Freeport-McMoran expects its consolidated copper sales volumes to reach 3.5bn lbs (1.5mn mt) this year—including 725mn lbs in Q1.
The company’s consolidated copper sales volumes hit 3.3bn lbs in 2019, of which 906mn lbs were achieved in Q4. It reported an operating cash flow of $1.5bn during the year, $170mn of which was in Q4-2019.
Freeport’s consolidated copper sales volumes for North America totaled 358mn lbs in Q4, up from 333mn lbs during the corresponding period in 2018, because of higher shipments from its Morenci mine. North American copper sales in 2020 are estimated at $1.6bn, up from $1.4bn in 2019.
Consolidated copper sales in South America totaled 345mn lbs in Q4-2019, up from 325mn lbs during the same quarter in 2018, due to the timing of the company’s shipments. In 2020, Freeport-McMoran’s sales from South American mining are estimated to be in line with last year’s total at around 1.15bn lbs.
Richard C. Adkerson, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said the company was able to enhance its cash flow in 2019 for three reasons: It is on schedule to establish large-scale production from high-grade underground ore bodies at its Indonesia Grasberg mine; its Lone Star project in Arizona is nearly complete; and its innovation initiatives to augment production have been fruitful.
Adkerson added that the company intends to increase copper and gold sales by more than 30pc and reduce its unit net cash costs by 25pc, as well as more than double its 2019 operating cash flow by 2021.