What Are The Top 10 Molybdenum Producing Countries in The World?

1. China
Mine production:100,000 tons

China's molybdenum production accounts for the vast majority of the global supply of molybdenum. in 2022, China's molybdenum production increased by 4,700 tons, bringing the total production for the year to 100,000 tons.

The molybdenum market as a whole is closely linked to China, not least because of its high molybdenum production. China also has a large industrial sector that requires large amounts of molybdenum to make steel.

In recent years, the Chinese government has been tightening mining standards to meet stricter environmental regulations. As a result, molybdenum plants have come under scrutiny, forcing companies to either upgrade to meet those standards or close. This, in turn, has hurt China's molybdenum production, which has remained at around 130,000 tons since 2016 until 2020, when it will begin to decline.

2 Chile.
Mine production:44,000 tons

In second place is Chile, whose molybdenum production drops to 44,000 tons in 2022. The country produced 49,400 tons in 2021. According to the US Geological Survey, Chilean molybdenum producers are facing "persistently low grades".

State-owned Codelco produces most of Chile's molybdenum, and the Polish Copper Group owns its flagship copper-molybdenum mine in the country, Sierra Gorda. hot Chil is working to bring its scosta Fuego copper project in Chile into production, and intends to produce molybdenum as a by-product.

3. United States
Mine production:42,000 tons

Molybdenum production in the United States in 2022 increased by 1,000 tons from the previous year.

As mentioned above, molybdenum metal is usually produced as a by-product, which is evident from the production in the U.S. In 2022, nine mines in the U.S. produced molybdenum, but only two of them were major products: Philips McMoran Copper & Gold Climax Molybdenum's Climax and Henderson mines in Colorado.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. molybdenum consumption in 2022 was up 96 percent from the previous year. At the same time, imports of the metal grew by 8%, while exports fell by 12%.

4. Peru
Mine production:32,000 tons

In fourth place is Peru. The country's production has been increasing over the past few years, from 28,000 tons in 2018 to 34,100 tons in 2021. However, production fell by 2,100 tons in 2022.

Peru's Ministry of Energy and Mines reported that mining investments in the country reached $4.6 billion last year. A major molybdenum mine in Peru is Philips-McMoRan Copper & Gold's Cerro Verde mine, which produces mostly copper.

5. Mexico
Mine production:16,000 tons

Molybdenum production in Mexico has experienced peaks and troughs over the past decade, according to Statista. The country's molybdenum mining industry has continued to grow since 2015, but production in 2022 was 2,000 tons lower than the year before.

One of the country's major molybdenum mines is La Caridad, which is owned by the privately owned Grupo Mexico. The mine produces molybdenum as a by-product of copper.

6. Armenia
Mine production: 7,800 tons

Armenia's molybdenum production has climbed sharply over the past few years and is almost at the same level as in 2021, but below the 8,700 tons produced in 2020. cronimet Mining subsidiary Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine operates the country's largest copper-molybdenum mine, Kajaran.

7. Iran
Mine production:3,500 tons

Iran is another major molybdenum producer, and the country's production levels have risen sharply since 2020, when production was 1,400 tons, followed by 3,100 tons in 2021 and 3,500 tons in 2022.

Information on Iranian molybdenum is scarce, probably because the Iranian government banned the export of molybdenum concentrate in 2012 to "support domestic production". It also banned the export of some 50 aluminum, petrochemical and other products.

8. Mongolia
Mine production: 2,300 tons

Mongolia's molybdenum production has been on the rise over the past few years, jumping from 1,800 tons in 2018 to 2,970 tons in 2021, but that number drops to 2,300 tons in 2022.

Similar to Iran, there is little information on molybdenum in Mongolia. One company with molybdenum projects in Mongolia is Erdene Resource Development, which owns the country's Zuun Mod and Khuyvn Khar molybdenum-copper projects.

9 Russia
Mine production: 1,700 tons

Ninth on this list of molybdenum producing countries is Russia. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates Russia's gold production at 17 million tons in 2022, the same as the previous year. A company called SMR, which is part of the EN+ group, claims to be the only fully integrated molybdenum producer in Russia and the country's largest ferromolybdenum producer by volume.

Notably, Russia retains most of its molybdenum for domestic projects. Russian nuclear reactors are specifically designed to use a type of molybdenum that is only produced domestically.

10. Uzbekistan
Mine production: 1,600 tons

Uzbekistan is another country whose molybdenum production has increased in recent years, and it ranks last on this list of top molybdenum producers.In 2022, Uzbekistan's molybdenum metal production totals 1,600 tons, well above the 200 tons produced in 2020.

In 2022, Almalyk Mining and Metallurgy, Uzbekistan's leading materials specialist, signed a $107.3 million contract with Finnish industrial machinery company Metso Ottutai to provide the necessary equipment and processing technology for Amalyk's new MOF3 copper-gold-molybdenum concentrator.