Molybdenite – moly for short - is another essential mineral. Its key ingredient is the element molybdenum (Mo) that is combined with sulphur. Molybdenite commonly occurs with other metal sulphides, especially copper. A number of metal mines in BC produce moly concentrate.

Moly is silvery grey, very soft, like graphite, and slippery. No surprise that it is useful as a lubricant, particularly in high temperature applications, such as big engines. Surprisingly, moly added to steel improves the alloy's strength, toughness, resistance to wear and corrosion, and hardness.

Molybdenum is also essential to all life. Bolstering food production, molybdenum is used by bacteria in soil to turn nitrogen into a form that plants can use to promote healthy growth and better crop production. In humans and other animals, molybdenum is an essential trace element, part of specific enzymes involved in metabolism of protein, detoxifying cells of sulfite, and other processes.

We get the molybdenum we need through our food. Good sources of molybdenum in our diets are leafy vegetables and legumes. The molybdenum in those foods and many others, comes from the breakdown of moly minerals, like molybdenite, in the soil.

Learn more:

International Molybdenum Association

Molybdenum, the Chemical Element

Mo - Periodic Table Video

Molybdenum Enzymes