Molybdenum Monazite

Thorium occurs in thorite and in thorianite. Large deposits of thorium minerals have been reported in New England and elsewhere, but these have not yet been exploited. Thorium is now thought to be about three times as abundant as uranium and about as abundant as lead or molybdenum. Thorium is recovered commercially from the mineral monazite, which contains from 3 to 9% Th02 along with rare-earth minerals. 

Uranium, not as rare as once thought, is now considered to be more plentiful than mercury, antimony, silver, or cadmium, and is about as abundant as molybdenum or arsenic. It occurs in numerous minerals such as pitchblende, uraninite, carnotite, autunite, uranophane, and tobernite. It is also found in phosphate rock, lignite, monazite sands, and can be recovered commercially from these sources. 

Primary Mined particularly for the molybdenum contained in the ores. In some instances, molybdenum could be the only valuable metal recovered from the ore. The Questa deposit in New Mexico is mined exclusively for molybdenum content. In other deposits molybdenum may be the main product recovered together with one or more products. In these deposits the molybdenum content alone would allow for a profitable operation. The ore at the Climax mine in Colorado is of this type. Currently, monazite, pyrite, tin, and tungsten are recovered from the ore none of these by-products exists singly nor together in sufficient quantity so that the ore could be mined profitably merely for the extraction of one or all of these by-products. 

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