environmental management and to the local communities where it operates.

        In 2013 though, the company was ranked as the 4th least ethical company in the world, according to the Covalence annual ranking of the overall ethical performance of multinational corporations.

FREEPORT IN WEST PAPUA, INDONESIA

Freeport moved into West Papua in the early days of the Suharto dictatorship, a regime noted for a long history of murder and repression. In fact, a half-million people were killed in Suharto's brutal takeover of the country. However, the Indonesian leader became Freeport’s partner as its CEO, Jim Bob Moffett, defended the regime and called Suharto a compassionate man. After Suharto’s resignation in 1998, the company signed a contract with the new military regime, being the first foreign company to do so. Since then and despite rigorous home-state laws, it has been able to operate with impunity for nearly thirty years and to thrive in a business culture anchored in corruption, collusion, and nepotism in the jungles of West Papua. To day and from its collaboration with the regime, Freeport has obtained the world's largest gold mine and one of its richest and most profitable copper mines in the world.