Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
RANKIN B M JR
   2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
FREEPORT MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC [FCX] 		5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
__X__ Director _____ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
300 CRESCENT COURT, SUITE 875		 3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
04/21/2006
(Street)

DALLAS, TX 75201		 4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)		 2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)		 4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		 5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)		 6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)		 7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price
Class B Common Stock 04/21/2006   S   500 D $ 68 3,500 (1) D  
Class B Common Stock 04/21/2006   S   8,492 D $ 68 450,000 I By Rankin Interests Ltd. Partnership

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)		 2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)		 5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)		 6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)		 8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)		 9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)		 10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)		 11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Forward Sale Contract (right/obligation to sell) (2) 04/21/2006   J(2)(3)   1     (2)   (2) Class B Common Stock 250,000 (2) (3) 1 I By Rankin Interests Ltd. Partnership

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
RANKIN B M JR
300 CRESCENT COURT
SUITE 875
DALLAS, TX 75201		   X      

Signatures

 Kelly C. Simoneaux, on behalf of B.M. Rankin, Jr. pursuant to a power of attorney   04/25/2006
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) Amount beneficially owned following the reported transaction represents 3,500 Class B Common Stock Restricted Stock Units.
(2) On April 21, 2006, Rankin Interests Limited Partnership (the "LP") entered into a range forward sale contract with a securities broker pursuant to which the LP agreed to sell 250,000 shares of Class B Common Stock of the Issuer (the "Common Stock") to the securities broker on April 25, 2011 (the "Maturity Date"), with the sale price to be determined and paid on the Maturity Date according to the following formula (subject to possible adjustment as provided in the contract): (i) if the closing price of a share of Common Stock on the Maturity Date is $61.434 or less, the sale price will be $61.434 per share, (ii) if the closing price of a share of Common Stock on the Maturity Date is $94.8844 or more, the sale price will be $94.8844 per share, and (iii) if the closing price of a share of Common Stock on the Maturity date is between $61.434 and $94.8844, the sale price per share will be the sale price on the Maturity Date.
(3) The LP may instead elect to settle the contract in cash and retain ownership of the 250,000 shares. Until the Maturity Date, the LP will continue to hold beneficial ownership of these shares, and will have voting rights and the right to receive regular quarterly dividend payments of $0.3125 per share and special cash dividends aggregating to no more than $1.00 without adjustment to the pricing formula.

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