The Ankh Awards

Richard C. Adkerson, president, chief executive officer and member of the board of directors of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc., received the 2009 Ankh Award in recognition of his strong leadership at Freeport and in the global mining industry.

The award was presented at the club’s annual dinner on June 3, 2009.

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For the first time in history, the Copper Club’s Ankh Award was given to a group – The International Copper Association Health and Environment Team (ICA), rather than an individual, for the profound positive impact they have had on the role copper plays in sustainability and the environment. The award was presented at the club’s Annual Dinner on June 4, 2008.

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J. Steven Whisler, chairman and chief executive officer of Phelps Dodge Corp., received the Copper Club’s Ankh Award in 2007. The board of directors of the Copper Club voted to honor Whisler with the recognition for his leadership both within his company and in the copper industry.

The award was presented at the club’s Annual Dinner on Feb. 15, 2007.

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Tom participated in The Copper Club for most of the Club’s first 60+ years and was The Copper Club president for the more than 25 years. The Executive Committee unanimously agreed that Tom’s dedication to the Club should not go without due recognition for his many years of willingness to proudly serve our industry.

Tom received the Ankh Award for Lifetime Achievement for his active leadership in the organization and his contributions to the copper industry for more than 50-years.

Brian O’Shaughnessy and Juan Villarzu Rohde are the co-recipients of the 2006 Ankh Award.

The award was presented at the club’s Annual Dinner in February 2006.

Takashi Sakamoto received the prestigious Ankh Award in 2005.

The Ankh Award committee selected Mr. Sakamoto from among numerous nominations for the recognition based upon his years of devoted service to the industry and his role as chairman and representative director (recently retired) of Nippon Mining & Holdings, Inc.

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Arthur R. Miele, senior vice president of marketing for Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge Corp. and president of Phelps Dodge Sales Co., and Andronico Luksic, chairman of Antofagasta PLC, received the Ankh Award during a June 18 dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

Miele has held various executive positions in his long career at Phelps Dodge, including president of Phelps Dodge Associated Cos. in Puerto Rico and Venezuela, group vice president of South America, group vice president of Asia, and senior vice president of Phelps Dodge International Corp. He served as a member of the board of directors of several joint venture companies worldwide and currently serves as a member of the board of directors at the London Metal Exchange. In 1988, the Republic of Venezuela honored him with the decoration “Francisco de Miranda” for his contribution to industrial development in Venezuela. The George Washington University Board of Trustees recognized him with the Alumni Achievement Award.

“Art is unique in our industry having held executive positions as a producer, fabricator and manufacturer of copper products. In addition he has worked on practically every committee in the copper industry,” said Thomas J. Kennedy, president of the Copper Club, which was founded in 1944 and has an international membership of 600. “The award committee chose him because he has been totally devoted to the copper industry all of his professional life. He is universally thought to be a great leader in the industry. He’s quite an individual.”

Luksic is chairman of Antofagasta, a United Kingdom-based company whose mining operations account for 10 percent of Chilean copper output. Luksic is vice chairman of Quineco S.A., a diversified company engaged in the industrial and services sectors in Chile, including financial services, food and beverage, telecommunications, manufacturing and real estate and hotel administration. He is chairman and CEO of Banco de A. Edwards in Chile and director of Compania Cervecerias Unidas S. He is a member of the Latin America Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange.

“Andronico built his company from scratch,” said Kennedy. “To do that in one lifetime is quite an accomplishment. Think of the number of jobs his company has created in Chile. It’s an absolutely amazing piece of work for one man in one lifetime.”

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The Lord Bagri, who also is chairman of Metdist, a company he built into one of the world’s leading nonferrous metals trading houses, becomes the 36th member of the international copper community to be awarded the industry’s top prize, the Ankh Award. The presentation was made at the Copper Club annual gala May 30 at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

“Lord Bagri received unanimous support of the selection committee based on his long service, dedication and love for the development of copper worldwide,” said Tom Kennedy, president of The Copper Club. “He is one of the leading personalities in global metals trading and industry, and has a long association with copper. In addition, he continues to be actively involved in bringing about major global advancements at the LME, including in the area of copper trading.”

O’Hagan, president and chief executive officer of Mueller Industries Inc., Memphis, Tenn. He has been Mueller’s chief executive officer since 1994. He joined the company in 1992 after holding a series of executive positions at Nibco Inc., Cambridge-Lee Industries and Phelps Dodge Copper Products Co. He is a member of the boards of the CDA and the Copper and Brass Fabricators Council. In 1996, O’Hagan was named Financial World’s “CEO of the Year.”

Payne, president and chief executive officer of the Copper Development Association (CDA), New York. Payne joined the CDA after a 28-year career at Revere Copper & Brass Inc., where he served as president of Revere Ware Inc.; group vice president for all fabricated aluminum operations; vice president for sales and marketing of all copper, brass and aluminum products; and chairman of Revere Extruded Products Inc., Revere Foil Containers Inc. and EDES Manufacturing Co. Inc.

Lima, president and chief executive officer of Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco), the world’s largest copper producer, blends a keen scholar’s mind with the pragmatism of a business strategist, without sacrificing an innate optimism often lacking in the business world today.