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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX recently announced that its subsidiary, PT Freeport Indonesia ("PT-FI"), completed the construction of its new Manyar smelter in Gresik, Indonesia, in June 2024 and has begun commissioning operations. FCX anticipates that the smelter will begin producing copper cathodes in the following months and that it will reach full ramp-up by the end of 2024, as previously predicted.

FCX also reported that on Jul 2, 2024, Indonesia’s government permitted PT-FI to export copper concentrates and anode slimes through December 2024, when the new processing facilities are expected to be fully ramped up. PT-FI will continue to pay export duties on copper concentrates during the smelter ramp-up period in accordance with Indonesia’s regulations.

Due to the delay in securing PT-FI's export license, FCX expects to ship a portion of its second-quarter 2024 production in subsequent periods. FCX currently expects its consolidated sales for the second quarter to be roughly 5% lower than its April 2024 forecast of 975 million pounds of copper and approximately 30% lower than its prior view of 500,000 ounces of gold.

Consolidated unit net cash costs for the second quarter of 2024, which were earlier expected at $1.57 per pound of copper, are now estimated to be about $1.77 per pound, primarily due to decreased by-product credits as a result of shipment delays. FCX's consolidated average copper realization for the second quarter is estimated to be around $4.45 per pound.

FCX is revising its sales projections as part of its usual quarterly forecast updates, and it does not expect a major change in its annual copper volume guidance for 2024. As a result of a modification in mine sequencing, primarily to address wet conditions in some Grasberg Block Cave draw sites, 2024 gold sales are estimated to be around 1.8 million ounces compared to previous expectations of nearly 2 million ounces. This adjustment is due to timing and is not expected to have an impact on long-term objectives.

Shares of Freeport have gained 19.6% over the past year compared with a 30.8% rise of its industry.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Freeport currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include ATI Inc. ATI, Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, and Ecolab Inc. ECL.

ATI carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). ATI beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 8.3%. The company's shares have soared 25.4% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1. CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 15.1%. The company's shares have soared 86.9% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ecolab's current-year earnings is pegged at $6.59 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 26.5%. ECL, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock, beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 1.3%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 26.3% in the past year.

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