Operations & Development

Tenke Fungurume, DRC

Tenke
Fungurume

Summary Report

Copper Cobalt mine

TFM's copper-cobalt deposits comprise one of the world's largest known copper-cobalt resources. The deposits are located on contiguous concessions which total in excess of 1,500 km2. These concessions are located in Katanga Province, DRC, approximately 175 km northwest of Lubumbashi, the provincial capital.

Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ("FCX" or "Freeport") is the operating partner holding a 56% interest. Lundin Mining holds a 24% interest and La Générale des Carrières et des Mines ("Gécamines"), the Congolese state mining company, holds a 20% free carried interest in the project. Owing to the carried interest of Gécamines, capital funding is provided by FCX and Lundin Mining as to 70% and 30%, respectively.

Construction started in late 2006 on open-pit and oxide ore processing facilities designed to produce 115,000 tpa of cathode copper and over 8,000 tpa of cobalt in hydroxide. Commissioning of the copper facilities occurred at the end of the first quarter 2009, and of the cobalt hydroxide facilities at the end of the second quarter. By year end 2009, full name plate capacities for both products were being achieved. Subsequent debottlenecking and plant upgrades have allowed expansion to increase to 132,000 tpa of cathode copper and approximately 11,000 tpa cobalt. A Phase 2 Expansion of the plant was announced in November 2011, which will see production increase to at least 195,000 tpa of copper cathode and 15,000 tpa cobalt hydroxide.

This is one of several stages of development contemplated with the objective of ultimately producing in upwards of 500,000 tpa of copper mining multiple deposits concession-wide.

The main highway, railroad and power line connecting Kolwezi and Likasi with Lubumbashi pass through the concessions. Scheduled air services are available between Lubumbashi and the capital Kinshasa, as well as from Johannesburg, South Africa and Zambia. An airstrip constructed on the concession can accommodate freight aircraft and small passenger jets. Most copper and cobalt product and bulk mine consumables are transported primarily by truck and to an extent by rail between Tenke and ports in Durban, South Africa and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Tailings facilities are located to the north of the process plant site and a first raise of the initial facility was completed during 2010. The current tailings storage location is of sufficient size to handle the majority of currently proven/probable reserves. Other adjacent areas have been identified to provide life-of-mine storage capacity. A potential location for a future sulphide concentrator has been identified as have potential heap leach pad areas.

Electrical power is provided from the national grid. The local Nseke hydro power station is being renovated and expanded as part of the project and new local power lines have been constructed. Water from local boreholes supplements runoff water collected and the project is operated in line with a zero discharge water management philosophy.

Please click here to view NI 43-101 December, 2011

Please click here for further information on the Tenke Fungurume project: http://www.fcx.com/operations/africa.htm

Quarterly Operations Update