Blackwell Zinc Company, Inc. operated a smelter in Blackwell, Oklahoma from 1922 until 1974. Bartlesville Zinc Company, a former subsidiary of Cyprus Amax Minerals Company (a current subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Corporation), also operated the Blackwell smelter from 1916 to 1922. During that time, smelter-related materials contributed in part to elevated concentrations of metals found in soil and groundwater in certain areas of Blackwell.

When the Blackwell smelter was last operated, Blackwell Zinc Company, Inc. was owned by a subsidiary of Amax Inc., a mining and metals processing company. Amax Inc. was acquired by merger with Cyprus Minerals Company, a mining company, which formed Cyprus Amax Minerals Company in 1993. Phelps Dodge Corporation, a copper mining company acquired Cyprus Amax Minerals Company in 1999. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. acquired Phelps Dodge Corporation in 2007, and changed the name of Phelps Dodge Corporation to Freeport-McMoRan Corporation ("Freeport-McMoRan"). Freeport-McMoRan never operated the Blackwell smelter, nor contributed to the environmental issues that resulted from operations at the facility.

An original soil cleanup program, which was approved by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), was conducted in the 1990s by Cyprus Amax Minerals Company and was effective in the areas of Blackwell where remediation was conducted. Consistent with private property rights, the soil cleanup plan relied in part on the consent of property owners to address areas on their property that may have been affected by placement of smelter materials, such as for use as fill material or to construct driveways. As part of the initial soil cleanup effort, participating property owners had their yards sampled and, if soil was found to exceed the ODEQ-approved cleanup standards, the soil in the entire affected yard area was removed and replaced with clean soil.

In 2007, Freeport-McMoRan initiated a supplemental soil program to give owners of properties that did not participate under the previous program an additional opportunity to participate. Freeport-McMoRan has worked diligently with state and local authorities to develop a responsible and effective plan to address environmental conditions related to the former smelter operations

The cleanup levels and procedures were established by ODEQ as part of the original soil cleanup program with input from public meetings in Blackwell as well as opportunities for written public comment. To ensure adequate communication with the public during this extended program, Freeport-McMoRan has opened the local Blackwell Community Outreach office where property owners can ask questions and receive information about the sampling and cleanup program. Freeport-McMoRan also has held public meetings, met with community groups, developed newsletters and fact sheets, and provided status reports and other information through newspaper, radio and the Internet.

The residential soil remediation work has been very effective to date, and upon completion will meet ODEQ requirements for cleaning up soils that may have been impacted by historical smelter operations in Blackwell..

See our Progress Report section for further updates on the progress of Freeport-McMoRan's activities in Blackwell.