The New Orleans-based major says it will lower operating costs, and capital and exploration expenditures.
In addition, Freeport intends to eliminate the quarterly cash dividend on its class A and B shares. The move is designed to free up sufficient cash to reduce 1998 year-end debt by US$250 million.
Recently, the value of class A and B shares has declined in response to falling copper and gold prices.
On a positive note, drilling at the company’s Grasberg open-pit mine in Irian Jaya, Indonesia, continues to return significant intersections of copper-gold mineralization.
The most encouraging results have been achieved at the Kucing Liar deposit, where 160 holes have been drilled to date. Situated on the southern flank of the main orebody, Kucing Liar has a strike length exceeding 2 km and is open to the west.
Highlights include three holes which returned:
- 254 metres grading 1.34% copper and 1.3 grams gold;
- 363 metres of 1.46% copper and 1.9 grams gold; and
- 522 metres of 1.55% copper and 1.4 grams gold.
Freeport says four additional holes returned long intervals of similar-grade material.
In the mean time, two rigs are evaluating mineralization below the main Grasberg orebody and Freeport continues to carry out mapping, sampling and drilling on four separate properties:
- the 3.2-million-acre Block B concession;
- a 1.2-million-acre land package held by its subsidiary, IRJA Eastern Minerals; and
- two additional contract-of-work areas totalling 2.2 million acres.
The Grasberg operation was recently fitted with a fourth concentrator.
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