Sunday, August 26, 2007

the molybdenum millionaires





wonder how many of you have heard of this word.it is actually an ore which is used for extracting molybdenum metal.this is then alloyed with other raw materials to make special alloy steels like stainless steel and high speed steel and other exotic steels used in the aviation and aerospace industry.it imparts toughness and wear resistance to the steel.derived from the greek word 'molybdos' which means lead,it was later found that it is an entirely different element. found mainly in china and chile,its price has been rising by leaps and bounds due to the strong demand from the steel industry in recent years and lesser availability from china due to various governmental restrictions.

there is a small city in northeast china called "huludao" having a population of 3 million people.around the city are rich moly resources.it has shipbuilding and nuclear submarine industries providing jobs for masny people.

the streets of huludao are filled with a large number of western luxury cars like bmws,mercedes and lexus.seen mainly in shangai and beijing this is an unusual site for huludaons.

molybdenum has cropped up a new breed of millionaires.those who dress modestly but show off their luxury cars.symbols of their newly found wealth. like the rich coiambatoreans.who also like to flaunt their luxury suvs and limos. and unlike the noveaau riche ludhianvis who dress flashily and flash their flashy cars.one thing is common though. they are all obsessed with luxury cars.

2 comments:

David J said...

Interesting story,
My country is also mineral rich although not with moly.
There are huge profits being made as we carve up our land to feed the worlds growing demand.
It seems all this has led to is simply more greed and selfishness. More rich individuals but a poorer community. In my opinion material gain is worthless if we do not use it to good purpose. How will we be rewarded for worshiping money? We may become rich but what must we sacrifice in order to do this?
The money god does not create safe homes or put food on the tables of the hungry. Should we cut down our trees because the market for timber dictates it or should we nurture the earth that sustains us?
My apologies for ranting but this subject occasionally overwhelms me.

gs said...

hello david
thanks for your comments.your concerns for the underprivileged and malnutritioned are rightly and truly in place. i too am often anguished when i read these stories which i call unabashed capitalism.though the american type of free market capitalism is the model that many countries are following,the flip side is horrendous.the gains of liberalisation must go down to the lowest level.that is not happening.economic development must be sustainable.not at a huge cost to the environment.i am sure you must have read schumacher,a champion of growth with justice.otherwise we are only inviting trouble for future generations.