Climax Completes Molybdenum Treatment Plant

November 18, 2025 - Freeport’s Climax Molybdenum operation in Colorado has completed construction of its molybdenum removal water treatment plant, culminating six years of planning and construction to align with Colorado’s updated water quality standard.

A recent ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the plant. The new state molybdenum standard for water was established in 2024 to reflect advances in science.

“Completing this project is a major milestone and one of the strongest examples of collaboration and execution in the entire company,” said John Wilmot, General Manager-Colorado Operations. “It’s a credit to the commitment of the entire team.”

The plant was constructed to remove molybdenum oxide, not recoverable in the flotation process, from water used at Climax before it is discharged into Tenmile Creek.

Marty Kreel, the project manager who recently retired from the company, said the successful completion of the plant is a credit to “the people and the safetyfirst culture they lived every day.”

“This facility is our promise to the community: water treated the right way and returned responsibly to the river,” Kreel said. “We faced tough problems and kept moving with integrity—doing it the right way, even when it was difficult.”

Photo: Members of the Climax project management team: (from left) Dillon Benbow, Chief Engineer; Jacob Brown, Civil Engineer; and Marty Kreel, Senior Engineer.