HOUSTON, March 10 (Reuters) - Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX )

hopes U.S. President Donald Trump declares copper a critical

mineral, a move that would unlock tax credits needed to boost

American production of the red metal and offset global rivals,

CEO Kathleen Quirk said on Monday.

Trump told the U.S. Congress last week he would "take

historic action to dramatically expand production of critical

minerals," although he has yet to provide details. Copper is

used widely across the global economy in power generation,

electronics and construction.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists lithium, nickel and 48

other minerals as critical. Adding copper would help Freeport

generate more than $500 million annually in tax credits tied to

the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, Quirk told Reuters on the

sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

"Having the incentives and clarity around those would be

a big plus for the domestic copper industry," said Quirk, who

became CEO of Phoenix-based Freeport

last year.

"People are understanding more what copper is used for

and its importance in our economy. It's just a matter of time

before it's classified as a critical mineral."

Former President Joe Biden's administration extended the

tax credit

to critical minerals

last October. Copper producers cannot access it unless

their product is labeled as critical.

All the copper that Freeport produces at its seven U.S.

mines is consumed domestically, making it the country's largest

producer of the metal. Freeport also operates one of two U.S.

copper smelters and produces more than 200 million pounds of the

metal annually using

leaching

.

The average grade, or percentage of copper in rock

deposits in Freeport's U.S. mines, is lower than elsewhere,

boosting costs and making the U.S. Freeport's least profitable

region.

"We're not looking for handouts, but if the government

is trying to incentivize domestic production, it's important to

recognize that the U.S. doesn't have the same grades that we

have internationally," said Quirk.

Last month, Trump launched a probe into potential new

tariffs on copper imports to help rebuild U.S. production.

U.S. copper tariffs could boost Freeport's profits by

$400 million annually, yet the company is worried about their

impact on the global economy, Quirk said.

"We're not out there advocating one way or the other.

We're wanting to make sure that there's education so that

there's informed decisions about all of this," Quirk said.

GLOBAL OPERATIONS

In Indonesia, where Freeport operates the Grasberg

copper and gold mine, Quirk said the company expects to reach an

agreement soon with Jakarta that would allow

copper concentrate exports

by the end of the month.

Elsewhere, Trump has expressed interest in minerals

projects in Greenland and Ukraine. Quirk said Freeport would

"always look" at potential international investments, but that

Greenland and Ukraine are "not on our near-term priority list."

The U.S. State Department said on Sunday it was open to

exploring

critical minerals partnerships with the Democratic Republic

of Congo

(DRC), which is rich in cobalt, lithium and other minerals.

Freeport sold its DRC operations in 2016, but is eyeing a

return, Quirk said.

"We would be interested in going back (to the DRC) for

the right opportunity," said Quirk, adding that would mean

Freeport would be the operator of any mine. Quirk declined to

comment when asked if Freeport is in negotiations with the DRC

government.