---
id: "entity-freeport-mcmoran"
type: "entity"
entityType: "organization"
canonicalName: "Freeport-McMoRan"
aliases: ["Freeport-McMoRan"]
source_timestamps: ["§ 2. A network of partners"]
tags: ["mining", "case-study"]
related: ["concept-cross-industry-ai-analogies"]
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2025/01/what-companies-succeeding-with-ai-do-differently"
source_title: "What Companies Succeeding with AI Do Differently"
sources: ["execution"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-execution"
originDay: 8
articleStem: "hbr-cl-89-companies-succeeding-with-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/01/what-companies-succeeding-with-ai-do-differently"
sourceTitle: "What Companies Succeeding with AI Do Differently"
---
# Freeport-McMoRan

**Freeport-McMoRan** is a large mining company cited as the flagship example of [[concept-cross-industry-ai-analogies|cross-industry AI analogies]] (pillar #2 of [[framework-four-pillars-of-ai-success]]).

**Case narrative:** Before investing heavily in AI, Freeport-McMoRan studied how **pharmaceutical companies** used AI to **map molecules**, then applied those lessons to **map chemical compounds** in their own mining operations. The takeaway: borrow mature methodologies from unrelated sectors instead of reinventing them.

The cross-industry-analogy strategy is well supported in management literature; this specific pharma-to-mining story is best treated as a reported case study from the authors.

*Canonical reference:* `https://www.fcx.com`.