Phelps Dodge 424543 214819016 2008-05-25T12:17:37Z 70.65.27.39 /* Expansion and acquisition */ {{Infobox_Company | company_name = Phelps Dodge Corporation| company_logo = [[Image:Phelps Dodge logo.png]]| company_type = [[Public company|Public]] ({{NYSE|PD}})| foundation = 1834| location = [[Phoenix, Arizona]], [[USA]]| key_people = [[J. Steven Whisler]], Chairman & CEO| num_employees = 15,000 (2006)| industry = [[Mining|Copper Mining]]| products = | revenue = {{profit}}$11.910 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] (2006)| operating_income = {{profit}}$4.226 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] (2006)| net_income = {{profit}}$3.017 billion [[United States dollar|USD]] (2006)| homepage = [http://www.phelpsdodge.com/ www.phelpsdodge.com]| }} '''Phelps Dodge Corporation''' is a former [[United States]] company founded in 1834 by [[Anson Greene Phelps]] and [[William E. Dodge]]. On [[March 19]], [[2007]], it was acquired by [[Freeport-McMoRan]] and now operates under the name Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ==History== Initially, Phelps Dodge operated an import-export trade business that shipped [[United States|U.S.]]-grown cotton to [[England]] in exchange for [[tin]], [[iron]], [[copper]] and other metals essential for growth and development of the new American nation. As time went on, the company began its own [[mining]] operations as the western United States frontier expanded, and its mineral wealth, especially [[copper]], started being discovered. The company focused largely on providing copper wire and cables to industry that became in high demand as the [[Industrial Revolution]] took hold. As the company diversified, it began investing in new railroads, essential in the company’s efforts to establish itself in the west, especially copper-rich [[Arizona]], and to transport products to and from its markets on the eastern/northeastern shores. During the late 19th century, in concert with its metal interests, Phelps Dodge Corporation became one of the largest producers of lumber and lumber products in the United States. It also became notorious for its anti-[[trade union|union]] views, primarily for its kidnapping of nearly 1,300 [[strike action|striking]] miners and the seizure of the telegraph and telephone lines in the town of [[Bisbee, Arizona]], during the [[Bisbee Deportation]] in 1917.<ref>Byrkit, James. "The Bisbee Deportation." In ''American Labor in the Southwest.'' James C. Foster, ed. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1982. ISBN 0816507414</ref> In South America, the company had several very large copper mining operations in [[Chile]] and [[Peru]]. In the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], Phelps Dodge Corporation was the majority owner and operator of the [[Tenke Fungurume]] project, generally considered to be the world's largest undeveloped copper/cobalt project.{{Fact|date=April 2007}} A subsidiary of Phelps Dodge Corporation, Climax Molybdenum is the largest primary producer of [[molybdenum]] in the world. At the [[Henderson mine]] west of [[Empire, Colorado]], Climax Molybdenum has produced more than 160 million tons of ore and 770 million pounds of molybdenum since the mine opened in 1976. The historic [[Phelps Dodge General Office Building]] in [[Bisbee, Arizona]] was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] of the U.S. in 1983. The Phelps Dodge copper mine at Morenci, Arizona was the site of a violent [[Arizona_Copper_Mine_Strike_of_1983|strike]] from 1983 to 1986, culminating in one of the largest union decertifications in American labor history. The company employed more than 13,500 people worldwide. ==Expansion and acquisition== On Sunday, [[November 19]], [[2006]], [[Freeport-McMoRan]] announced that it planned to acquire Phelps Dodge for $25.9 billion in cash and stock to create the world's largest publicly traded copper mining company. Stockholders for both companies voted on the proposal March 14, 2007. On Monday, [[March 19]], [[2007]], Phelps Dodge Corporation was acquired by [[Freeport-McMoRan]] (NYSE: FCX), creating the world's largest publicly traded copper company, with 25,000 employees at acquisition. By the time of its acquisition in 2007, Phelps Dodge Corporation had large copper mining operations in [[Bagdad, Arizona]], [[Morenci, Arizona]], [[Sierrita, Arizona]], [[Miami, Arizona]], and [[Tyrone, New Mexico]], and the [[El Chino Mine]] in [[New Mexico]]. Several of these locations provide ores rich in [[molybdenum]] as well. It had recently begun development of the [[Safford Mine]] near [[Safford, Arizona]]. ==Environmental record== Researchers at the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]] have identified Phelps Dodge as the 23rd-largest corporate producer of [[air pollution]] in the United States, with roughly 3.64 million pounds of toxins released annually into the air. Major pollutants included [[sulfuric acid]], [[chromium]] compounds, [[lead]] compounds, and [[chlorine]].<ref>[http://www.peri.umass.edu/Toxic-100-Table.265.0.html Political Economy Research Institute Toxic 100] retrieved 14 Aug 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.rtknet.org/new/tox100/toxic100.php?company1=196&chemfac=chem&advbasic=bas Toxics Release Inventory data at rtknet.org]</ref> The [[Center for Public Integrity]] has reported that Phelps Dodge is named as a potentially responsible party in at least 13 [[Superfund]] toxic waste sites. <ref>[http://www.publicintegrity.org/Superfund/SiteResults.aspx?act=phelps%20dodge Center for Public Integrity]</ref> ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==References== *Cleland, Robert Glass. ''A History of Phelps Dodge, 1834-1950.'' New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1952. ==External links== * http://www.fcx.com/ * http://www.phelpsdodge.com/ * http://www.climaxmolybdenum.com/ [[Category:Companies established in 1834]] [[Category:Phelps Dodge| ]] [[Category:Mining companies]] [[Category:Copper mining companies]] [[Category:Companies based in Phoenix, Arizona]] [[de:Phelps Dodge]] [[fr:Phelps Dodge]] [[ru:Phelps Dodge]] [[ja:フェルプスドッジ]]