Investor Information

What is Molybdenum?

Molybdenum (Mo) is a refractory metallic element used principally as an alloying agent in steel, cast iron, and superalloys to enhance hardenability, strength, toughness, and wear and corrosion resistance. To achieve desired metallurgical properties, molybdenum, primarily in the form of molybdic oxide or ferromolybdenum, is frequently used in combination with or added to chromium, columbium (niobium), manganese, nickel, tungsten, or other alloy metals. The versatility of molybdenum in enhancing a variety of alloy properties has ensured it a significant role in contemporary industrial technology, which increasingly requires materials that are serviceable under high stress, expanded temperature ranges, and highly corrosive environments. Moreover, molybdenum finds significant usage as a refractory metal in numerous chemical applications, including catalysts, lubricants, and pigments. Few of molybdenum's uses have acceptable substitutions.

Reserves

Molybdenum is only known to occur in a natural state chemically combined with other elements. Although a number of molybdenum-bearing minerals have been identified, the only one of commercial significance is molybdenite (MoS2) - a natural molybdenum sulphide. In ore bodies, molybdenite is generally present in quantities from 0.01- 0.50% and is often associated with the sulphide minerals of other metals, notably copper.

Reserves are mainly located in the western mountain regions of North and South America.

The USA is by far the largest producing country, and also has the largest reserve base of 5.4 million tonnes, nearly half of the world's total.

History

Molybdenum was not discovered until the latter part of the 18th century, and does not occur in the metallic form in nature. Despite this, its predominant mineral - molybdenite - was surely utilised in ancient times but would have been indistinguishable from other similar materials such as lead, galena and graphite. Collectively, these substances were known by the Greek word "molybdos", which means lead-like.

A 14th century Japanese sword has been found to contain molybdenum. However, it was not until 1778 that the Swedish scientist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, was able positively to identify molybdenum. He decomposed molybdenite by heating it in air to yield a white oxide powder. Shortly thereafter, in 1782, Peter Jacob Hjelm reduced the oxide with carbon to obtain a dark metallic powder which he named "molybdenum".

Molybdenum remained mainly a laboratory curiosity throughout most of the 19th century until the technology for the extraction of commercial quantities became practical. In 1891, the French company Schneider & Co. first used molybdenum as an alloying element in the production of armour plate. It was quickly noted that, with a density of only slightly more than half that of tungsten, molybdenum was an effective replacement for tungsten in numerous steel alloying applications.

World War I caused tungsten demand to soar and severely strained its supply. As a direct result, molybdenum was substituted for tungsten in many hard and impact resistant steels. The resulting increased demand initiated an intensive search for new sources of molybdenum supply, culminating with the development of the massive Climax deposit in Colorado, USA and its initial operation in 1918.

The end of the war and the consequent reductions in demand triggered research efforts to develop new civilian applications for molybdenum. A number of new low-alloy molybdenum automotive steels were soon tested and accepted. The big breakthrough however, occurred in the 1930's with the determination of proper temperature ranges for the forging and heat treatment of molybdenum-bearing high-speed steels. From this beginning, research eventually developed a full understanding of how molybdenum imparts its many cost-effective benefits as an alloying element to steels and other systems.

By the end of the 1930's, molybdenum was a widely accepted technical material. The conclusion of World War II in 1945 once again brought increased research investment to develop new civilian applications, and the post-war reconstruction of the world provided additional markets for structural steels, many of which already contained some molybdenum.

The years from 1945 to the present have seen a dramatically expanding range of applications for molybdenum, its alloys and its compounds. Rising demand has been comfortably balanced by new sources of assured supply and by new processing technologies with superior recovery rates.

Although steels and cast iron comprise the single biggest market segment, molybdenum's diversity has also proven invaluable in superalloys, nickel base alloys, lubricants, chemicals, electronics and many other applications.