Molybdenum

Molybdenum Market

Molybdenum is usually found in an ore known as molybdenite which can occur as primary mineralisation, but most commonly is associated with copper ores in mines in Peru, Chile, Mexico and the USA. China is the world’s largest producer, with 40% of the market supply. Molybdenum is priced on the London Metals Exchange.

Declining grades at aging mines in the Americas come at a time of steadily growing demand. Usually, the grade of Molybdenum in copper orebodies is 0.01-0.025%, and Mo is separated to a concentrate in the flotation circuit.

Molybdenum has a very high melting point, which enables it to form strong, stable carbon compounds in alloys such as ultra-strong steel with resistance to corrosion and wear, used in missile and aircraft parts, nuclear reactor condenser tubes, engines, heating elements, drills and saw blades.

Molybdenum is a critical mineral required for a range of low-carbon technologies, especially wind and geothermal.

The  greatest  share  of  demand  for  molybdenum  from  electricity generation  and  energy  storage  technologies  comes  from  wind  (47.3 percent) and geothermal (41.7 percent), with all the other generation and energy storage technologies together accounting for only a small share (11 percent), according to a World Bank report.