Douglas C. Yearley, 71; former chairman and CEO of copper producer Phelps Dodge Corp.

Douglas C. Yearley, 71, former chairman and chief executive of copper producer Phelps Dodge Corp., died of multiple myeloma cancer Sunday at his home in Osterville, Mass., according to a statement from Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., which bought Phelps Dodge in March.

Yearley worked for Phelps Dodge for 40 years and was chief executive of the Phoenix-based mining company from 1989 to 1999. He was chairman of the Phelps Dodge board from 1989-2000, and at the time of his death served on the boards of Lockheed Martin Corp., U.S. Steel Corp., Marathon Oil Corp. and Heidrick & Struggles International Inc.

Yearley also led the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a group advocating against electricity-producing wind turbines.

A native of Oak Park, Ill., he earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Cornell University in 1958 and attended Harvard Business School.