have so much passion about safety . Having lived through that , unfortunately , it makes you committed that much more to being as safe as we can be .
Q :
Moving from safety to the supporting pillars , what impact do you believe the copper market has on Leach to the Last Drop and the maintenance and reliability work being performed ?
The copper market is going to be what it ’ s going to be in the sense that we don ’ t control any of that . What we do control is whether we achieve those plans that we ’ ve built together . If we achieve those plans , we ’ re going to position ourselves to be well placed for however that demand grows . As you think about increased demand , there are various ways to take advantage of it . The most important way to take advantage of it is meeting our safe production plans . Secondly , the opportunity to improve our processes , whether that be through the maintenance and reliability efforts or Leach to the Last Drop , is the best line of sight we have to additional production . You can do that via large-scale capital projects , the Bagdad 2X , the El Abra sulfide project , the Lone Star long-term sulfide projects . These are significant projects that will bring in a lot of copper .
Q :
Where does responsibility lie when it comes to developing frontline employees and supervisors ?
I think development of people is the responsibility of us all . As an organization , we really have to be thinking about the skill sets we need to support our business , whether that ’ s from a supervisory or management perspective or from an hourly perspective . We need to be thinking about how we help the folks in the organization attain those skills . That said , it ’ s also incumbent on the person to be willing to learn and take on the ownership to learn , grow and improve their skills .
Q :
What are the conditions that have made attracting , hiring and retaining employees such a current challenge for the company ?
I think there are a couple of things . One , just the general economy in the U . S . has driven it . I think the pandemic facilitated that . More and more people were working remotely , which may have led them to finding other ways to work . You combine that with challenges with housing , whether that ’ s in some of our company towns of Morenci and Bagdad or in the communities where we have mines but don ’ t own housing . Affordable housing is a challenge across many parts of the U . S . All those things are different than they were previously , and they have led to a challenge .
Q :
Finally , what is the most common piece of advice you offer employees looking for guidance in their own careers ?
I always tell people to get comfortable on the uncomfortable part of the learning curve . Just get used to that feeling and figure it out . There are lots of people who know a lot about this business . Take advantage of that . Let them help you . You don ’ t need to know everything . In the U . S ., we have 12,000 employees . They all have brains , they all have thoughts and they all have experience . Find a way to leverage that .
Freeport Americas 2023 Priorities
SINGLE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE
Remain laser-focused on achieving quarterly safe production plans
SUPPORTING PILLARS
Leach to the Last Drop
Deliver incremental 200 million cubic pounds by end of 2023
• All potential leach material under irrigation , including slide slopes and lower lifts
• Mechanized installation and removal solutions for covers in use at every site
• 100 percent of leach stockpile surface area covered
Maintenance and Reliability
Drive improved equipment reliability through maintenance and execution to achieve incremental 100 cubic pounds
• Outline programs that deliver reliability
• Sites roadmap what to do , plan and execute in 2023 and beyond
Develop assessment structure and tools to measure performance and impact of efforts
Development of frontline employees and supervisors
• Provide what our employees and leaders need to empower great teams to do work safely
• Determine what our leaders need to succeed now and in the future
• Outline and build programs that support these highest priorities
Attracting , hiring , retaining to meet needs of the plan
Situate ourselves to be a foremost mining employer
• Create an employee experience where every employee feels a sense of belonging , inclusion and connection to the Freeport story