Why is conventional melting difficult for molybdenum metal?

Conventional melting is difficult for molybdenum metal primarily because of its extremely high melting point, which is 2,610 °C (4,730 °F). Due to this thermal property, the metal cannot be melted into high-quality ingots using standard, conventional processes.12

Instead, molybdenum is typically processed using powder-metallurgy techniques or specialized arc-casting methods. In arc-casting, the metal can be melted in an electric arc, where molybdenum powder is pressed into a rod, sintered, and then melted in a water-cooled copper mold, often with carbon added to act as a deoxidizer.31