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1971 
1972 
United States: 
Concentrate: 
 Production                  
 Shipments                  
Value                   
 Consumption                
Imports for consumption  
 Stocks, Dec. 31: Mine and plant Primary products: 
Production                
Shipments                
Consumption                
Stocks, Dec. 31: Producers     
World: Production                   
93,447 
93,245 
151,000 
75,647 
 1 
12,208 
69,675 
63,761 
49,271 
18,170 
2 144,771 
99,807 
103,009 
173,819 
73,275 
(1) 
8,398 
68,526 
77,726 
51,622 
17,844 
2159,470 
111,352 
110,381 
190,077 
76,101 
25 
9,715 
75,383 
76,095 
45,337 
25,904 
181,429 
109,592 
97,882 
164,917 
66,399 
854 
29,077 
67,016 
66,654 
40,950 
31,048 
170,840 
112,138 
102,197 
170,530 
62,560 
385 
45,243 
64,841 
75,538 
45,558 
28,898 
175,256 
' Less than 1 unit. 2 Free World. 
  793Molybdenum 
By Andrew Kuklis' 
 World molybdenum output rose 4.4 million pounds in 1972 and was 2% higher
than in 1971. Molybdenum remained in oversupply because of an increase in
new production capacity that resulted in a significant rise in stocks during
1972. To arrest the alarming growth of stocks, some mines shutdown, and others
reduced molybdenum production. Yearend world mo 
lybdenum stocks were estimated to exceed the current annual consumption rate.
 Based upon known geological occurrences, production trends of the past decade,
and current projects under development, the supply of molybdenum was expected
to be adequate to meet increasing demand during the remaining years of the
20th century. 
Table 1.—Salient molybdenum statistics 
(Thousand pounds contained molybdenum and thousand dollars) 
 1968 1969 1970 
 Legislation and Government Programs.— The House Armed Services Committee
approved a bill to dispose of molybdenum in the national stockpile. All the
molybdenum in the stockpile was declared in excess of national emergency
requirements because an adequate supply was available from domestic resources.
However, because of 
Table 2.—US. Government molybdenum 
stockpile material inventories 
on December 81, 1972 
(Thousand pounds contained molybdenum) 
National 
Type material (strategic) stockpile 
Molybdenum, disulfide 22,750 
Molybdenum, ferro 7,501 
Molybdic oxide 11,050 
 Total 41,301 
other legislative matters, the House of Representatives did not take action
on the bill. At yearend, molybdenum in the national stockpile totaled 46.8
million pounds, same as at yearend 1971. Approximately 5.5 million pounds
of molybdenum was classed as sold but unshipped (table 3). 
1 Mining engineer, Division of Ferrous Metals. 
Table 8.—US. Government molybdenum 
stockpile material, sold but unshipped 
on December 81, 1972 1 
(Thousand pounds contained molybdenum) 
  National 
 Type material (strategic) 
  stockpile 
Molybdenum, disulfide 5,467 
Molybdic oxide 31 
 Total 5,498 
1 Not included in table 2.