QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION (UNAUDITED) (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended															12 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013		Sep. 30, 2013		Jun. 30, 2013		Mar. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Sep. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011		Dec. 31, 2012 PT Freeport Indonesia [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 PT Freeport Indonesia [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 PT Freeport Indonesia [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Cerro Verde [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Cerro Verde [Member]		Dec. 31, 2013 Cerro Verde [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Cerro Verde [Member]		Dec. 31, 2012 Candelaria [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Candelaria [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Crude Oil and Natural Gas Swaps [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Crude Oil and Natural Gas Swaps [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Crude Oil and Natural Gas Swaps [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Crude Oil and Natural Gas Swaps [Member]	Jun. 30, 2014 McMoRan Exploration Co [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 McMoRan Exploration Co [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 McMoRan Exploration Co [Member]
Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 5,885	[1]	$ 6,165	[1]	$ 4,288	[1]	$ 4,583		$ 4,513		$ 4,417		$ 4,475	$ 4,605		$ 20,921	[1]	$ 18,010
Operating income	1,650	[2],[3]	1,707	[2]	639	[2]	1,355	[2]	1,358	[4],[5]	1,411		1,311	1,734		5,351	[2],[3]	5,814	[4],[5]	9,140
Net income	959	[6]	1,048		610	[6]	824		945		1,140	[7]	894	1,001		3,441	[6]	3,980	[7]	5,747
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	252		227		128		176		202		316	[7]	184	237		783		939	[7]
Net income attributable to FCX common stockholders	707	[1],[2],[3],[6],[8]	821	[1],[2]	482	[1],[2],[6],[8],[9]	648	[2],[8]	743	[4],[5]	824	[7]	710	764	[10]	2,658	[1],[2],[3],[6],[8],[9]	3,041	[10],[4],[5],[7]	4,560
Basic net income per share attributable to FCX common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.68		$ 0.79		$ 0.49		$ 0.68		$ 0.78		$ 0.87		$ 0.75	$ 0.81		$ 2.65		$ 3.20		$ 4.81
Diluted net income per share attributable to FCX common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.68	[1],[2],[3],[6],[8]	$ 0.79	[1],[2]	$ 0.49	[1],[2],[6],[8],[9]	$ 0.68	[2],[8]	$ 0.78	[4],[5]	$ 0.86	[7]	$ 0.74	$ 0.80	[10]	$ 2.64	[1],[2],[3],[6],[8],[9]	$ 3.19	[10],[4],[5],[7]	$ 4.78
Derivative Instruments Not Designated as Hedging Instruments, Gain (Loss), Net																																	118	158	36	312
Derivative Instruments Not Designated as Hedging Instruments, Gain (Loss), Net, Portion Attributable to Parent	73		98		23											194
Derivative Instruments Not Designated as Hedging Instruments, Gain (Loss), Net, Amount Per Share	$ 0.07		$ 0.09		$ 0.02											$ 0.19
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs	4		1		61		14		9							80		9
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs, Net of Tax	3		1		36		10		7							50		7
Business Combination, Acquisition Related Costs, Net of Tax, Amount Per Share					$ 0.04		$ 0.01		$ 0.01							$ 0.05		$ 0.01
Inventory Write-down	76															76
Inventory Write-down, Effect on Net Income	49															49
Inventory Write-down, Amount Per Share	$ 0.05															$ 0.05
Executive Employment Agreement Costs	37															37
Executive Employment Agreement Costs, Net of Tax	23															23
Executive Employment Agreement Costs, Amount Per Share	$ 0.02															$ 0.02
Charges For New Labor Agreements																									36			36			16	16
Charges For New Labor Agreements Effect On Net Income																									13			13			8	8
Charges For New Labor Agreements Effect on Diluted Earnings Per Share (in dollars per share)																									$ 0.01			$ 0.01			$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Extinguishment of Debt, Gain (Loss), Net of Tax	(7)				(5)		40							149		28		149
Extinguishment of Debt, Gain (Loss), Per Share, Net of Tax	$ (0.01)				$ (0.01)		$ 0.04							$ 0.16		$ 0.03		$ 0.16
Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Changes in Deferred Tax Liabilities and Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowances	16				183											199
Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Changes in Deferred Tax Liabilities and Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowances, Amount Per Share	$ 0.01				$ 0.19											$ 0.20
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest in Acquiree, Remeasurement Gain																128		0		0																	128	128	128
Business Combination, Step Acquisition, Equity Interest In Acquiree Remeasurement Gain, Amount Per Share																																						$ 0.13	$ 0.13
Gain on insurance settlement																0		59		0		59	59	59
Insurance Recoveries, Impact on Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders																						31		31
Insurance Recoveries, Impact on Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders, Per Share																						$ 0.03		$ 0.03
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) Associated with Changes in Foreign Tax Rates and Certain Tax Elections																(199)	[11]	(205)	[12],[13]	53	[14]					208	[12],[13]		205	[12],[13]
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) Associated with Changes in Foreign Tax Rates and Certain Tax Elections, Portion Attributable to Noncontrolling Interest																										108			107
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) Associated with Changes in Foreign Tax Rates and Certain Tax Elections, Net of Noncontrolling Interest																										$ 100			$ 98
Income Tax Expense (Benefit) Associated with Changes in Foreign Tax Rates and Certain Tax Elections, Net of Noncontrolling Interest, Per Share																										$ 0.11			$ 0.11

