Freeport-McMoRan Inc shares fell almost 17% after it made a force majeure declaration over its giant Grasberg copper and gold mine in Indonesia in the wake of a fatal accident.
The company said it had found two employees who died, and continued to search for five who remained missing, following the incident on 8 September in which a rush of mud blocked access and prevented evacuation from the underground mine.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) shares closed $7.69 (16.95%) lower at $37.67, capitalising the company at US$54.09 billion (A$82.17 billion), on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
Freeport-McMoRan said its 48.4% owned PT Freeport Indonesia Operations (PTFI) unit was investigating the cause of the accident in which about 800,000 tonnes of mud flowed rapidly into the underground mine where the team members were working.
Mining in the Grasberg district has been suspended to prioritise the search, and the investigation was expected to be completed by year-end 2025.
“As a result of the incident and impacts on operations, PTFI is notifying commercial counterparties of a force majeure in accordance with the provisions of its contracts,” the company said in a news release.
Force majeure is a legal clause that means a company cannot fulfil its contractual obligations due to extraordinary events or circumstances beyond its control.
The company said consolidated sales for the third quarter of 2025 were expected to be about 4% lower for copper and about 6% lower for gold than July 2025 estimates.
The incident was unprecedented in the multi-decade history of block cave mining at Grasberg.
Copper prices on the London Metal Exchange jumped by more than 3% to their highest point in more than 15 months following the announcement.
"We are not surprised by a downward revision to guidance, but this cut is more significant than we had anticipated," Jefferies analysts were quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
The Indonesian Government owns 51.2% of PTFI, which owns Grasberg, the second largest copper mine in the world.
