[Ferro-Alloys.com] Ferro-Alloys.com stated that nearly 63% of molybdenum supply is derived as a by-product mostly from copper miners while the remainder of molybdenum is sourced from primary producers, mostly in China. While total molybdenum mine supply (by-product and primary) increased to 561 million pounds in 2017 from 510 million pounds in 2016, according to Ferro-Alloys.com, molybdenum by-product production is expected to soften in 2018, notably from Chile.

Anticipating tightening supply of molybdenum in 2018, Catherine Virga, Director of the Ferro-Alloys.com Group, commented "We believe that the major copper producers are already maximizing their molybdenum by-product production and that increases in by-product molybdenum output in 2018 will be limited. Furthermore, strict environmental controls including inspections and production curtailments are expected to continue in China, hampering growth and putting upward pressure on production costs." 

• [Editor:Jiang Li Juan ]