Molybdenum Production by Country

Molybdenum production by country measures how much molybdenum each country mines, expressed in tonnes. The figures refer to mine production in terms of molybdenum content, in line with the underlying sources. The statistics combine an Our World in Data series for the earlier years (2019-2023), built from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries and the BGS World Mineral Statistics, with 2024 and 2025 estimates taken directly from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026. The table covers 21 countries with reported molybdenum production during the period. USGS reports 2025 estimates for 15 countries, which produced a combined 259,900 tonnes in 2025, just below the reported World total of 260,000 tonnes in the source. Poland (1,070, 2023), Brazil (200, 2023), Kyrgyzstan (34, 2023), Norway (2, 2023), Türkiye (0, 2023), and Argentina (0, 2023) retain their last available values.

Largest Molybdenum-Producing Countries in 2025

China produced the most molybdenum in 2025 with 97,000 tonnes. Chile ranked second with 42,000, followed by the United States (40,000), Peru (39,000), Mexico (17,000), Armenia (5,300), Kazakhstan (4,300), Mongolia (4,200), Iran (3,300), and Canada (2,200).

Molybdenum Production by Country

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#	Country	Latest Data (tonnes)	Year
1	China CN	97,000	2025
2	Chile CL	42,000	2025
3	United States US	40,000	2025
4	Peru PE	39,000	2025
5	Mexico MX	17,000	2025
6	Armenia AM	5,300	2025
7	Kazakhstan KZ	4,300	2025
8	Mongolia MN	4,200	2025
9	Iran IR	3,300	2025
10	Canada CA	2,200	2025
11	Uzbekistan UZ	2000	2025
12	Russia RU	1300	2025
13	Poland PL	1070	2023
14	Australia AU	1000	2025
15	North Korea KP	800	2025
16	South Korea KR	500	2025
17	Brazil BR	200	2023
18	Kyrgyzstan KG	34	2023
19	Norway NO	2	2023
20	Türkiye TR	0	2023
21	Argentina AR	0	2023

China alone accounted for about 37 percent of the World total in 2025, and China and Chile together for about 53 percent; the top three countries accounted for about 68 percent. China's output was about 2.3 times that of Chile. Five countries produced at least 10,000 tonnes in 2025.

Molybdenum Production Around the World

In Asia, China (97,000) leads, ahead of Kazakhstan (4,300), Mongolia (4,200), Armenia (5,300, in the Caucasus), Iran (3,300, in the Middle East), and Uzbekistan (2,000); South Korea (500) and North Korea (800) follow.

In North America, the United States (40,000) is the largest producer, followed by Mexico (17,000) and Canada (2,200). In South America, Chile (42,000) leads, followed by Peru (39,000). In Europe, Russia (1,300) is the largest producer, followed by Poland (1,070, 2023) and Norway (2, 2023). In Oceania, Australia (1,000) is the only listed producer. No African country has an individually reported recent value in the dataset. Poland (1,070 tonnes) and Brazil (200 tonnes) retain their 2023 values.

Largest Changes in Molybdenum Production, 2024-2025

The United States recorded the largest increase, rising from 34,000 tonnes in 2024 to 40,000 in 2025 (up 6,000, about 18 percent). Chile rose from 38,500 to 42,000 (up 3,500, about 9 percent), Mongolia from 3,110 to 4,200 (up 1,090, about 35 percent), Mexico by 800, Canada by 660, Iran by 400, Australia by 400, Kazakhstan by 220, and South Korea by 160.

China recorded the largest decline, falling from 100,000 to 97,000 tonnes (down 3,000, about 3 percent). Armenia fell from 8,200 to 5,300 (down 2,900, about 35 percent), Peru from 41,900 to 39,000 (down 2,900, about 7 percent), Russia by 200, and Uzbekistan by 100. North Korea (800) held its level.

The World total rose from 256,000 to 260,000 tonnes (up 4,000, about 1.6 percent). The U.S. increase of 6,000 tonnes alone exceeded the World increase, with the gains at Chile and Mongolia also contributing; offsetting declines at China, Armenia, and Peru moderated the net change.

Molybdenum Production by Country

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#	Country	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
1	China	104,435	120,000	95,300	106,000	110,000	100,000	97,000
2	Chile	53,541	59,400	49,400	45,600	46,000	38,500	42,000
3	United States	43,600	51,100	41,100	34,600	34,000	34,000	40,000
4	Peru	30,441	32,200	34,100	31,600	37,000	41,900	39,000
5	Mexico	21,694	16,600	16,300	15,500	15,000	16,200	17,000
6	Iran	8,711	1400	3,100	3,700	3,700	2,900	3,300
7	Armenia	7,360	8,700	7,760	7,800	7,800	8,200	5,300
8	Canada	4,385	2,530	1390	952	1000	1540	2,200
9	Mongolia	2,492	2,890	2,970	3,000	3,100	3,110	4,200
10	Russia	1989	2,700	1700	1700	1700	1500	1300
11	Poland	1230	1210	1230	1230	1070	-	-
12	North Korea	-	-	-	700	700	800	800
13	Uzbekistan	666	200	1600	1700	1700	2,100	2000
14	South Korea	-	411	408	367	400	340	500
15	Australia	-	-	-	277	500	600	1000
16	Kazakhstan	258	400	396	2005	3,727	4,080	4,300
17	Brazil	200	200	200	200	200	-	-
18	Kyrgyzstan	23	20	15	34	34	-	-
19	Norway	2	2	2	2	2	-	-
20	Türkiye	-	0	0	0	0	-	-
21	Argentina	-	0	0	0	0	-	-

Methodology

The earlier figures come from Our World in Data, which compiles national molybdenum production figures from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, the USGS Historical Statistics for Mineral and Material Commodities, and the BGS World Mineral Statistics, with major processing by Our World in Data; USGS data is prioritized, with BGS data used to supplement it. The earlier series covers 2019-2023. The 2024 and 2025 figures are estimates from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 where available; for countries without an individual 2024 or 2025 USGS estimate, the table retains the latest available Our World in Data value, which is from 2023. Values refer to mine production of molybdenum content, in tonnes, and 2025 figures are preliminary estimates from the source. The sum of individually reported country estimates does not equal the reported World total because the source applies rounding and other adjustments at the country and World levels. In the table, a zero reflects no production, while an empty cell means that no value was reported.