Freeport-McMoRan recently stepped up to a new international standard that will help ensure the health and safety of employees across its worldwide operations.   

Called ISO 45001, the new international standard for management systems of occupational health and safety provides a framework to increase worker safety, reduce workplace risks, and enhance health and well-being at work. It replaces – and goes beyond – the company’s previous certification that was phased out as a safety standard for companies.

Accelerating professional growth of a Fortune 250 company whose roots go back to 1834 is a heavy lift, which means any momentum picked up along the way is worth its weight in gold … or copper as it were.

Today, the company is marking the first-year anniversary of that momentum now known as Freeport Edge. Introduced in the fall of 2020, the set of five behaviors is intended to combine an agile way of working with the company’s existing high-performing culture to provide a competitive edge.

While the idea of building a couple of bridges may sound humdrum from a Lowlanders’ perspective, the two suspension bridges PTFI recently finished in the Papuan Highlands are nothing less than life-changing for native villagers who now have safe passage over two of the area’s more treacherous river crossings.

That’s especially important considering the area is home to the "Wettest Place on Earth" at Mile Post 50 where 480 inches of rain a year drop into topography that descends 16,000-foot peaks to sea level over a span of just 55 miles. 

Monarch butterflies are the international jet-setters of the insect world, and the company is helping them in their travels with a new pair of way stations in Arizona.

Work crews from the company and a dozen volunteers from a local school recently spent time planting hundreds of milkweed and other pollinator-friendly plants on company-owned sites near Miami and Bisbee. The result is essentially a rest stop for the monarchs during their annual migration that can extend from Mexico to Canada. 

A “desperate plea for help” from a 75-year-old cancer patient sent work crews from Freeport-McMoRan’s Miami operation scrambling to dig out her home earlier this month after severe flooding blanketed much of the town with a thick layer of mud and debris.

 The immediate response from the company was a “lifesaver,” said Julia Angelica, whose home in Miami was one of about 50 that Freeport workers cleared as part of a monthlong effort to scrape away the slippery goo that had blocked roads and engulfed houses since floodwaters ravaged the Arizona community in late July. 

Wildlife conservation efforts at Cerro Verde aimed at protecting a rare species of bat and the llama-like guanaco recently were recognized with separate international awards from the U.S.-based Wildlife Habitat Council.

Cruisin’ for science ...

A van donated by Bisbee Discontinued Ops to the Bisbee Science Exploration and Research Center is now helping bring STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) resources and activities to children across Cochise County. In the photo, “Meccano,” a robot built by the children at the lab, greets interested onlookers.

Three health clinics that PT Freeport Indonesia built and ran in the Mimika Regency have been handed over to the local government, the final step in providing quality, sustainable health-care services for community residents in the Lowlands.

In a ceremony held earlier this summer, Claus Wamafma, Director and Executive Vice President-Social Responsibility and Community Development at PTFI, symbolically handed over the three clinics to Reynold Ubra, Head of the Mimika District Health Office.

To:       All Freeport-McMoRan Employees
From:  Josh Olmsted, President and Chief Operating Officer-Americas, and Bill Cobb, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer
Date:   August 17, 2021

We are pleased to announce the following changes in the Tailings, Crushed Leach and Water department that reflect our commitment to responsible tailings management and stewardship.

Cerro Verde’s assistance in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic in the Arequipa region and other efforts by the mining and energy industries in Peru were recognized with the Citizen Medal of Merit presented in July by then-President Francisco Sagasti.

The award, which recognizes the work of individuals and organizations that benefit the nation and community, was presented to the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy, of which Cerro Verde is a member. The Medal of Merit is granted by the Presidency and Council of Ministers.