The metal is also used in military optics, especially in forward-looking infrared systems, surveillance systems and for sensors in, and the actual structure of, military satellites.

Elsewhere

Elsewhere in our lives, beryllium is used in medicine for pacemakers, X-ray machines, CAT scanners, MRI machinery and laser scalpels. It is also used in the ultrahigh-speed optical lasers to be found in, for example, luggage bar code scanners in airports, photo separators and photocopiers.

Finally, in addition to its use both in sprinkler heads and fire extinguishers, in your car, beryllium alloy will most probably have been used in your power steering, ignition switch and air bag sensors.

Whence The Beryllium?

Beryllium is found in around 100 different minerals, the main being beryl (Al₂Be₃Si₆O₁₈) and bertrandite (Be₄Si₂O₇(OH)₂). The majority of the world's currently mined beryllium comes from the U.S. (100 tonnes, or nearly 77% of world mine production in 2007, according to the USGS), in particular from Utah, where it is mined as bertrandite ore. The only other countries in which it is currently mined in any quantity are China (20 tonnes) and Mozambique (6 tonnes).

Other countries (with known resources) that either have mined beryllium ore minerals, or could so do in future, include Brazil, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Portugal, Russia, Uganda and Zambia. Finding the ores in sufficient concentration to make them economically viable to mine and process is the difficulty.

In addition to supply provided to the market from continuing mining activities, it has also been provided through sales from certain stockpiles, in particular that of the U.S. government, the National Defense Stockpile and that controlled by Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in Kazakhstan. UMP, according to a report on beryllium by Roskill in 2005, "reportedly holds sufficient stocks of beryllium concentrate to allow decades of production," with the USGS reporting a figure of some 30 years.

Whither The Beryllium?

In addition to being the world's largest beryllium miner, the U.S. is also the world's largest producer of beryllium products. To be so, it uses not only its own mined ores, but also imports concentrates, compounds, master alloys, ores, pure metal and scrap. The country is also one of the world's largest beryllium consumers.

Prospects For Beryllium

Even in the current economic circumstances, the prospects for beryllium appear to remain encouraging.

On October 30 this year, the independent market research publishers Global Industry Analysts, Inc. released their latest research on the global beryllium market. In this they project the global market to reach some 423 tonnes by 2012, with the U.S. market alone reaching 98.9 tonnes by the same year. They project that Asia-Pacific will be the fastest-growing market.

One current market participant is even more bullish, projecting in November that while Asia-Pacific's demand would rise from some 45 tonnes in 2005 to an estimated 65 tonnes in 2010, demand in North America and Europe would rise from 86 and 95 tonnes, respectively, in 2005 to an estimated 319 and 145 tonnes in 2010.

The Marketplace

The beryllium market (both domestically in the U.S. and internationally), from mine (or stockpile) through to end product, is defined by a very small number of key players.

In the U.S. and, indeed, the world, the largest beryllium producer (and, currently, unique in being fully integrated) is Brush Wellman, based in Cleveland, Ohio, a subsidiary of Brush Engineered Materials Inc. (BEM) (Bloomberg Ticker - BW:US). Beryllium is, though, just one of its business activities, albeit an important one.

In addition to mining its own ores in Utah, BEM imports beryllium in various forms from UMP in Kazakhstan and has been a purchaser of beryllium and beryllium compounds released for sale from the U.S. National Defense Stockpile. The company manufactures a wide range of beryllium-based alloys and composites, as well as the pure metal itself, with its largest market, accounting for some 53% of total revenues in 2008, being defense/aerospace. Other markets, by revenue, are medical (16%), industrial components (10%), nuclear reactor (6%), telecom/computer (6%) and other (9%).

Because it was obsolete, BEM closed its primary beryllium production facility in Elmore, Ohio in 2000. However, since then, because of both the limitations imposed upon its processing and the strength of demand for the metal, the company is now building a new facility for Elmore.

In line with the current U.S. government policy of trying to secure supplies of strategic materials (beryllium being one of them) rather than being at the mercy of the market, the U.S. Department of Defense is majority-funding the facility's construction.