"Freeport's $33 billion market value is far below replacement value, or the value to a strategic buyer seeking decades of reserves. This year Barrick Gold (ABX) paid $7.5 billion to buy Australian copper miner Equinox Minerals, a price, says Credit Suisse, that would peg Freeport's copper resources at about $123 billion, or $129 a share—not including its gold or molybdenum." |