An insightful IMOA AGM

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22/09/2025

IMOA was pleased to welcome 154 delegates from 57 of our member companies to our 37^th AGM in Viña del Mar, Chile.

During the event, the Association ratified and welcomed the following 11 members:

• Alleima Tube AB, a Swedish steel manufacturer specializing in advanced alloys for industrial applications.
• Anglo American Marketing Limited, the marketing and sales arm of Anglo American PLC, which owns and operates molybdenum-producing mines in Chile and Peru and produces molybdenum concentrate as a by-product of copper.
• Daizo Corporation, a Japanese molybdenum lubricant producer.
• East Molybdenum & Rhenium Rare Materials Co., a Chinese trader and distributor of molybdenum products.
• Mitsubishi Corporation RtM Japan Ltd., a Japanese trader of steel-making materials.
• Plum-Monix Industry Co., Ltd., a Taiwanese producer of a number of molybdenum products.
• Satvik Enterprises Limited, an Indian manufacturer and supplier of ferromolybdenum.
• SSAB EMEA AB, a global steel company based in Sweden.
• Team Ferro Alloys PVT Ltd., an Indian producer of ferroalloys, including ferromolybdenum.
• Uddeholm AB, a Swedish manufacturer of tool steels for industrial tools.
• Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex JSC, a producer of chemical molybdenum oxide and molybdenum metal products.

This takes our membership to 82 organizations, our highest ever, and includes global mining, processing, recycling, end users, assaying, and logistics providers.

Following the successful event, Secretary-General Eva Model said:

"Throughout our AGM event, we were fortunate to hear from leading experts on a range of topics of interest to the molybdenum industry."

Gerhard Pariser of SMR provided a summary picture, emphasizing that molybdenum is well diversified both in terms of first use as well as end-use, making the industry more resilient. We learned that in terms of end-use applications, stainless steel grew significantly last year, while growth in tool steels was less than previously predicted. Gerhard also reported on the results of the scrap study, commissioned exclusively for IMOA's members."

Jim Lennon of Red Door research offered his usual insightful view of molybdenum supply and demand, which included that the market remains tight due to a supply-demand imbalance after 2024 was defined by further production shortfalls.

"Long-standing IMOA consultant Hardy Mohrbacher spoke about why molybdenum's unique properties make it particularly difficult to substitute in steel production. I was delighted to hear him report that results from IMOA's research projects mean we can confidently say that 'molybdenum is the backbone of hardenability, other elements are only assistants.'"

Hillary Amster of Copper Mark gave a welcome update on the Molybdenum Mark, which has seen strong uptake across our industry. She also offered an update on the Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative, with a reassurance that Copper Mark is committed to maintaining the commodity-specific marks, including the Molybdenum Mark, under the new standard.

"I was fascinated to hear Eric Medel of Codelco present on the importance of metals in a geopolitically-tensioned world. Eric looked back over time to note the importance of metals during points of global power shifts. I thought his quote "In this global confrontation, natural resources are not just assets, they are instruments of power. Those who control them, shape the world." is perhaps particularly relevant at this point in time."

I enjoyed hearing David Wang from Hygreen Energy China's presentation on molybdenum's role in the relatively new but expanding green hydrogen energy sector. Molybdenum really is a pivotal material in this industry. It was also interesting to see the future role that green hydrogen could potentially play in supporting the mining industry in its decarbonization quest.

Furthermore, we heard from Codelco's Gabriel Mendez, who offered an insight into Codelco's sustainable approach to mining and its aim to be a pillar of sustainable development in both Chile and globally. Annie Landfield Greig of Four Elements Consulting reported the positive results of IMOA's recently published LCA study on molybdenum products for metallurgical applications, with IMOA's Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) being the data backbone of our LCA.

Our speaker program was rounded off with presentations from Nicole Kinsman and Sandra Carey from IMOA. Nicole reported on our market development work and provided an update on the significant breakthrough we have recently achieved in our stainless steel waterpipe project in Italy, where large-scale proof-of-concept trials of stainless steel water pipes have resulted in over 300 new connections being installed, with 300 more to come over the coming months. While Sandra gave a comprehensive round-up of the work that IMOA does in HSE, emphasizing that our commitment to developing robust scientific datasets over the last 20 years has led to a number of positive regulatory outcomes in the last year.

Eva Model concluded:

"It was great to welcome 11 new members on board and to see so many of our members making the most of the ample networking opportunities available at the largest molybdenum-focused annual gathering of the industry. I look forward to growing our global community further in the coming year."

General information for media

• IMOA's Annual Review offers more information on IMOA's work and achievements
• IMOA is a non profit trade association, representing the majority of the molybdenum industry worldwide. It works to raise awareness about the unique properties of molybdenum, its beneficial effects on materials performance, its safety in use and its contribution to sustainable development.
• Molybdenum is added to alloy steels to improve strength, toughness, hardenability and weldability for numerous applications in the automotive, shipbuilding, construction, mining, chemical, oil & gas and energy generation industries. In stainless steels and superalloys, it improves corrosion resistance and high-temperature performance and finds uses in many industrial applications. It is also used in a variety of products from catalysts and lubricants to pigments and paint.
• IMOA has a strict antitrust compliance policy which delegates of all meetings are required to observe. All such meetings are observed by legal counsel.
• For more information please email the communications team at [email protected].
• For up-to-date information please follow IMOA on LinkedIn.

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