Freeport reports lower production in Q3 2004

New Orleans-based copper and gold miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) reported on Tuesday a lower production and sales for the third quarter of 2004, reflecting the the lower grade ore mined by its Indonesian subsidiary PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) in the period.

FCX said PTFI, which operates the giant Grasberg mine in Papua Province, had produced 256.4 million pounds of copper in third quarter of 2004, a 33 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year of 341.2 million pounds. Meanwhile, its gold production dropped to 337,000 ounces from 761,000 ounces in the corresponding period of last year.

FCX said PTFI?s share of copper and gold sales totaled 261.9 million pounds and 350,000 ounces in the third quarter of 2004 compared with 344.9 million pounds and 763,500 ounces in the 2003 third quarter.

FCX said that PTFI would ramp up production and expected its sales to approximate 410 million pounds of copper and 625,000 ounces of gold for the fourth quarter of 2004.

"PTFI expects to produce and ship a significant portion of its fourth-quarter 2004 sales in December,? FCX said.

However, possible delays in production or shipping due to weather conditions or other factors could result in a portion of the fourth quarter sales being shipped in early 2005, FCX said.

?PTFI expects its share of sales for 2004 to approximate 1.0 billion pounds of copper and 1.45 million ounces of gold, and 1.5 billion pounds of copper and 2.9 million ounces of gold in 2005,? FCX added. (Robert)