The steel industry remains the largest consumer of molybdenum, accounting for around 75 percent of the metal’s global consumption. According to the United States Geological Survey, in 2011, iron, steel and super alloy producers accounted for some 81 percent of all the moly consumed in the U.S.
Indeed, according to the USGS: “There is little substitution for molybdenum in its major application as any alloying element in steels and cast irons. In fact, because of the availability and versatility of molybdenum, industry has sought to develop new materials that benefit from the alloying properties of the metal.”
Moly Supply
As with so many other critical metals, China remains the metal’s largest producer, a position it has held for a number of years now.
Molybdenum: World Mine Production (Tonnes contained Mo)
Notes: e=Estimated; Other moly-producing countries, not listed, include North Korea, Romania & Turkey
Source: USGS
As with tungsten, in the period leading up to March 13, 2012, concerns voiced in the U.S., the EU and Japan about China’s dominant (and possibly abusive) position in the moly market, had obviously not fallen on deaf ears in government. On that day, all three “formally requested dispute settlement consultations with China in the World Trade Organization (WTO),” over export restrictions not only on rare earths and molybdenum, but also tungsten.
As with tungsten, it is actually quite difficult to discover exactlywhy moly specifically was included in the complaint. On the face of it, the reason would appear to be steel and the importance of both metals in its production.
But again, perhaps a simpler, more obvious, answer may lie in some other moly uses; that is, it has become increasingly important to the process of making things. For example, moly is used in the alloy tool and high-speed steels used in machine tools, and the tools themselves or in catalysts as opposed to being a constituent of the things actually being made.
Byproduct Vs. Primary Moly
In addition to being recovered in quite small quantities (3,000-5,000 tonnes per year for the past several years) from used catalysts, the majority of global moly supply comes from two distinct types of mining operations: as a primary product (e.g., in Canada, China and the U.S.), and as a byproduct (in, e.g., Canada, Chile, Peru and the U.S.). In this last instance, this is, typically, of copper mining.
Except for the three years up to and including 2011, it appears that in only one other year—1995—did byproduct moly account for less total global production than primary production; however, perhaps returning to historical norms, according to the CPM Group: “Growth of by-product supplies are expected to be the leading source for new supplies going forward.”
That said, primary and byproduct moly supply look both to have increased over 2012 (no figures for the year appear yet to be available) and to be set to increase at least in this coming year.
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