[1] Included charges of $36 million ($23 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.02 per share) in the second quarter, $158 million ($98 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.09 per share) in the third quarter, $118 million ($73 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.07 per share) in the fourth quarter and $312 million ($194 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.19 per share) for the year 2013 (reflecting the seven-month period from June 1, 2013, to December 31, 2013) for net unrealized and noncash realized losses on crude oil and natural gas derivative contracts.

[2] Included charges of $14 million ($10 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.01 per share) in the first quarter, $61 million ($36 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.04 per share) in the second quarter, $1 million ($1 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders) in the third quarter, $4 million ($3 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders) in the fourth quarter and $80 million ($50 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.05 per share) for the year for transaction and related costs principally associated with the acquisitions of PXP and MMR.

[3] Included charges in the fourth quarter and for the year of (i) $76 million ($49 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.05 per share) associated with updated mine plans at Morenci that resulted in a loss in recoverable copper in leach stockpiles, (ii) $37 million ($23 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.02 per share) associated with the restructuring of an executive employment arrangement and (iii) $36 million ($13 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.01 per share) associated with a new labor agreement at Cerro Verde.

[4] Included a gain of $59 million ($31 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.03 per share) in the fourth quarter and for the year for the settlement of the insurance claim for business interruption and property damage relating to the 2011 incidents affecting PT-FI's concentrate pipelines. Refer to Note 12 for further discussion.

[5] Included a charge of $16 million ($8 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.01 per share) in the fourth quarter and for the year associated with a labor agreement at Candelaria. Also included charges of $9 million ($7 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.01 per share) for costs associated with the PXP and MMR transactions.

[6] Included a net tax benefit of $183 million ($0.19 per share) in the second quarter, $16 million ($0.01 per share) in the fourth quarter and $199 million ($0.20 per share) for the year associated with net reductions in FCX's deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax asset valuation allowances related to the acquisitions of PXP and MMR.

[7] Included a net tax benefit of $208 million ($108 million attributable to noncontrolling interests and $100 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.11 per share) in the third quarter and $205 million ($107 million attributable to noncontrolling interests and $98 million to net income attributable to FCX common stockholders or $0.11 per share) for the year associated with adjustments to Cerro Verde's deferred income taxes. Refer to Note 11 for further discussion.

[8] Included net losses (gains) on early extinguishment of debt totaling $40 million ($0.04 per share) in the first quarter, $(5) million ($(0.01) per share) in the second quarter for an adjustment related to taxes on the first quarter losses, $(7) million ($(0.01) per share) in the fourth quarter and $28 million ($0.03 per share) for the year. Refer to Note 8 for further discussion.

[9] Included a gain of $128 million ($0.13 per share) in the second quarter and for the year primarily related to FCX's preferred stock investment in and the subsequent acquisition of MMR.

[10] Included losses on early extinguishment of debt totaling $149 million ($0.16 per share) in the first quarter and for the year. Refer to Note 8 for further discussion.

[11] As a result of the oil and gas acquisitions, FCX recognized a net tax benefit of $199 million consisting of income tax benefits of $190 million associated with net reductions in FCX's valuation allowances, $69 million related to the release of the deferred tax liability on PXP's investment in MMR common stock and $16 million associated with the revaluation of state deferred tax liabilities, partially offset by income tax expense of $76 million associated with the write off of deferred tax assets related to environmental liabilities.

[12] With the exception of TFM, FCX has not elected to permanently reinvest earnings from its foreign subsidiaries and has recorded deferred tax liabilities for foreign earnings that are available to be repatriated to the U.S. Cerro Verde previously recorded deferred Peruvian income tax liabilities for income taxes that would become payable if the reinvested profits used to fund the initial Cerro Verde sulfide expansion were distributed prior to the expiration of Cerro Verde's 1998 stability agreement on December 31, 2013. Because reinvested profits at Cerro Verde were not expected to be distributed prior to December 31, 2013, a net deferred income tax liability of $234 million was reversed and recognized as an income tax benefit in 2012.

[13] In 2012, Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde S.A.A. (Cerro Verde) signed a new 15-year mining stability agreement with the Peruvian government, which became effective January 1, 2014. In connection with the new mining stability agreement, Cerro Verde's income tax rate increased from 30 percent to 32 percent, and FCX recognized additional deferred tax expense of $29 million.

[14] In September 2011, Peru enacted a new mining tax and royalty regime and also created a special mining burden that companies with stability agreements could elect to pay. Cerro Verde elected to pay this special mining burden during the remaining term of its 1998 stability agreement, which expired on December 31, 2013. As a result, Cerro Verde recognized additional tax expense of $53 million