Molybdenum

Overview

Molybdenum is a refractory metal with a melting point above 2,600 °C. Its main use is as an alloying element that makes steel stronger and more resistant to corrosion and wear.¹² Most of it goes into stainless steels, constructional and tool steels, and cast iron.³

Molybdenum is not on the US 2025 List of Critical Minerals, and it is not listed as a critical or strategic raw material under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act.⁴⁵ It is covered here because it is a widely traded steel-alloying metal. Since February 2025, China has also required export licenses for some molybdenum products.⁶²

Where it comes from

The main ore is molybdenite (molybdenum disulfide). It is roasted to molybdenum oxide, which can then be reduced to metal.¹ Molybdenum occurs as the main sulfide in large low-grade porphyry molybdenum deposits and as an associated sulfide in low-grade porphyry copper deposits.²

Most supply is a by-product of copper. In 2025 only China and the United States produced molybdenum from both primary molybdenum mines and copper mines; the other producers relied on copper mining.² Many copper producers have upgraded their plants to recover more molybdenite, which helps offset aging mines and falling ore grades.²

World mine production rose about 2% to an estimated 260,000 t in 2025. China, Chile, the United States, Peru and Mexico, in that order, produced 90% of it. China alone produced about 37%.²

• China97,000 t · 37%
• Chile42,000 t · 16%
• United States40,000 t · 15%
• Peru39,000 t · 15%
• Mexico17,000 t · 7%
• Armenia5,300 t · 2%
• Other countries19,600 t · 8%

World total is the USGS rounded figure; the country estimates add up to 259,900 t. "Other countries" includes Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Iran, Canada and Uzbekistan. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Molybdenum

Identified resources are about 5.4 million t in the United States and about 20 million t in the rest of the world. USGS considers them adequate to supply world needs for the foreseeable future.²

What it is used for

About a quarter of newly mined molybdenum goes into molybdenum-grade stainless steel. Constructional steel, tool and high-speed steel, and cast iron together take another 54%. The rest goes into upgraded products such as nickel alloys, chemicals, lubricant-grade molybdenum disulfide and molybdenum metal.³

{{chart:end-uses}}

Typical products include engine parts, heating elements, drills and saw blades. Molybdenum disulfide is used as a lubricant additive at high temperatures. Molybdenum compounds are also used as catalysts in petroleum refining and in pigments, circuit-board inks and electrodes.¹ USGS expects global consumption to stay strong as countries continue to invest in renewable energy infrastructure.²

Grades and forms

Concentrate is roasted to molybdic oxide. Ferromolybdenum, metal powder and chemicals are then made from the oxide.² USGS reports US molybdic oxide on the basis of 57% molybdenum content.²

Trade and policy

The United States is a net exporter of molybdenum. Mine output rose 18% to an estimated 40,000 t in 2025, from two primary mines in Colorado and seven copper mines in Arizona, Montana, Nevada and Utah. In 2021–24, US imports came mainly from Chile (36%) and Peru (35%).² An idled molybdenum mine in Idaho is scheduled to restart in the second half of 2027.²

China has added certain molybdenum items to its dual-use export controls:

USGS reports that the February 2025 controls led the United States and other countries to look for other sources.²

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Molybdenum is recycled as part of steel, superalloy and catalyst scrap rather than through separate refining. Molybdenum in recycled steel and other scrap may be as much as 30% of apparent supply.²

There is little substitution for molybdenum in steels and cast irons. Boron, chromium, niobium and vanadium can replace it in some alloy steels, and tungsten in tool steels. Graphite, tantalum and tungsten can replace it in refractory materials for high-temperature furnaces.²

Sources

1. Molybdenum: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Molybdenum. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶

3. Molybdenum uses: first use of molybdenum. International Molybdenum Association, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²

4. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

5. Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

6. MOFCOM, GAC announce decision on export controls of tungsten, other items, effective February 4. Global Times, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩²

7. China suspends export controls (summary tables of valid and suspended MOFCOM announcements). Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

8. China import and export licensing regime in 2026. China Briefing (Dezan Shira & Associates), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

9. MOFCOM Announcement No. 1 of 2026 on strengthening export controls on dual-use items to Japan. Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