Resources For Freedom A Report To The President 2 The Outlook For Key Commodities

U.S. molybdenum production increased fivefold from 18.2 million pounds in 1946 to 90.5 million pounds in 1966, and constituted 87.3 percent of the total free world supply in the 1946-66 period. Mining development in other free world countries in the next few years may reduce the magnitude of the U.S. position, although similar development planned for the United States may counteract some of the relative gains by those countries. In 1966 two-thirds of the reported molybdenum consumption in the United States by end uses was as an alloying element in steel. Molybdenum also has important use as an alloying element in iron and high-temperature alloys. Consumption of molybdenum metal for making fabricated parts has increased in the past few years, especially in the space and nuclear industries. Molybdenum compounds are used mainly for making pigment, catalysts, and lubricants. Based on producer reports of shipments of primary products to domestic customers, U.S. consumption of molybdenum increased from 16.5 million pounds of molybdenum in 1946 to 65.6 million pounds in 1966. U.S. molybdenum reserves are now estimated to be 5.9 billion pounds of recoverable molybdenum, an increase of 2.1 billion pounds above previous estimates. Molybdenum ores account for 71.4 percent of the reserves, copper ores for 22.3 percent and copper-molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium ores for 6.3 percent. Several methods for predicting future demand are illustrated and estimates of demand using these methods were made for 1975. Based on present capacities and announced company plans for future developments, estimates of annual production were made for 1967 through 1975 for the United States, Canada. Chile, Peru, and the free world. These data indicate that molybdenum production in 1975 for the free world is expected to be 246 million pounds with the United States producing 68.2 percent and Canada, Chile, and Peru 30.3 percent