6.10.06

Molybdenum, the Sasquatch Metal

Molybdenum has been making the rounds as an alleged additive for making steel alloys and as a catalyst in the production of certain petrochemical products. As a metal with consumable uses, limited substitutes and a limited supply, it tends to have inelastic demand....allegedly.

I allege that much like the sasquatch, molybdenum does not, in fact, even exist.

Points Which Point to the Non-Existence of Molybdenum:
  • Has anyone ever touched molybdenum? Or seen it? I've seen or touched platinum, silver, gold and most metals, except uranium which I am willing to take on faith. I've never met anyone who had a molybdenum cufflink or a a ring with a molybdenum setting.

  • Molyjhkldjaslkdjaslkd. Not a name you would give to a real substance, much less a metal. It seems like an inside joke about Molly B's Denim. Who is this Molly B? And where are her denim dungarees?

  • The price has gone up from $2 per pound up to over $40 in just a few years (currently in the mid-20's). It is clear as to why the market hasn't corrected itself -- it is difficult to bring on formerly uneconomic molybdenum mines or copper mining trailing operations (where molybdenum can allegedly be found) when molybdenum does not actually exist.


The Sasquatch of MetalsThe Molybdenum of Creatures


Recommendation: Per Mr. Juggles Investing Commandment 5b you must verify that that which you think exists in an investment, actually exists. The non-existence of molybdenum could prove a crushing blow to stocks of firms who allegedly mine the possibly fictional metal.