Phelps Dodge Remains Committed

Phelps Dodge Corp. has issued the following statement regarding the results of the tender offer by Inco Ltd. to Falconbridge Ltd. shareholders to purchase all outstanding common shares of Falconbridge. The deadline for Falconbridge shareholders to tender their shares was 3 a.m. eastern time today.

J. Steven Whisler, chairman & chief executive officer of Phelps Dodge, said: "We are disappointed that less than 50.01% of Falconbridge shareholders chose to tender their shares in support of Inco’s offer & participate in the new Phelps Dodge Inco. However, we are excited about our agreed combination with Inco, which will create both the world’s leading base metals company & a must-own stock for investors who want exposure to our leading positions in copper & nickel. With an excellent outlook for sustained high copper & nickel prices, Phelps Dodge Inco will have tremendous earnings & cash flow potential. Our combination with Inco will be immediately & meaningfully accretive to cash flow & accretive to earnings in 2008, using our base case commodity price assumptions.”

Phelps Dodge’s agreed offer for Inco consists of C$20.25 plus 0.672 Phelps Dodge shares for each Inco share. As of the close of business on Thursday, July 27th, the implied value of Phelps Dodge’s offer for Inco is C$79.83 per share.