Based on the aggregated intelligence of 170,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, global mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX) earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Freeport's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Freeport facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Phoenix (1987)

Market Cap

$41.9 billion

Industry

Diversified metals and mining

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$16.98 billion

Management

CEO Richard Adkerson

CFO Kathleen Quirk

Return on Capital (Average, Past 3 Years)

18%

Cash/Debt

$3.04 billion / $4.8 billion

Dividend Yield

1.4%

Competitors

Southern Copper (NYSE: SCCO)

Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM)

BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP)

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 96% of the 5,495 members who have rated Freeport believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include Kozy72 and All-Star DarthMaul09, who is ranked in the top 1% of our community.

Late last month, Kozy72 wrote that Freeport "is a great way to play the gold market." Our CAPS member continues: "It would appear that gold's strength will continue. P/E is still around 11 so share should continue to rise."

In fact, Freeport's current P/E of 11.9 is lower than that of fellow mining giants like Southern Copper (22.2), Newmont (16.8), BHP (17), and Rio Tinto (13). But with its fortunes tied so closely to copper and gold prices (management doesn't hedge in order to give investors a pure play on those markets), Freeport is certainly one of the more volatile miners you'll find. While it may be relatively cheaper, Freeport's beta of 1.9 is higher than each of the above-mentioned rivals.

Of course, if you're as bearish on the greenback as CAPS All-Star DarthMaul is, Freeport's unhedged nature may offer the most attractive bet of the bunch:

What is different now is that the Fed has told us that interest rates will remain essentially zero forever and that quantitative easing (in whatever form it may come in) will further debase the US dollar. This means that all prices, but especially metals and other commodities will rise as we have seen this last week. As we approach the third quarter it will be fairly obvious why the miners will again beat expectations in a big way. The selling price of their products are higher than expected and the cost of production has remained relative stable. This stock should take out the 52 week high and possibly break $100 after the next earning report.

What do you think about Freeport, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!