Molybdenum minerals
Extractive metallurgy of molybdenum

Molybdenum occurs naturally as primary sulfides, oxides, or mixed salts of calcium, lead, iron, and other elements of secondary origin. Only molybdenite, MoS ₂ , is of economic interest. Wulfenite (MoO ₃ PbO), powellite (CaMoO ₄ ), and ferrimolybdite (Fe ₂ (MoO ₄ ) ₃ -8H ₂ O) generally have no economic value, as they cannot be processed into concentrates using standard mineral processing methods.

The association of molybdenum with iron and copper sulfides is very common, particularly in copper deposits in the western United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru,...