Cyprus Amax Minerals

US mining company

Cyprus Amax Minerals Company

Company type| Formerly listed on NYSE
Industry| nonferrous metals
Predecessor| Cyprus Mines Corporation
Founded| 1916
Founder| Seeley W. Mudd
Defunct| 1999
Fate| Merged with Phelps Dodge
Successor| Cyprus Amax Minerals

Cyprus Amax Minerals was a major US-based mining company formed in 1993 through the merger of AMAX with the Cyprus Minerals Company. It was one of the world's largest producers of Molybdenum and Lithium and a leading producer of copper and coal. It also produced iron ore and gold. It was acquired by the Phelps Dodge Corporation in 1999.

## Background

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In 1979, Cyprus Mines Corporation was acquired by Amoco Corporation. Amoco expanded Cyprus into a diversified worldwide mining company. Amoco spun off Cyprus Minerals Company in 1985.[1]

In 1986, Cyprus acquired the Sierrita copper and molybdenum mine near Tucson, Arizona.

In July 1988, Cyprus Minerals bought the Inspiration mine and smelting complex in Miami, Arizona.[2] With the expiry of an agreement to purchase electricity at a favorable rate from the Salt River Project, Cyprus Minerals installed an ISASMELT furnace in its copper smelter.[3] This was the first large-scale installation of the ISASMELT process, which was developed jointly by Mount Isa Mines Limited and the Australian government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ("CSIRO").[4]

AMAX Inc. (formerly the American Metal Company) was a mining company based in New York with interests in coal and gold. It was the result of the merger, in 1957, between the long-established American Metal Company and the Climax Molybdenum Company.[5]

## Merger

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In 1993, AMAX Inc. merged with the Cyprus Minerals Company to form Cyprus Amax Minerals Company. The merged entity was the world's leading producer of molybdenum and lithium, and a leading producer of copper and coal. The company had operations in 24 states and on six continents.

## Acquisition and Later History

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In late 1999, Cyprus Amax Minerals was acquired by Phelps Dodge Corporation, which in turn was acquired by Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) in 2007, forming the world's largest copper producer.[6][7]

## References

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1. ^ "Company History: Cyprus Amax Minerals Company". Funding Universe. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
2. ^ G W LaChapelle and J S Dyas, "Cyprus Miami property overview and mine modernization," Mining Engineering, 45(4), April 1993, 344–346.
3. ^ R R Bhappu, K H Larson and R D Tunis, ‘Cyprus Miami Mining Corporation – smelter modernization project summary and status,’ in: EPD Congress 1994, Ed. G Warren (The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society: Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 1993), 555–570.
4. ^ P S Arthur and S P Hunt, ‘ISASMELT – 25 years of continuous evolution,’ in: The John Floyd International Symposium on Sustainable Developments in Metals Processing, Melbourne, 3–6 July 2005, Eds. M Nilmani and W J Rankin (NCS Associates (Australia) Pty Ltd, 2005), 73–94.
5. ^ "Conservationist Harold K. Hochschild, the former head of a large metals company and an active Adirondacks historian and conservationist, died Friday". The New York Times. 25 January 1981. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
6. ^ "Cyprus Amax Minerals Company: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
7. ^ "History of Cyprus Amax Minerals Company – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved 29 August 2017.

## Further reading

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* International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 21. St. James Press, 1998.