Prospector Trails
Minerals/Steel and alloy metals
Molybdenum strengthens and protects steel (stainless and alloy steels), catalysts and lubricants. Most is a by-product of copper mining.
01 · Where it's mined
Mine output was about 260 kt in 2025: China 97 kt, Chile 42 kt, the US 40 kt and Peru 39 kt. Reserves are about 17 Mt.
Mine production, Mo content, 2025. Columns on the globe show each country's share.
02 · A century of output
03 · Where it goes
Molybdenum ores and concentrates, roasted, 2024, by value
Arcs run from exporter to importer; thicker means more value. CEPII BACI reconciled trade data.
04 · What it's used for
Steel, oil and gas, and chemicals.
05 · Who calls it critical
Critical for Australia, Canada, India, Korea and China. China added molybdenum to export controls in February 2025.
06 · Mines to know
Spikes mark mines with output in open data; height follows reported output. Where a public source says where a mine's product goes, an arc runs to that plant.
Every molybdenum mine and project, by countryThe detail
Mine output was about 260 kt in 2025: China 97 kt, Chile 42 kt, the US 40 kt and Peru 39 kt. Reserves are about 17 Mt.
Steel, oil and gas, and chemicals.
Critical for Australia, Canada, India, Korea and China. China added molybdenum to export controls in February 2025.
Total estimated U.S. mine production of molybdenum concentrate increased by 18% to 40,000 tons of molybdenum content in 2025 compared with 34,000 tons in 2024. Molybdenum concentrate production at primary molybdenum mines continued at two operations in Colorado, and molybdenum concentrate production from mines where molybdenum was a byproduct continued at seven operations (four in Arizona and one each in Montana, Nevada, and Utah). Three roasting plants converted molybdenum concentrate to molybdic oxide, from which intermediate products, such as ferromolybdenum, metal powder, and various chemicals, were produced. Molybdenum is a refractory metallic element used principally as an alloying agent in cast iron, steel, and superalloys and is also used in numerous chemical applications, including catalysts, lubricants, and pigments.
In 2025, the estimated average U.S. molybdic oxide price increased by 7% compared with that in 2024. Estimated U.S. total imports for consumption of molybdenum were 27,000 tons compared with 26,900 tons in 2024. Estimated U.S. total exports increased by 1% compared with those in 2024. Estimated apparent consumption in 2025 increased by 18% compared with that in 2024. Estimated global molybdenum production in 2025 increased by 2% from that in 2024, with China, Chile, the United States, Peru, and Mexico, in descending order of production, accounting for 90% of total global production. Only China and the United States produced molybdenum from both primary molybdenum mines and byproduct copper mines; the other countries relied on byproduct copper production. Rising molybdenum consumption has led many copper producers to upgrade facilities to extract molybdenite from existing deposits, helping offset supply risks from aging mines and declining ore grades. Global molybdenum consumption was expected to remain strong as countries continued to invest in renewable energy infrastructure. A Canadian company remained on schedule to restart its idled molybdenum mine in Idaho during the second half of 2027 and continued its progressive rampup to full capacity production at its molybdenum-processing facility in Pennsylvania. The Government of China imposed export controls on molybdenum powders in February 2025, prompting the United States and other countries to seek alternative sources.
There is little substitution for molybdenum in its major application 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 its alloying properties. Potential substitutes include boron, chromium, niobium (columbium), and vanadium in alloy steels; tungsten in tool steels; graphite, tantalum, and tungsten for refractory materials in high-temperature electric furnaces; and cadmium-red, chrome-orange, and organic-orange pigments for molybdenum orange.
Molybdenum is recycled as a component of catalysts, ferrous scrap, and superalloy scrap. Revert scrap comes from steelmaking remnants, new scrap is generated by steel mill customers and recycled by processors, and old scrap consists of molybdenum-bearing alloys recycled after their service life. The amount of molybdenum recycled as part of new and old steel and other scrap may be as much as 30% of the apparent supply of molybdenum. There are no separate recovery processes for the refining of secondary molybdenum from its alloys, but the molybdenum content of the recycled alloys is significant and reused.
Identified resources of molybdenum in the United States are about 5.4 million tons and, in the rest of the world, about 20 million tons. Molybdenum occurs as the principal metal sulfide in large low-grade porphyry molybdenum deposits and as an associated metal sulfide in low-grade porphyry copper deposits. Resources of molybdenum are adequate to supply world needs for the foreseeable future.