Atticus Capital to Vote for Freeport-McMoRans Acquisition of Phelps Dodge

Atticus Capital today sent the following letter to Richard C. Adkerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold, Inc. :

January 12, 2007

Mr. Richard C. Adkerson President and CEO Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc., 1615 Poydras Street

New Orleans, LA 70112

Dear Richard:

We have greatly enjoyed our interactions and discussions since you announced the transaction between Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. (“Freeport-McMoRan”) and Phelps Dodge Corp. (“Phelps Dodge”).

We are writing to inform you of the following:

1. We have today changed our Phelps Dodge ownership reporting from a 13D to a 13G, because we no longer intend to influence the company. In the absence of a higher offer for Phelps Dodge, our current intention

is to vote for the merger with Freeport-McMoRan.

2. Atticus Capital LP and its affiliates currently beneficially own approximately 6 million shares of Freeport-McMoRan, representing approximately 3% of outstanding shares. We have acquired this

position since the announcement of the Phelps Dodge transaction.

3. Following the closing of this transaction, Atticus currently expects to be one of the largest shareholders of the combined company, with

approximately a 6% stake.

We have a high regard for your company and management team. We also congratulate you on transforming Freeport-McMoRan from a single-asset company into one of the world’s top five mining groups, with geographic diversity and an unrivaled pipeline of growth assets.

We are very excited about being one of the largest shareholders in the combined company, which will have an attractive mix of assets. We believe that the combined company will have significant opportunities to create value for shareholders, including through the potential monetization of assets, such as the gold income stream. In this regard, we have read with interest the Prudential Equity Group’s recent analyst report on the combined company.

We look forward to participating in the future success of Freeport-
McMoRan.

Sincerely,

Timothy R. Barakett David Slager
Chairman and CEO Vice-Chairman

About Atticus Capital LP

Atticus Capital, LP, is a leading asset management firm, with more than $13.5 billion of assets under management. Founded by Timothy Barakett in 1995, the firm is headquartered in New York with an office in London. Atticus invests in global securities markets on behalf of major institutions, endowments, pension funds, and private investors. Timothy Barakett, Chairman and CEO, and David Slager, Vice Chairman, lead the firm’s portfolio management team. Nathaniel Rothschild, Co-Chairman, and Matthew Edmonds, President, also sit on the firm’s management committee.

Source: Atticus Capital LP