# Molybdenum: Criticality

Critical for India, not for the EU or US

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/criticality/

What this tab covers How exposed economies are to a supply disruption: the EU, US and India listings, the concentration score, and a quantified exposure for the US, EU, India, China, Japan, Latin America, the Middle East and Australia. Where the EU scored it, a chart of supply risk against economic importance, with import reliance, recycling input and substitutes.

#### Exposure by region

| Region | Exposure | Share of world output | Share of world imports | Share of world exports | Net trade (US$) | On own critical list | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **US** | Low | 12.1% | 7.9% | 18.1% | +$649.9 m | No | Net exporter: mined 40,000 t in 2025 from two primary and seven by-product mines; molybdenum is not on the 2025 US critical list (USGS). |
| **EU** | High | 0.0% | 21.4% | 12.3% | −$812.5 m | No | No mine output and 100% import reliant, but not on the EU critical list (supply risk 0.8); the Netherlands is a hub, taking 10% of world ore imports in 2024 (EU CRM 2023; UN Comtrade). |
| **India** | High | 0.0% | 6.6% | 0.0% | −$510.9 m | Yes | No mine production; imports oxide and ferromolybdenum for steel, and molybdenum is on India's 2023 critical minerals list. |
| **China** | Medium | 41.5% | 15.5% | 8.0% | −$652.5 m | Yes | Largest miner (97,000 t, 2025) and consumer, with 7,800 kt of reserves; also the largest importer of concentrate (15.5% of 2024 imports) and controls exports of powders since February 2025 (USGS; UN Comtrade). |
| **Japan** | High | 0.0% | 10.2% | 0.0% | −$792.7 m | Yes | No mine output; imports 10.2% of world ores and concentrates (2024) for specialty steel and chemicals (UN Comtrade). |
| **Latin America** | Low | 35.9% | 15.7% | 50.1% | +$2.27 bn | no list | Chile (42,000 t), Peru (39,000 t) and Mexico (17,000 t) mined 38% of world molybdenum in 2025, all as copper by-product (USGS). |
| **Middle East** | Low | 2.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | −$1.02 m | no list | Iran mined about 3,300 t in 2025 and Armenia, nearby, 5,300 t (USGS). |
| **Australia** | Low | 0.7% | 0.0% | 1.1% | +$76.5 m | Yes | Small output of 1,000 t in 2025 but 760 kt of reserves (USGS). |

 Exposure rating: **High** when the region is a net importer whose import share is at least three times its share of world output (or, for farm goods, it produces under 70% of what it consumes); **Medium** for other net importers (or 70-95% self-sufficiency), raised to High when world supply is highly concentrated in another country; **Low** for net exporters or self-sufficient regions. Net importer status uses tonnage where reported, otherwise value. Output: World Mining Data, 2024. Trade: UN Comtrade 2024 (EU = sum of member states, including intra-EU trade). Critical lists: US 2025, EU 2024/1252, India 2023, China 2016 strategic minerals, Japan METI, Australia 2024.

Molybdenum sits in a middle zone. It is on India's 2023 list but not the US 2025 or EU 2023 lists. EU scores are supply risk 0.8 and economic importance 6.7, with 100% import reliance at both stages. The main risk is by-product dependence: about half of supply rides on copper mining. Its companionality varied between 47% and 75% from 1985 to 2013 (Nassar et al.). China dominates mining and set export controls in 2025. Substitution is limited: boron, chromium, niobium and vanadium can partly replace it in alloy steels.
 EU 2023 Not critical US 2025 list No India 2023 list Yes Production HHI 2,355 moderately concentrated

#### EU 2023 assessment

Chart: EU 2023 criticality: supply risk against economic importance
 Each dot is a material assessed by the EU in 2023. The shaded corner is the critical zone (supply risk ≥ 1.0, economic importance ≥ 2.8). Molybdenum: supply risk 0.8, economic importance 6.7. EU import reliance, extraction 100% EU import reliance, processing 100% EU recycling input rate 30%

#### Substitutes

Little substitution in steels; boron, chromium, niobium and vanadium in alloy steels; tungsten in tool steels; graphite, tantalum and tungsten in furnace refractories

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/movement/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/molybdenum/links/index.md)