Colorado mining divided over molybdenum
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- Category: Molybdenum's News
- Published on 27 March 2013
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Colorado has it. And China wants it.
Molybdenum, a tongue-twister chemical element buried in rich ore veins across the state and much in demand in Asia's growing economy, is promising — or threatening, depending on viewpoint — to change the future for three Colorado towns.
Leadville, Crested Butte and Rico all owe their existence to silver and gold mining in the late 1800s. But the prospect of modern- day mining of molybdenum (pronounced muh-LIB-duh-num) and the potential for thousands of new jobs, weighed against the social and environmental impact of extracting resources from the earth, has been met with differing reactions.
High-altitude Leadville welcomes the reopening of the Climax mine, a decision formally announced Tuesday. Crested Butte residents are waging a growing battle to keep large-scale molybdenum mining away from a nearby peak affectionately called the Red Lady. And tiny Rico is making peace with news that a Canadian company is buying up land around the town for an underground mine.
All of this activity is sparked by molybdenum prices that have skyrocketed from $2 a pound in 2001 to $33 a pound.
With its very high melting point and very low heating expansion, molybdenum is used mainly as a steel hardener, in aircraft parts, furnace workings, industrial motors and light filaments. It is also found in smoke detectors, airbags and lubricants.
Because this element is very resistant to corrosion, it is in demand for the many nuclear reactors being built in China. That country has more than doubled the world demand since 2004.
That demand resonates in Colorado, which ranks first for molybdenum production in the United States based on production at the only mine currently operating in the state. The Henderson mine in Clear Creek County west of Denver has switched to around-the-clock shifts and is producing about 40 million pounds of molybdenum annually.
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