A steel-strengthening metal recovered mostly as a by-product of copper porphyries.
A refractory metal (Mo, atomic number 42) used primarily as a steel alloying element to improve strength and corrosion resistance. Molybdenum is typically recovered as a by-product of porphyry copper mining and commands premium pricing during economic expansions.
Because it is a by-product, moly supply follows copper mining rather than moly demand. That makes its price unusually volatile when demand moves.