Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Announces Increase in Annual Common Stock Dividend to $1.25 per Share

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) announced today that its
Board of Directors has authorized an increase in its annual common stock
dividend from $1.00 per share to $1.25 per share. Dividends are paid
quarterly as declared by the Board with the initial quarterly dividend
of $0.3125 per share expected to be paid in May 2012.

James R. Moffett, Chairman of the Board of FCX, and Richard C.
Adkerson, FCX′s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, 'The
Board′s action to increase the regular cash dividend to be paid to
holders of our common stock reflects our financial strength and positive
outlook for our business.Our financial policy, which is reviewed
on an ongoing basis by our Board of Directors, is designed to maintain a
strong credit profile to support our operations, provide flexibility for
financially attractive investments and provide attractive returns to
shareholders.?

The declaration and payment of dividends is at the discretion of the
Board and will depend on the company's financial results, cash
requirements, future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the
Board.

FCX has approximately 948 million shares of common stock outstanding.

FCX is a leading international mining company with headquarters in
Phoenix, Arizona. FCX operates large, long-lived, geographically diverse
assets with significant proven and probable reserves of copper, gold and
molybdenum. FCX has a dynamic portfolio of operating, expansion and
growth projects in the copper industry and is the world′s largest
producer of molybdenum.

The company′s portfolio of assets includes the Grasberg minerals
district in Indonesia, the world′s largest copper and gold mine in terms
of recoverable reserves; significant mining operations in the Americas,
including the large scale Morenci minerals district in North America and
the Cerro Verde and El Abra operations in South America; and the Tenke
Fungurume minerals district in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Cautionary Statement.This press release contains
forward-looking statements in which we discuss factors we believe may
affect our performance in the future.Forward-looking statements
are all statements other than historical facts, such as statements
regarding timing of dividend payments.The declaration of
dividends is at the discretion of the Company's Board of Directors and
will depend on the Company's financial results, cash requirements,
future prospects, and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.Additionally,
important factors that might cause future results to differ from these
projections include mine sequencing, production rates, industry risks,
commodity prices, political risks, weather-related risks, labor
relations, currency translation risks and other factors described in
FCX's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010,
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

David P. Joint,
504-582-4203