Freeport Stock Rises on Grasberg Mine Update. What It Means for Copper.

Freeport McMoRan’s Grasberg mine, above, accounts for about 3% of global copper production. (Olivia Rondonuwu / AFP / Getty Images)

Key Points

• Freeport McMoRan shares closed 2.6% higher after the company announced plans to restart and increase production at its Grasberg mine.
• Freeport expects 2026 production at Grasberg, which accounts for 3% of global copper production, to be similar to 2025 levels.
• Copper prices have increased by about 19% over the past 12 months, driven by anticipated higher electricity demand.

Freeport McMoRan shares jumped Tuesday after the company provided a relatively positive update about its Grasberg mine in Indonesia.

Shares traded as high as $41.81 before settling at $40, up 2.6%. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively.

The move came after the company announced on Tuesday that it plans to restart and ramp up production at Grasberg, where a September accident killed 7 workers and disrupted production. Freeport stock was above $45 a share before the disaster.

Production in 2026 is expected to be similar to 2025, a positive outcome for investors, removing some uncertainty. That should amount to about one billion pounds of copper and 900 million ounces of gold. Eventually, production is expected to ramp up to 1.6 billion pounds of copper and 1.3 million ounces of gold in 2027.

The update was better than Citi analyst Alexander Hacking was modeling. He said he expected the stock to react positively because the news reduces the risk of more negative scenarios.

Hacking rates Freeport stock at Buy. He has a target of $48 for the share price.

“Our team is committed to restoring large-scale, low-cost production at Grasberg in a safe, efficient, and responsible manner,” said CEO Kathleen Quirk in a news release. “We have incorporated the learnings from the recent tragic incident into our future plans and are implementing several initiatives to address the conditions that led to the incident.”

The Grasberg mine accounts for approximately 3% of global copper production, according to Wall Street estimates.

Benchmark copper prices fell about 0.9% on Tuesday, to $4.97 per pound. They were closer to $4.60 at the time of the Grasberg accident.

Copper prices have increased by about 19% over the past 12 months. Investors have anticipated that higher electricity demand will mean increased usage of copper, ultimately leading to higher prices.

Freeport stock, however, was down about 8% over the past year, through Tuesday’s trading.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com