Our Process Technology Center in Safford, Ariz., is home to globally-recognized engineers and scientists who provide innovative processing solutions and opportunities for our operations around the world. They are supported by state-of-the-art laboratories, test facilities and a technical library.

The center’s mission is to improve existing processes and develop safe, new, environmentally responsible methods for extracting minerals from ore as efficiently as possible. The center’s work is an important part of our overall growth strategy.

Freeport-McMoRan is a leader in the development and commercialization of solution extraction/electrowinning (SX/EW) technology. In the 1980s, we began converting our copper operations to SX/EW on a large scale, and the center played a key role in Morenci’s conversion to an entirely SX/EW operation in 2000.

As one of the most advanced research operations of its kind in the world, the center achieved a revolutionary breakthrough in 2002 with the development of a proprietary process to recover copper and other metals from flotation concentrates. The development led to construction of a concentrate pressure leaching demonstration plant at our Bagdad mine that is capable of producing 40 million pounds of copper annually.

Pressure leach vessel at Bagdad, shown during construction

The Bagdad facility was the first of its kind in the world to use high-temperature pressure leaching to process chalcopyrite concentrates. Simply put, this technology allows us to extract copper from hard-to-leach copper sulfide materials, increase the rate of extraction, and reduce overall costs. Sulfuric acid produced through copper-concentrate leaching is recovered and added to the heap leach stockpiles, replacing some of the acid supplied from other sources. Our ongoing and aggressive research into leaching technologies is particularly critical in maintaining our competitive position in the world market.

Freeport-McMoRan also developed at Bagdad a proprietary medium-temperature pressure leaching process that minimizes acid production. The company completed construction of the first-ever commercial-scale copper concentrate leaching and direct electrowinning facility at Morenci in late 2007 and production ramp up and optimization is planned to continue during 2008. The facility will process mixed primary and secondary copper ores.

Virtually every processing method employed or considered by Freeport-McMoRan, from crushing to cathodes, can be replicated or simulated by the ISO-9001-certified Process Technology Center. In addition to the center’s laboratories, comprehensive research library and office complex, facilities include a commercial-size SX/EW test facility that is capable of producing 1.5 tons of copper cathode per day. Scientists and engineers also seek methods for reducing energy costs associated with copper electrowinning and other such processing improvements. A large-diameter, column-leaching test facility is also nearby at Morenci and is capable of processing up to 600 tons of ore annually.

At the center, we analyze ore from existing and potential Freeport-McMoRan projects around the world. We evaluate large-scale, multi-million ton heaps and stockpiles, or investigate opportunities at the atomic level, where we use analytical technology such as optical microscopy, near infrared spectroscopy, metallography and X-ray technology to name a few. The center was the first in the U.S. mining industry to employ a QEMSCAN automated mineral analyzer – a specialized scanning electron microscope or “SEM” – and now has four in operation around the clock, 365 days per year.

The Process Technology Center is staffed by about 150 scientists, researchers and technicians who have access to a wide array of resources allowing for studies in mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, analytical chemistry, chemical engineering, process economics, geology and mineralogy.

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