VOL. 07  |  ISSUE 2  |  June 2024

Douglas Currault Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Douglas Currault, who has helped navigate Freeport-McMoRan through times of tumult and change, recently was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Arizona Corporate Counsel Awards ceremony.

Currault, the company’s Senior Vice President and General Counsel, was recognized for a nearly 35-year law career (16 of those at Freeport and 12 as outside counsel to the company) during which he helped lead the company’s merger and acquisition activities and the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic, among other key initiatives.

“COVID hit less than six months after I became general counsel,” Currault said, explaining one of his biggest career challenges. “Leading our legal department by working virtually and now working in a flexible/hybrid environment has been challenging, yet exciting because we are not bound by the ‘old rules’ of working. Learning the new way to manage and work has been rewarding.”

Freeport Project Selected to Receive $80 Million from U.S. Department of Energy

Freeport-McMoRan has been selected to receive $80 million through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy for a project to use geothermal energy to heat leaching stockpiles in Morenci and Safford and integrate battery energy storage and microgrid operations to improve electrical reliability in Morenci.

By using geothermal energy, the project aims to generate clean, industrial-scale heat to enable the recovery over time of billions of pounds of residual copper through the company’s Leach to the Last Drop initiative from already mined material previously considered unrecoverable. The project could increase copper recovery by 25 million pounds or more annually, depending on the geothermal resources.

The microgrid and battery elements represent about half of the cost and only will be at the Morenci mine. They will add reliability to the electrical distribution system in Morenci, Clifton and potentially the regional grid and provide battery storage for back-up during power outages.

The total cost of the project, including the geothermal and power grid elements, is approximately $175 million, including the DOE contribution. The work is scheduled to take about five to seven years to complete.

Key Contributors to Leach to the Last Drop Recognized

A number of employees who have helped make the Leach to the Last Drop effort a success were recognized with awards presented during a two-day conference in Phoenix that brought together about 130 employees from sites around the Americas.

Those honored:

• Collaboration – Ashlyn Thille, Senior Metallurgist-Tucson Center Technology, and Othon Palma Duque, Business
• Intelligence Analyst I-Morenci
• Innovation – Sarah Lyons, Senior Metallurgist-Tucson Technology Center
• Leadership – Raquel Crossman, Chief Metallurgist-Tucson Technology Center
• Team Award – Project Root (Recovery Optimization & Operational Team)
• Stay The Course Team Award – Bobby Holder, Senior Supervisor-Materials Distribution at Morenci
• Lifetime Achievement – Lex Zerwas, Contractor Consultant-Finance (formerly Director-Operations Strategy and Controller), and Larry Todd, Contractor Consultant (formerly Manager-Processing Operational Improvement)
• Front Line – Hector Romo, Hydromet Leach Operator II-Morenci

Freeport Named One of America’s 100 Most JUST Companies for Fifth Time

For the fifth time and second consecutive year, Freeport-McMoRan has been selected as one of America’s 100 Most JUST Companies based on evaluations of what the public views as the most important and responsible business behaviors.

Freeport finished 91st overall, first in the Basic Resources category and first among the 11 companies in that category for dealing with workers, communities and the environment.

The list, compiled annually by JUST Capital since 2017, evaluates 937 of the largest U.S. companies on 20 issues across five categories identified as the most important in public opinion surveys.

As in the past, treatment of workers is by far the most important issue with the public. The most admired behaviors in that category include paying a fair wage; creating jobs in the United States; supporting workforce retention, advancement and training; providing good benefits and a work-life balance; and protecting worker health and safety.

Freeport Recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in America

Freeport-McMoRan is one of the best places in the United States to work, according to new rankings by Forbes Magazine.

Freeport was recognized on the Forbes America’s Best Large Employers 2024 list,
which the publication describes as a “resource to both job seekers and to companies
that are interested in learning how their competitors are performing in regard to
employee satisfaction.”

The company ranked 289th overall among 600 American firms with at least 5,000 employees. Freeport previously was named by Forbes as one of America’s top employers in 2019 and among the world’s best in 2020.

The annual rankings are based on a survey of more than 170,000 employees at U.S. companies compiled in partnership with the market research firm Statista. Survey respondents are asked to evaluate their employer based on a range of criteria, including working hours, pay and benefits.

new roles

Todd Graver

Previously, Vice President-Operations HR, is Vice President-International HR

Bill Sircy

Previously, General Manager Processing-Morenci, is General Manager-Technology Center