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Debt and Equity (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Millions		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 04, 2020	Apr. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019	Apr. 03, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Total Debt [Abstract]
Current portion of debt				$ (245)
Long-term Debt, Current Maturities				245			$ 5
Long-term debt, less current portion				9,829
Debt							9,826
Long-term Debt and Lease Obligation, Including Current Maturities				10,074
Proceeds from repayment of debt	$ 1,290
Net gain (loss) on exchanges and early extinguishment of debt				(32)	$ (6)
Interest costs				$ 171	$ 178
Dividends declared per share of common stock (in dollars per share)				$ 0	$ 0.05
COVID Response, Dividend Suspended, Price Per Share				$ 0.05
Long-term debt, less current portion				$ 9,829			9,821
Senior Notes due 2028, 4.125% [Member] [Domain]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt	$ 700
Stated interest rate	4.125%
Senior Notes due 2030, 4.25% [Member] [Domain]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt	$ 600
Stated interest rate	4.25%
Senior Notes due 2021, 4.00%
Total Debt [Abstract]
Stated interest rate	4.00%
3.55% Senior Notes Due 2022 [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Stated interest rate	3.55%
Property, Plant and Equipment [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Interest costs capitalized				44	$ 32
Line of Credit [Member] \| Cerro Verde [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt							826
Long-term Debt and Lease Obligation, Including Current Maturities				826
Line of Credit [Member] \| Letter of Credit [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Letter of credit				13
Revolving credit facility, availability				1,500
Line of Credit [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt				0
Revolving credit facility, availability				3,500
Line of Credit [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Maturing 2024 [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Revolving credit facility, availability				3,280
Line of Credit [Member] \| Revolving Credit Facility [Member] \| Maturing 2023 [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Revolving credit facility, availability				220
Senior Notes [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt, principal				1,115
Net gain (loss) on exchanges and early extinguishment of debt				32
Net Adjustments				5
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount				1,110
Tender Value				1,142
Senior Notes [Member] \| Senior Notes due 2021, 4.00%
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt, principal				40
Net gain (loss) on exchanges and early extinguishment of debt				2
Net Adjustments				0
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount				40
Tender Value				42
Senior Notes [Member] \| 3.55% Senior Notes Due 2022 [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt, principal				1,075
Net gain (loss) on exchanges and early extinguishment of debt				30
Net Adjustments				5
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount				1,070
Tender Value				1,100
Senior Notes [Member] \| FCX [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Long-term Debt and Lease Obligation, Including Current Maturities				8,773			8,602
Debentures [Member] \| Freeport McMoRan Corporation [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Long-term Debt and Lease Obligation, Including Current Maturities				357			357
Other Debt, Including Capital Leases and Short Term Borrowings [Member]
Total Debt [Abstract]
Debt							$ 41
Long-term Debt and Lease Obligation, Including Current Maturities				$ 118
Subsequent event \| Senior Notes due 2021, 4.00%
Total Debt [Abstract]
Stated interest rate						4.00%
Subsequent event \| Senior Notes [Member] \| Senior Notes due 2021, 4.00%
Total Debt [Abstract]
Extinguishment of Debt, Amount		$ 154
Forecast
Total Debt [Abstract]
Net gain (loss) on exchanges and early extinguishment of debt			$ (9)