Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, global mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX) has 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

$32.2 billion

Industry

Metals and mining

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$12.97 billion

Management

CEO Richard Adkerson
CFO Kathleen Quirk

Return on Capital (Average, Past 3 Years)

14.6%

Cash / Debt

$1.3 billion / $7.2 billion

Competitors

BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP)
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP)

CAPS Members Bullish on FCX Also Bullish on

Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

CAPS Members Bearish on FCX Also Bearish on

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)

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

On CAPS, 96.4% of the 5,396 members who have rated Freeport believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include DarthMaul09 and xcrunner90.

Just last week, DarthMaul09 offered five reasons for Freeport being a golden opportunity:

1. Relatively low labor costs.
2. Relatively low energy costs (recently).
3. Relatively high likelihood of rising gold price.
4. If the world economy improves, then copper prices should rise.
5. If the Dollar continues to go down, investor will be looking for assets which can hold their value. Both mining stocks and metals will meet that requirement.

In a pitch from last month, xcrunner90 also tapped the stock as a great defense against the gangrenous greenback:

Investors are not the only ones concerned with inflation and value of the american dollar. Although the value of metals themselves may pull back from their present highs, people will for a while be enamored with metals and the safety they provide. For the next bull market the metal industry will be what the tech industry was during the last bull market. Compare proven companies like [U.S. Steel] and [Freeport] to what [Apple], [Intel (NYSE:INTC)], and [Microsoft] used to be, solid companies with serious upside which fueled serious money making for many people for years.

What do you think about Freeport, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!