(Reuters) -Copper miner Freeport-McMoRan beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Thursday, helped by higher copper production and sales volumes.

Average copper prices were up about 8% in the reported quarter compared to last year, as economic stimulus in China spurred hopes of a rise in industrial activity.

Freeport had obtained a license to ship copper concentrate from its Indonesia operation until May 2024, getting an exemption from the country's ban on raw mineral exports that had hit the company's shipping volumes in the second quarter.

The mining giant said its quarterly production of copper rose to 1.09 billion pounds, from 1.06 billion pounds a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the Phoenix, Arizona-based company earned 39 cents per share for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with average analysts' estimate of 34 cents per share, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)