Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold-supported Elementary School in Chile Ranks Among Top 10 Best Private Schools

June 25, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Copiapó’s San Lorenzo School – which the Company built in 1990 and still supports – recently ranked first in the Atacama Region of Chile based on student scores on the national SIMCE assessment. The school also ranked second in the nation among private schools for fourth-grade test scores and ninth in the nation for 10th-grade scores.

“We have a long history with the school that spans more than 20 years and congratulate its staff on achieving such great learning outcomes,” said Peter Quinn, the President of the Candelaria copper mine.

“Education is an important focus of our community engagement programs and activities, and we are proud that children and families in communities surrounding our operation have access to quality education.”

The SIMCE, which stands for Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación or Education Quality Management System, is administered by the Chilean Ministry of Education in specific grades each year.

The national government’s Agency on Quality Education uses the results to assess school learning outcomes and evaluate student achievement across the country in a variety of curricular subjects, with a focus on language and math. The assessment provides key information, which the education community can use to evaluate student achievement, identify challenges and strengths, and develop and revise teaching strategies to improve learning.

“These extraordinary test results are due to a very clear vision and mission, which we have embraced through a rigorous program to improve education over the long term, and which we have been encouraging – together with Freeport-McMoRan – for several years,” said School Principal Isidoro Zambrano Soto.

For further information about how Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. supports the communities in which they operate, please visit their website at http://www.fcx.com/envir/soc_com.htm

Please see the 2011 Working Toward Sustainable Development Report for more information on all of their social, economic and environmental efforts. http://www.fcx.com/envir/wtsd/pdf-wtsd/2011/WTSD_Bk_2011.pdf