BUSINESS SEGMENTS INFORMATION (Segment Reporting) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 4,377	$ 3,877	$ 3,334	$ 3,242	$ 3,516	$ 3,382	$ 3,938	$ 3,771	$ 14,830	$ 14,607	$ 20,001
Production and delivery									10,697	10,693	11,116
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									2,530	3,240	3,635
Impairment of oil and gas properties		239	291	3,800	3,700	3,700	2,700	3,100	4,317	13,144	3,737
Metals inventory adjustments	9	20	2	5	184	91	59	4	36	338	6
Selling, general and administrative expenses									607	558	580
Mining exploration and research expenses									64	107	106
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									20	78	119
Goodwill impairment									0	0	1,717
Net gain on sales of assets	113		(13)	(749)				(39)	(649)	(39)	(717)
Operating income (loss)	703	359	$ 18	$ (3,872)	(4,097)	(3,964)	$ (2,421)	$ (3,030)	(2,792)	(13,512)	(298)
Interest expense, net									755	617	606
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									371	(1,951)	225
Total assets	37,317				46,577				37,317	46,577	58,674
Capital expenditures									2,813	6,353	7,215
Restructuring and asset impairment charges	16	$ 17			53	$ 92			33	145
Oil and Gas idle rig costs, inventory adjustments and asset impairments									1,000
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restructuring charges									(85)
Cerro Verde
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Restructuring and asset impairment charges									16
Grasberg
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Capital expenditures									1,025	901	935
Molybdenum
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Capital expenditures									2	13	54
U.S. Oil & Gas Operations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Capital expenditures									1,127	2,948	3,205
South America
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Capital expenditures									382	1,722	1,785
Indonesia
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									1,402	1,054	1,792
Restructuring and asset impairment charges									17
Operating Segments | Total Mining
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									13,317	12,612	15,291
Production and delivery									8,843	9,483	9,877
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									1,647	1,422	1,330
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									36	338	6
Selling, general and administrative expenses									136	149	151
Mining exploration and research expenses									64	107	106
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									19	77	118
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									(643)	(39)	(717)
Operating income (loss)									3,215	1,075	4,420
Interest expense, net									181	105	102
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									658	199	1,045
Total assets	33,130				38,155				33,130	38,155	37,120
Capital expenditures									1,638	3,295	3,981
Operating Segments | Molybdenum
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									0	0	0
Production and delivery									199	312	328
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									68	97	92
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									15	11	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									0	0	0
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									(96)	(72)	167
Interest expense, net									0	0	0
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	1,934				1,999				1,934	1,999	2,095
Capital expenditures									2	13	54
Restructuring and asset impairment charges										7
Operating Segments | Rod & Refining
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									3,833	4,125	4,626
Production and delivery									3,836	4,129	4,633
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									10	9	10
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									0	0	0
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									16	16	12
Interest expense, net									0	0	0
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	220				219				220	219	235
Capital expenditures									1	4	4
Restructuring and asset impairment charges										3
Operating Segments | Atlantic Copper Smelting & Refining
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									1,825	1,955	2,391
Production and delivery									1,712	1,848	2,356
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									29	39	41
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									17	16	17
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									72	67	(2)
Interest expense, net									15	10	13
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	658				612				658	612	898
Capital expenditures									17	23	17
Operating Segments | U.S. Oil & Gas Operations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									1,513	1,994	4,710
Production and delivery									1,801	1,211	1,237
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									869	1,804	2,291
Impairment of oil and gas properties									4,299	12,980	3,737
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									254	188	207
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											1,717
Net gain on sales of assets									1	0	0
Operating income (loss)									(5,711)	(14,189)	(4,479)
Interest expense, net									369	186	241
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	467				8,141				467	8,141	20,834
Capital expenditures									1,127	2,948	3,205
Gain (loss) on energy contracts									(35)	87	505
Charges at oil and gas operations, before tax											46
Operating Segments | North America
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									684	909	700
Production and delivery									2,932	3,799	3,440
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									530	560	484
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									1	142	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									5	6	5
Mining exploration and research expenses									3	7	8
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	3	(5)
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									(576)	(39)	(14)
Operating income (loss)									1,479	648	1,698
Interest expense, net									4	4	4
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	7,311				8,445				7,311	8,445	9,391
Capital expenditures									102	355	969
Operating Segments | North America | Morenci
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									444	558	364
Production and delivery									1,169	1,523	1,287
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									217	217	168
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									2	3	2
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									(576)	0	0
Operating income (loss)									1,143	461	659
Interest expense, net									3	2	3
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	2,863				3,567				2,863	3,567	3,780
Capital expenditures									77	253	826
