This past fall, Freeport-McMoRan teamed up with Western New Mexico University (WNMU) to prepare welders for employment at their Chino and Tyrone mines in Grant County, New Mexico.
Freeport-McMoRan’s New Mexico operations donated $10,000 to the WNMU’s Department of Community and Workforce Development to buy equipment and supplies for the welding program.
The goal is to prepare welding students with the skills they need for a career at the company’s New Mexico operations, so they don’t have to leave their community for employment. These skills also may allow students to get higher-paying positions at home or abroad.
According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, more than 13,000 operations mine for metal ores, non-metallic minerals and coal in the United States. These mines provide the raw materials that are essential to a growing economy.
Freeport-McMoRan is a leading international mining company with headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz. Freeport-McMoRan operates seven open-pit copper mines in North America – five in Arizona and two in New Mexico. In addition to copper, some of the company’s North America copper mines produce molybdenum concentrate, gold and silver.