Freeport Probed by SEC Over Quake Risk at Indonesia Copper Plant
- Anonymous complaint alleges gap in disclosures to investors
- Mining giant rejects claims about $3.7 billion smelter complex
This article is for subscribers only.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether Freeport-McMoRan Inc. failed to disclose threats a severe earthquake could pose to its new $3.7 billion copper smelter complex in Indonesia, according to people familiar with the matter.
SEC officials began reviewing whether the firm should have made certain disclosures to investors after a senior engineer who worked as a contractor for Freeport filed a whistleblower complaint with the regulator, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential matter. The unidentified former contractor alleged the complex could collapse into the sea during a significant tremor, according to a copy of the document reviewed by Bloomberg News.