Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Declares $1.00 per Share Supplemental Common Stock Dividend and Two-for-one Stock Split

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) announced today that its
Board of Directors has declared a supplemental common stock dividend of
$1.00 per share to be paid on December 30, 2010 to shareholders of
record as of December 20, 2010. The supplemental dividend to be paid in
December represents an addition to FCX′s regular quarterly common stock
dividend. In October 2010, FCX′s Board of Directors announced that it
has authorized an increase in its annual common stock dividend from
$1.20 per share to $2.00 per share.

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. Based on approximately 471 million common shares currently
outstanding, the December 30, 2010 supplemental dividend payment will
approximate $471 million.

FCX also announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a
two-for-one split of its common stock. The split will be effected in the
form of a stock dividend payable on February 1, 2011 to shareholders of
record on January 15, 2011. Shareholders will receive one additional
share of common stock for each share of common stock held on the record
date. The additional shares will be issued to shareholders on February
1, 2011. As a result of the stock split, the number of outstanding
shares of common stock will increase to approximately 942 million from
approximately 471 million.

The regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 per share is expected to be
paid on February 1, 2011 on pre-split shares. FCX will begin trading on
the NYSE on a split adjusted basis on February 2, 2011. After taking the
stock split into account, the regular cash dividend is expected to be
$1.00 per share per annum, payable quarterly at a rate of $0.25 per
share, after the February 1, 2011 regular dividend and stock dividend.

James R. Moffett, Chairman of the Board andRichard C.
Adkerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of FCX, said, 'The
authorization of this supplemental dividend reflects the strong current
cash position and significant cash flows being generated by our global
operations.The Board′s decision to split the stock reflects the
strong share price performance of our shares and positive outlook for
our business.Our financial strength combined with the positive
market environment and outlook will enable us to continue to invest
aggressively in our attractive portfolio of growth projects and enable
us to grow our assets while providing strong returns to shareholders.?

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 mining complex,
the world′s largest copper and gold mine in terms of recoverable
reserves, significant mining operations in the Americas, including the
large scale Morenci and Safford minerals districts 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.
Additional information about FCX is available on FCX′s web site at www.fcx.com.

Cautionary Statement.This press release contains
forward-looking statements in which we discuss factors we believe may
affect our potential future performance.Forward-looking
statements are all statements other than historical facts, such as
statements regarding timing of dividend payments.The declaration
and payment 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, 2009, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

Financial
Contacts:

Kathleen L. Quirk, 602-366-8016

David
P. Joint, 504-582-4203

or

Media Contact:

Eric
E. Kinneberg, 602-366-7994