verde mine overview north america south america cerro verde el abra indonesia africa videos description cerro verde is an open pit copper and molybdenum mining complex . location approximately 20 miles southwest of arequipa peru . did you know construction activities associated with a large scale expansion at cerro verde were completed in september 2015 . the project expanded the concentrator facilities from 120 000 metric tons per day mtd to 360 000 mtd and provides incremental annual production of approximately 600 million pounds of copper and 15 million pounds of molybdenum . ores the cerro verde mine is a porphyry copper deposit that has oxide and secondary sulfide mineralization and primary sulfide mineralization . the predominant oxide copper minerals are brochanite chrysocolla malachite and copper pitch . chalcocite and covellite are the most important secondary copper sulfide minerals . chalcopyrite and molybdenite are the dominant primary sulfides . processes and facilities cerro verde s operation includes a 360 000 mtd concentrator and solution extraction electrowinning sx ew leaching facilities . leach copper production is derived from a 39 000 mtd crushed leach facility and a run of mine leach system . the sx ew leaching operation has a capacity of approximately 200 million pounds of copper per year . background spaniards mined high grade copper oxide ore from cerro verde and shipped it to wales in the mid 1800s . anaconda owned the property from 1916 until 1970 when the mine was acquired by the peruvian government . the government mined cerro verde s oxide ores and built one of the world s first sx ew facilities in 1972 . cyprus amax purchased the operation in 1994 and invested substantial capital in the property to upgrade and improve productivity . in the eight years after privatization copper production increased by about 350 % and costs were reduced by more than 40 % . ownership 53.56 % fcx ; 21 % smm cerro verde netherlands b.v. a subsidiary of sumitomo metal mining company ltd. ; 19.58 % compa ia de minas buenaventura s.a.a. ; and 5.86 % by other shareholders whose shares are publicly traded on the lima stock exchange . back to top company resources recent news 2015 annual report 2015 form 10 kproxy additional information cerro verde expansion english spanish videos cerro verde expansion cerro verde expansion pride unites us cerro verde s bat conservation program cerro verde operations peru who we are doing business with us contact us our global footprint copper molybdenum gold cobalt oil & natural gas company profile news releases presentations stock & dividend information stock quote dividend history financial information annual reports & proxy sec filings quarterly earnings reports corporate governance investor resources shareholder faqs set email alerts request information rss feeds our approach sustainability reports & news workforce human rights communities environment freeport mcmoran mining careers oportunidades laborales en sudam rica freeport mcmoran oil & gas careers overview north america south america africa indonesia videos freeport mcmoran inc. 333 north central ave. phoenix az 85004 602.366.8100 our company our resources cautionary statement investor relations transfer agent contact us sustainable development worldwide operations careers