"We see a massive potential in green iron industry out of Australia, supplying China," CEO says.
The world's biggest gold miner benefited from robust production and easing costs.
Freeport McMoran, which owns 51% of the mine, plans to invest around $7.5 billion to expand.
Panuco has a $1.1 billion after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate, an 86% after-tax internal rate of return and a nine-month payback period.