Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IMOA - Molybdenum - An Extraordinary Metal in High Demand PDF
IMOA - Molybdenum - An Extraordinary Metal in High Demand PDF
I MO A
INTERNATIONAL MOLYBDENUM ASSOCIATION
20 S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 0 7 www.stainless-steel-world.net
imoa 29-08-2007 15:24 Pagina 21
Materials
MATERIAL S
The recent nickel shortage has attracted a lot of attention. What is less known is that molyb-
denum too is in ever greater demand, with tightening supplies and soaring prices. A world-wide
boom in infrastructure projects, especially those which have critical applications, has fuelled
demand for this versatile metal. Stainless Steel World asked Nicole Kinsman and Hans Imgrund of
the International Molybdenum Association to explain the background and indicate what the future
may hold. Their findings suggest that supplies will remain tight in the short term, but that the
long-term supply prospects are looking good.
Introductory an increase in demand for the metal tures and stainless steels to resist cor-
In the last four years demand for and the transformation of a market rosive environments can also work
molybdenum soared by 35 per cent. that had been stagnant for nearly 20 as an effective lubricant, as a catalyst
This surge comes mainly from a years. Molybdenum has diverse ap- for the production of oil products or
strong world-wide push to invest in peal: it is used in pipelines, to im- as a pigment to make orange paint.
industrial infrastructure: from a fac- prove strength to transport oil and
tory building boom in China to a gas under high pressure; in process- How molybdenum metal is
rush to develop oilfields, many proj- ing vessels in the chemical industry, used
ects rely on the help of materials to withstand corrosion in an array The most important properties of
containing molybdenum. of solutions; and even in sculptures, pure molybdenum metal and molyb-
All this activity has trickled down to such as the US Air Force Memorial, denum alloys are their high melting
which is located just across the river point (in the order of 2600°C), high
from Washington, DC, to keep their temperature resistance, high wear re-
Molybdenum facts finish shiny for a long time. sistance and good corrosion resist-
The global interest in going “green” ance. These products are often used
• About 25 per cent of all molybde- has also had an impact: as more in applications that require high
num produced is used to make companies reduce plant waste by re- strength at high temperature, while
moly-grade stainless steel. cycling their waste streams within their coefficient of expansion and
• About 50 per cent is used for oth- factory walls, moly-grade stainless thermal conductivity also make
er iron-based metals, such as con- steels handle the higher corrosive- them valuable to the electronics in-
struction steel, tool and high-speed ness that comes with higher concen- dustry. Products made of molybde-
steel and cast iron. tration of aggressive substances. num metal and molybdenum base
• Molybdenum as an alloying ele- Compounds of the element that al- alloys include metal powder, wire,
ment in steel is almost always used lows steels to resist high tempera- sheet, bar and specialised powders.
in combination with other elements
such as chromium, nickel, vanadi-
um, tungsten or niobium.
• Steel mills add molybdenum either
as molybdenum oxide or ferro-
molybdenum.
• The remaining 25 per cent is puri-
fied and used as moly metal, as an
alloying element in nickel and other
super alloys, as catalysts, lubri-
cants, flame retardants, corrosion
inhibitors and pigments.
• Super alloy producers use moly
metal pellets as a high-purity alloy-
ing addition. The price for molybdenum has spiked recently but was at low levels for much of the last 25 years.
(Source: Metals Week)
www.stainless-steel-world.net S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 21
Materials
www.stainless-steel-world.net S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 23
Materials
These mill cutters are made of high-speed steel with 5 per cent Mo (courtesy of Boehler Edelstahl).
cessing industries; and energy gen- Molybdenum mining usually less than 10 per cent of to-
eration industries. Products include The main regions of molybdenum tal sales. Therefore, the molybde-
vessels, tanks and heat exchangers, mining include South America, num output does not necessarily
gears and shafts, piping and many North America and China. These re- follow the demand for molybde-
more. gions accounted for 93 per cent of num but the demand for copper.
global production in 2006, which The moly output automatically in-
Making a longer-lasting tool was estimated to be 422 million creases when the mine increases its
steel pounds (192,000 metric tons). copper production and it falls when
Molybdenum contributes to second- Roughly 60 per cent of molybde- the mine decreases its copper pro-
ary hardening (in combination with num is produced as a by-product of duction because demand for copper
vanadium) in tool steels. It also sep- another mining operation, most falls.