Operating Segments | North America | Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									240	351	336
Production and delivery									1,763	2,276	2,153
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									313	343	316
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									1	142	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									3	3	3
Mining exploration and research expenses									3	7	8
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	3	(5)
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	(39)	(14)
Operating income (loss)									336	187	1,039
Interest expense, net									1	2	1
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	0
Total assets	4,448				4,878				4,448	4,878	5,611
Capital expenditures									25	102	143
Restructuring and asset impairment charges										99
Operating Segments | South America
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									2,751	1,873	3,022
Production and delivery									1,758	1,438	1,939
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									553	352	367
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	73	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									9	4	6
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									618	67	1,220
Interest expense, net									82	16	1
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									216	4	531
Total assets	10,609				11,106				10,609	11,106	9,483
Capital expenditures									382	1,722	1,785
Restructuring and asset impairment charges										13
Operating Segments | South America | Cerro Verde
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									2,241	1,065	1,282
Production and delivery									1,351	815	741
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									443	219	159
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									8	3	3
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									626	96	585
Interest expense, net									82	16	1
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									222	13	265
Total assets	9,076				9,445				9,076	9,445	7,490
Capital expenditures									380	1,674	1,691
Operating Segments | South America | Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									510	808	1,740
Production and delivery									407	623	1,198
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									110	133	208
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	73	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									1	1	3
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									(8)	(29)	635
Interest expense, net									0	0	0
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									(6)	(9)	266
Total assets	1,533				1,661				1,533	1,661	1,993
Capital expenditures									2	48	94
Operating Segments | Indonesia | Grasberg
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									3,233	2,617	2,848
Production and delivery									1,794	1,808	1,988
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									384	293	266
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									90	103	98
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									0	0	0
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									0	0	0
Operating income (loss)									1,027	449	719
Interest expense, net									0	0	0
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									442	195	293
Total assets	10,954				9,357				10,954	9,357	8,592
Capital expenditures									1,025	901	935
Other Mining & Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									991	1,133	1,704
Production and delivery									(3,388)	(3,851)	(4,807)
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									73	72	70
Impairment of oil and gas properties									0	0	0
Metals inventory adjustments									20	112	6
Selling, general and administrative expenses									15	20	25
Mining exploration and research expenses									61	100	98
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									19	74	123
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									(67)	0	(703)
Operating income (loss)									99	(100)	606
Interest expense, net									80	75	84
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									0	0	221
Total assets	1,444				6,417				1,444	6,417	6,426
Capital expenditures									109	277	217
Restructuring and asset impairment charges										20
Assets, discontinued operations					4,900					4,900	4,800
Capital expenditures											159
Other Mining & Eliminations | U.S. Oil & Gas Operations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Capital expenditures									73	229
Intersegment
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									0	0	(6,286)
Intersegment | Molybdenum
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									186	348	587
Intersegment | Rod & Refining
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									29	29	29
Intersegment | Atlantic Copper Smelting & Refining
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									5	15	21
Intersegment | Other Mining and Eliminations Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									(4,159)	(4,706)
Intersegment | North America
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									3,690	4,217	4,916
Intersegment | North America | Morenci
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									1,511	1,646	1,752
Intersegment | North America | Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									2,179	2,571	3,164
Intersegment | South America
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									187	61	510
Intersegment | South America | Cerro Verde
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									187	68	206
Intersegment | South America | Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									0	(7)	304
Intersegment | Indonesia | Grasberg
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									62	36	223
Corporate, Other & Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									0	1	0
Production and delivery									53	(1)	2
Depreciation, depletion and amortization									14	14	14
Impairment of oil and gas properties									18	164	0
Metals inventory adjustments									0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses									217	221	222
Mining exploration and research expenses									0	0	0
Environmental obligations and shutdown costs									1	1	1
Goodwill impairment											0
Net gain on sales of assets									(7)	0	0
Operating income (loss)									(296)	(398)	(239)
Interest expense, net									205	326	263
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes									(287)	(2,150)	(820)
Total assets	$ 3,720				$ 281				3,720	281	720
Capital expenditures									48	110	29
Restructuring and asset impairment charges										3
Restructuring charges									(85)
Corporate, Other & Eliminations | U.S. Oil & Gas Operations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Capital expenditures									$ 47	$ 100	$ 19