, Columnist
BHP Should Buy Freeport
The Australian company could become the world's biggest copper miner, with an awful lot of debt.
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If there's any big mining deal that should be happening right now, it's a takeover of Freeport-McMoRan by BHP Billiton.
Most large resources companies pick either solids (mining) or liquids (oil and gas). BHP and Freeport are rare in keeping a foot in both camps. They also share an optimistic view of the long-term outlook for Freeport's key assets, copper and petroleum.