arates the pearlite and bainite reac- commonly copper production. The Mining for moly only (primary pro-
tions, and therefore allows step ore from copper mines which also duction) is much more expensive. A
quenching. Products made of tool produce molybdenum usually con- primary mine in the West, with an
steels include hand tools, knives tains between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent annual production capacity in the
and saws, forging dies, pressure cast- copper (5 to 15 kg per metric ton of order of 10,000 tons of molybde-
ing moulds and molding plates. The ore) and between 0.01 and 0.05 per num (22 million lbs), takes an in-
typical molybdenum content in tool cent molybdenum (0.1 to 0.5 kg/t). vestment of several hundred mil-
steels is around 0.8 per cent. Major operations mine more than lion US dollars to open. Of the 40
Molybdenum contributes to second- 50 million tons of ore per year, pro- per cent molybdenum from pri-
ary hardening and is an important ducing over 200,000 tons of copper mary mines, 25 per cent is pro-
constituent of the primary M6C car- and between 5,000 and 15,000 tons duced in China and the CIS and 15
bide, which makes high-speed steels of moly. For every kilo of copper, per cent in the West.
more wear-resistant. Principal uses between 20 and 40 grams of moly is Ore grades in primary mines con-
are for cutting tools and saws for extracted. tain between 0.12 and 0.20 per cent
steel, cast and non-ferrous materials, For these producers, it is a relatively moly. Thus, the production of
twist drills, milling cutters (see pho- inexpensive step to extract molyb- 10,000 tons of Mo requires mining
to) and pushing tools. The average denum from the ore that is already and milling in excess of 5 million
molybdenum content in high-speed ground up to take out copper. The tons of ore per year. The cost of this
steels is around 5 per cent. revenues from molybdenum are has to be borne by the revenue
www.stainless-steel-world.net S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 25
imoa 29-08-2007 15:24 Pagina 26
Materials
26 S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 www.stainless-steel-world.net
imoa 29-08-2007 15:24 Pagina 28
Materials
Estimated annual
Company Mine Location Type capacity Status
(million lb Mo)
Montana/
Butte USA Cu by-product 8 Reopened 2004
Gruppo Mexico
Quadra Mining Ltd. Robinson USA Cu by-product 1 Started 2006
Molybdenum demand has materials. Five to ten years ago, for Finally, the rapid expansion of the
increased significantly example, refineries did not need to Chinese economy, creating a need
As indicated already, the uses for use much stainless steel in their pro- for more industrial processing
molybdenum-containing products cessing. Today, the raw oil to be plants and for investment in new
are mostly industrial and include en- processed is becoming increasingly infrastructure, has multiplied the
ergy generation, oil and gas, chemi- aggressive, so stainless steel equip- use of moly-grade materials in that
cal processing, transportation, min- ment is becoming more common. part of the world in just a few years.
ing, mechanical engineering, build- The general trend in the chemical Therefore, molybdenum demand
ing and construction and fabrication. and petrochemical industries of in- had a compounded annual growth
[Demand for molybdenum] creasing process temperatures and rate of 8 per cent between 2002 and
Many of these sectors have seen an pressures to increase plant efficiency 2006. Such market conditions have
up cycle in investment in the last also favours the use of moly-grade not been seen for decades. In fact,
few years. High oil prices have boost- materials. Similarly, environmental- between 1990 and 2006 the growth
ed exploration and brought new pro- ly friendly processing, where efflu- rate was only 3.3 per cent per year.
duction facilities online. The new ents are recycled in the plant in- To express this in weight: in the 12
fields often are more difficult to stead of being released to the envi- years between 1990 and 2002 the
reach and more difficult to tap. ronment, increases the need for demand for molybdenum increased
Higher temperatures, pressures and moly-containing materials that can by 58 million pounds. In the last
concentrations result in a need for withstand the higher concentra- four years, between 2002 and 2006,
better (often molybdenum-alloyed) tions of aggressive compounds. the demand increased by 112 mil-
Bajo de la
Alumbrera Argentina Cu by-product 5 Under Construction Q4 2007
Alumbrera
Feasability complete;
Adanac Ruby Creek Canada Primary 10 Q2 2009
contracting
Moly Mines Completing
Spinfex Ridge Australia Cu by-product 20 Q3 2009
Ltd. feasability
Completing
Grupo Mexico Canenea Mexico Cu by-product 10 Q3 2009
feasability
Restarted -
Freeport / PD Climax USA Primary 20 to 30 2010
conditionally approved
Completing
Idaho General Mount Hope USA Primary 30 2011
feasability
Starting feasability
Thompson Cree Davison Canada Primary 8 2012
study
Table 2. Likely molybdenum mine projects (source: Adams Metals)
28 S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 www.stainless-steel-world.net
Materials
www.stainless-steel-world.net S T A I N L E S S S T E E L W O R L D S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 7 31