South America Replaces China to Become Largest Molybdenum Producer

According to the latest figures from the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA), the global production in the second quarter of 2020 was 67,222 tons, an increase of 3% from the first quarter and a 3% increase from the second quarter of 2019, and South America has replaced China to become the global largest producer. Global use of molybdenum also rose by 3% to 126.9mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, but fell by 14% when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Mo is added to steels and cast irons to improve strength, toughness, hardenability, and weldability for numerous applications in the automotive, shipbuilding, construction, mining, chemical, oil & gas, and energy generation industries. In stainless steels and superalloys, it improves corrosion resistance and high-temperature performance and finds uses in many industrial applications. It is also used in a variety of products from catalysts and lubricants to pigments and paint.

South America became the largest producer of molybdenum at 49.4mlbs surpassing China which became the second-largest producer at 47.2mlbs. South America’s production was 11% higher than the previous quarter and 12% higher than the same quarter of the previous year. China's production was 1% lower than the previous quarter and 8% lower than in the same quarter of the previous year.

Production in North America saw the largest percentage fall, 7%, to 36.8mlbs when compared to the previous quarter, a 3% fall when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Other regions saw a significant percentage rise in production to 14.8mlbs, a 26% increase when compared to the previous quarter and a 39% increase when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

China, the only region to see a rise in use, remained the largest user of Mo at 58.9mlbs, a 46% rise when compared to the previous quarter, a 7% rise when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Europe remained the second largest user at 26.4mlbs, although this represented a 15% fall when compared to the previous quarter and a 28% fall when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. For the second quarter, Japan continued to be a bigger user of Mo than the USA at 10.2mlbs, although this represented a 20% drop in usage when compared to the previous quarter and a 28% drop in comparison to the same quarter of the previous year.

The USA and CIS saw the largest falls in usage. The USA used 9.5mlbs of molybdenum which represented a fall of 25% when compared to the previous quarter, a 34% drop when compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The CIS used 3.2mlbs which represented the largest fall, 44% when compared to the same quarter of the previous year and a 25% fall when compared to the previous quarter. Other countries used 18.6mlbs, a 17% drop in comparison to the previous quarter, and a 13% drop when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

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