Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold earnings double in 1Q

The company said sales volumes were down because of mining in a lower ore grade section of the Grasberg open pit during the first half of 2008.

Freeport expects to continue mining the low-grade section in the second quarter, followed by a higher-grade section in the second half of 2008.

In the second quarter, Freeport expects its mines to sell 930 million pounds of copper, 225,000 ounces of gold and 18 million pounds of molybdenum. For the year, Freeport expects to sell about 4.2 billion pounds of copper, 1.4 million ounces of gold and 75 million pounds of molybdenum.

"As we crossed the one-year anniversary of our combination with Phelps Dodge in March, we are established as a financially strong global metals producer with significant current production capacity and reserves, exciting current growth projects and promising opportunities for future growth in major minerals districts around the world," the company said.

The company's debt climbed to $7.6 billion as of March 31, compared with $7.2 billion as of Dec. 31. However, its consolidated cash increased to $1.8 billion on March 31, compared with $1.6 billion three months earlier.

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