[A-List] The 'Bright Side' Of Global Economic Mayhem - Corporate Extractive Resource Looters Experiencing Lower Demand

[Leighm]

DENVER - Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. said Monday it would cut 
molybdenum production and lay off 14 percent of its work force at a 
Colorado mine, citing a 60 percent drop in price and slowing global 
economic conditions.

The world's largest publicly traded copper producer also said it would 
delay the long-planned restart of a molybdenum mine near Leadville, 
Colo., and re-evaluate molybdenum produced as a byproduct at its other 
mines.

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Molybdenum, a metal used in strengthening steel and some chemical 
businesses, has enjoyed a strong market recently but the price has 
fallen significantly due to slowing global demand, the credit crisis and 
tumultuous financial markets, Phoenix-based Freeport-McMoRan said.

The price averaged $30 a pound last year and about $33 a pound in the 
first nine months of the year. However, since mid-October, the price has 
fallen from $30 a pound to $12 a pound as of Monday, the company said, 
citing the Metals Week Molybdenum Dealer Oxide price.

In Full: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/11/10/ap5672623.html