Freeport chairman exits amid deepening commodities rout

Chicago

FREEPORT-McMoRan Inc co-founder James "Jim Bob" Moffett's last big gamble as head of the world's largest copper miner was a US$1.2 billion wrong-way bet 10 kilometres beneath the Louisiana coastline.

Mr Moffett, a legendary wildcatter and geologist whose credits include the gigantic Grasberg copper deposit in Indonesia, is stepping down as chairman and director at Freeport as the minerals, oil and gas producer turns to cutbacks and cash preservation amid a deepening commodities meltdown. In August, activist investor Carl Icahn said he intended to pressure Freeport to cut costs, including executive pay.