Freeport announced that its board of directors approved a $4.5 billion expansion and modernization program for its wholly owned Bagdad copper and molybdenum operation in northwest Arizona.
The brownfield project is expected to more than double Bagdad’s mining and milling rates. Over the long term, Freeport expects annual copper production to rise by approximately 225 million pounds to more than 400 million pounds and annual molybdenum production to rise by approximately 12 million pounds to more than 20 million pounds. The expansion would make Bagdad the second-largest copper mine in the United States, behind Freeport’s Morenci operation, and one of the lowest-cost operations in Freeport’s U.S. portfolio.
“Freeport’s significant resource base provides an attractive portfolio of value-enhancing, organic growth options as we work to meet growing demand for our products,” says Kathleen Quirk, president and CEO of Freeport. “We are pleased to proceed with the Bagdad expansion, an important step in advancing Freeport’s U.S. copper growth strategy. This low-risk brownfield project builds on Bagdad’s substantial reserve base, long operating history, existing infrastructure and experienced workforce to deliver new U.S. copper and molybdenum production and further strengthen Freeport’s position as America’s Copper Champion®.”
The Bagdad mine has operated since 1945 and has more than 80 years of reserve life before accounting for additional mineral resources. In 2025, Bagdad became the first major U.S. mine with a fully autonomous haulage fleet. Freeport plans to use that fleet to support higher mining rates as it expands the operation.
Freeport is advancing engineering, procurement planning and early site work. The company will include the project in its updated capital spending outlook and classify it as discretionary under its financial policy. Freeport expects to spend approximately 20% of the project cost in 2027, 30% to 35% in 2028 and the balance in 2029 and 2030. The company says inflation and rising costs could affect those estimates.
Bagdad has 2.6 billion metric tons of ore reserves with a copper-equivalent grade of 0.43%. A new concentrator is expected to add approximately 115,000 tons of daily processing capacity, with room to increase over time. The project also includes a primary crusher, an overland conveyor, a water pipeline, a power line and additional mining equipment. Construction is expected to take about three and a half years, with initial production targeted for mid-2030. Over the life of the mine, the expansion is expected to add the equivalent of approximately 130,000 tons of copper production per year.
Freeport expects long-term net cash costs per unit to fall by approximately 20% as higher production, new technology and credits from molybdenum sales reduce costs. The company estimates the project would break even at about $4 per pound of copper, assuming a molybdenum price of $20 per pound. Freeport projects more than 4,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and thousands of long-term employment opportunities in Arizona.
