Discovered : by P.J. Hjelm in 1781 Isolated in Uppsala, Sweden Origin : The name is derived from the Greek ‘molybdos’, meaning lead. Description : A silvery metal produced and sold as a grey powder and used in alloys, catalysts and electrodes. World production is 80,000 tonnes per year, most of which is converted to molybdenum sulfide, a lubricant additive. This element is essential for several living things, and probably for humans, although only in tiny amounts. The average human takes in about 0.01 milligramme a day (a hundredth of an ounce in a lifetime) and stores about 5 milligrammes in the body. Image : Molybdenum also used in valves and boiler plate.