Linac4 accelerator of Centre Européen de Recherches Nucléaires is under construction and a RFdriven H− ion source is being developed. The beam current requirement for Linac4 is very challenging: 80 mA must be provided. Cesiated plasma discharge ion sources such as Penning or magnetron sources are also potential candidates. Accelerator ion sources must achieve typical reliability figures of 95% and above. Investigating and understanding the underlying mechanisms involved with source failure or ageing is critical when selecting the ion source technology. Plasma discharge driven surface ion sources rely on molybdenum cathodes. Deformation of the cathode surfaces is visible after extended operation periods. A metallurgical investigation of an ISIS ion source is presented. The origin of the deformation is twofold: Molybdenum sputtering by cesium ions digs few tenths of mm cavities while a growth of molybdenum is observed in the immediate vicinity. The molybdenum growth under hydrogen atmosphere is hard and loosely bound to the bulk. It is, therefore, likely to peel off and be transported within the plasma volume. The observation of the cathode, anode, and extraction electrodes of the magnetron source operated at BNL for two years are presented. A beam simulation of H−, electrons, and Cs− ions was performed with the IBSimu code package to qualitatively explain the observations. This paper describes the operation conditions of the ion sources and discusses the metallurgical analysis and beam simulation results.