NEWS RELEASE
                                        NYSE  Common  Stock  Symbol:"FCX"

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.    Financial Contact:   Media Contact:
1615 Poydras Street                    Chris D. Sammons     William L. Collier
New Orleans, LA 70112                  (504) 582-4474       (504) 582-1750

               FREEPORT-McMoRan COPPER & GOLD REPORTS
                 STRONG THIRD QUARTER PRODUCTION AND
      VISIT BY CEO MOFFETT TO GRASBERG OPERATIONS IN INDONESIA

NEW ORLEANS, LA, September 25, 2002 - Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold
Inc. (NYSE:FCX) reported today that Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer James R. Moffett has visited its Grasberg copper and gold
mining operations in Papua, Indonesia and will report on the visit
on a conference call today with financial analysts.  The conference
call will be broadcast live on the internet today at 1:30 p.m. EDT
and may be accessed on the "FCX.com" internet site.

     Mr. Moffett said, "After visiting our Grasberg mining
operations in Papua, earlier today, I am pleased to report that as
previously reported, we continue mining higher-grade ore and our
mining operations are performing in a strong fashion.   As a result,
we now expect to exceed our previous estimates of copper and gold
production and sales for the third quarter.  Based on production
through today, we now estimate that aggregate mine production and
sales for the quarter will exceed 510 million pounds of copper and
1,000,000 ounces of gold.  We now estimate that PT-FI's share of
copper and gold sales will exceed 440 million pounds and 840,000
ounces, including sales to our affiliated smelters, approximating or
exceeding previous quarterly records."

     Mr. Moffett added, "I am also pleased to report that the morale
of our personnel is high following the shooting incident that
occurred several weeks ago on a remote road near Tembagapura, the
primary town site in the highland area of our operations."

     Indonesian authorities continue to investigate the incident.
The identity of the perpetrators has not been reported.  PT Freeport
Indonesia (PT-FI), FCX's Indonesian subsidiary, is cooperating with
the investigation and appreciates the effort of the Indonesian
authorities in maintaining safety and security for its personnel and
operations.  PT-FI also appreciates the strong support expressed by
the Papuan provincial and local governments and by the local people
residing in the area of its operations.  All parties have condemned
the attacks and expressed positive sentiments about PT-FI's
contributions to the country of Indonesia, the province of Papua and
the local communities.

     FCX explores for, develops, mines and processes ore containing
copper, gold and silver in Indonesia, and smelts and refines copper
concentrates in Spain and Indonesia.

Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking
statements in which we discuss factors we believe may affect our
financial performance in the future. Forward-looking statements are
all statements other than historical facts, such as statements
regarding anticipated production and sales volumes.  Important
factors that might cause future results to differ from these
projections include production risks, industry risks, shipping
schedule risks, Indonesian political risks and other factors
described in FCX's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2001, filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.