Morenci: a copper operation in the United States
Morenci is an open-pit mine producing copper in Arizona, United States, operated by Freeport-McMoRan. The sources report 497 million lb recoverable copper, FCX 72% net share for CY2025; the basis is attributable (72%). In copper content, whole-operation output for CY2025 is about 313,100 tonnes (derived here, not printed by the source): about 1.4% of world copper output in 2025 and about 31% of the United States'; it is one of 11 operations on this site whose output can be stated in copper content.
Who owns and operates it?
| Owner | Interest | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Freeport-McMoRan | 72% | 31 December 2025 |
| Sumitomo Metal Mining Arizona, Inc. | 15% | 31 December 2025 |
| SMM Morenci, Inc. | 13% | 31 December 2025 |
How much does it produce?
| Period | Output | Basis | Where in the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CY2025 | 497 million lb recoverable copper, FCX 72% net share | attributable (72%) | MINING PRODUCTION AND SALES DATA table, Morenci (72%), p.34, footnote a 'net of joint venture partners' undivided interest'; 100% text on p.12/13 · Freeport-McMoRan Inc. |
| CY2024 | 505 million lb recoverable copper, FCX 72% net share | attributable (72%) | MINING PRODUCTION AND SALES DATA table, p.34 · Freeport-McMoRan Inc. |
Between CY2024 and CY2025 the reported figure fell by 1.6%, in the same unit and on the same basis.
How the copper-content figure is worked out. Freeport-McMoRan reports 497 million pounds of recoverable copper for its 72% share. Dividing by 0.72 gives about 690 million pounds for the whole mine, or about 313,100 tonnes. The 10-K prints only 'approximately 0.7 billion pounds' for the whole mine. World mine production of copper in 2025 was 23,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); the United States produced 1,000,000 tonnes.
Status: operating, as of February 2026.
How does it compare?
Other copper operations on this site: Escondida, Cerro Verde, Antamina, Grasberg, Kamoa-Kakula, Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), Oyu Tolgoi, Las Bambas, Buenavista del Cobre, Toquepala. See where copper comes from for the country totals, the country page for United States, and Freeport-McMoRan for its other operations here.
Sources
- Freeport-McMoRan Inc.: Form 10-K for the year ended 31 December 2025 (annual report (SEC 10-K), CY2025 (with 2024, 2023)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: pp.1, 3 (summary); 12-13 (Morenci); 19-20 (Cerro Verde); 22-24 (Indonesia, Grasberg, mud rush); 34 (Mining Production and Sales Data).
- U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Copper (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table.
Method and limits
- Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
- Shares. A share divides output in copper content by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
- Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
- Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every copper mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
- Made with AI assistance, checked against sources. The facts were gathered from the documents above by AI-assisted research and re-checked against those documents by a second, independent pass; the page text is generated from the data. No professional review took place. How the site is made. To report an error, contact us; fixes are logged on the corrections page.