Monday, April 26, 2010

Freeport (NYSE:FCX) Investing in Sulphur Plant

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) will begin construction on the Dos Pobres Copper mine at Safford, Arizona, where a plant built for sulphur burning will be launched.

What the plant will produce is sulfuric acid, which is used in the recovery of copper from ore.

Freeport spokesman Richard Peterson said, “The plant will burn elemental sulphur that will be brought by railcar to a transfer facility that will be built southeast of Fort Thomas. Sulphur will be transferred from the railcars to trucks for transportation to the sulphur burning plant."

The project had been set back for about 16 months due to slowing demand during the height of the recession.

Freeport will invest about $150 million in the sulphur burner which should be operational sometime within the next twelve months.