Phelps
Dodge Corporation - (en)
Phelps Dodge Corporation NYSE: PD was founded in 1834 by Anson Greene
Phelps and William E. Dodge. Initially, the company operated an
import-export trade business that shipped U.S.-grown cotton to England
in exchange for tin, iron, copper and other metals essential for
growth and development of the new American nation.
As time went on, the company began its own mining operations as the
western United States frontier expanded, and its mineral wealth,
especially copper, started being discovered. The company focused
largely on providing copper wire and cables to industry that became in
high demand as the Industrial Revolution took hold. As the company
diversified, it began investing in new railroads, essential in the
company’s efforts to establish itself in the west, especially
copper-rich Arizona, and to transport products to and from its markets
on the eastern/northeastern shores. During the late 19th century, in
concert with its metal interests, Phelps Dodge Corporation became one
of the largest producers of lumber and lumber products in the United
States.
Today, Phelps Dodge Corporation has large copper mining operations in
Bagdad, Arizona, Morenci, Arizona, Sierrita, Arizona, Miami, Arizona,
and Tyrone, New Mexico, and at the El Chino Mine in New Mexico.
Several of these locations are providing ores rich in molybdenum as
well. Presently, Phelps Dodge Corporation is initiating all required
local and federal processes to open a new mine located near Safford,
Arizona, and is expected to employ approximately 350 people.
In South America, the company has several very large copper mining
operations going on in Chile and Peru. In Congo, Phelps Dodge
Corporation is the majority owner and operator of the Tenke Fungurume
project, which is generally considered to be the world's largest
undeveloped copper/cobalt project.
A subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation, Climax Molybdenum is the
largest primary producer of molybdenum in the world. At the Henderson
Mine in Empire, Colorado, Climax Molybdenum has produced more than 160
million tons of ore and 770 million pounds of molybdenum since the
mine opened in 1976.
The company employs more than 13,500 people worldwide.
Expansion
On Sunday, November 19, 2006, Freeport-McMoRan announced that it plans
to acquire Phelps Dodge for $25.9 billion in cash and stock to create
the world's largest publicly traded copper mining company.
