Cerro Verde, a Freeport-McMoRan Company, Receives National Award for Water Treatment Efforts

January 23, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Cerro Verde recently received a 2012 Sustainable Development Award by the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy for its project to expand and improve the potable water system in Arequipa, Peru.

The site financed construction of the plant, which will double Arequipa’s water treatment capacity. At full capacity, it will make Arequipa the only city in the country capable of providing 100 percent of its population with potable water 24 hours a day.

“We are proud of this recognition,” said Bruce Clements, President-Cerro Verde. “Our support of projects like this helps improve quality of life by providing long term, sustainable access to clean water, which is a major challenge of this region.”

Cerro Verde and residents of nearby Arequipa celebrated the plant’s grand opening earlier this year at a nationally televised ceremony attended by Peruvian President Ollanta Humala.

The project initially benefits 300,000 residents – some of whom only had access to potable water for one or two hours a day – and is designed to be expanded to eventually serve the entire population of Arequipa.

For further information about how Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. manages water usage, please visit their website athttp://www.fcx.com/envir/envir_water.htm

Please see the 2011 Working Toward Sustainable Development Report for more information on all of their social, economic and environmental efforts.http://www.fcx.com/envir/wtsd/pdf-wtsd/2011/WTSD_Bk_2011.pdf