Beryllium – Where the US Dominates
There is one metal that the US has a stranglehold on, and it is Beryllium. When panic merchants begin their jeremiads, there is nary a mention of this metal. It is one of the most strategic metals used in high tech and/or defence applications.
But it is the metal in which the US has most of the rest of the world at its mercy. This dominance should be a model for other metals but the doomsters in Washington would be unlikely to know that the US has this advantage.
Despite the Pentagon being determined to maintain the US control of this metal, the domination is potentially being undermined by artisanal output purchases, by China, flying under the US radar.
Our goal is to move into this space and provide a source of Beryllium oxide for sale to European and the US end-users.
Some Chemistry
Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a relatively rare element in both the universe and in the crust of the Earth. It is an element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. As a free element it is a steel- gray, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal.
The main negative is that Beryllium is highly toxic when inhaled creating a much heightened propensity for lung cancer.
Usage
Beryllium increases hardness and resistance to corrosion when alloyed with aluminium, cobalt, copper (notably beryllium copper), iron and nickel. In structural applications, high flexural rigidity, thermal stability, thermal conductivity and low density (1.85 times that of water) make beryllium a sought-after aerospace material for high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and communication satellites.
Because of its low density and atomic mass, beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays and other forms of ionizing radiation; therefore, it is the most common window material for X-ray equipment and in particle physics experiments. The high thermal conductivities of beryllium and beryllium oxide have led to their use in heat transport and heat sinking applications.
Production Metrics
In 2011, the world beryllium production reached more than 260.4 tonnes. In 2012, the global production of beryllium registered a 12.3% YoY decrease, declining to approximately 228.41 tonnes. The US is an unrivalled leader in the world beryllium market, with more than 87% share of the world beryllium output. Other important beryllium producing countries in the world include China, Mozambique, Brazil and Madagascar.
Currently, a new player is deepening its footprint in the global beryllium marketplace. In December 2011, Russia reopened its unique emerald-beryllium Malyshevsky mine in the Sverdlovsk region. The country is also increasing investments in its other mining and refining complexes.
The overall beryllium production might manage to pass the 300 tonnes of contained beryllium threshold by 2017. Demand fluctuates as we have seen as the level of US government stockpiling is a key swing factor. We would expect an uptrend though over coming years with rising consumption from the telecommunications, automotive electronics and computer industries. Some prognosticate a considerable increase in beryllium consumption in Latin America and Asia in the upcoming years. On the technological side the applications employing beryllium-containing alloys could make a significant contribution to the world beryllium market growth.
The US is forecast to remain the dominant market player in both consumption and production. The United States is the world’s leading source of beryllium. The Spor Mountain mine in Utah produced more than 85% of the 230 tpa of beryllium mined worldwide. The production of beryllium in the US registered a 14.9% YoY decline in 2012 and decreased to 200 tonnes, compared to 235 tonnes in 2011.
China produced most of the remainder, and less than 2% came from Mozambique and other countries. Madagascar used to be an important producer in the 1990s but that has largely disappeared as a force.
National stockpiles also provide significant amounts of beryllium for processing.
Total world reserves of beryllium ore are estimated to be greater than 400,000 tonnes.
Consumption
The domestic consumption for 2012 was estimated at around 220 tonnes. In the same year, the consumer electronics and telecommunications industries were the major beryllium end users, accounting for over 40% of the beryllium consumption volume in the US.
Three countries (China, Kazakhstan, and the United States) process beryllium ore. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense began a partnership with Materion to build a new processing facility in Ohio to produce high-purity beryllium metal. The processing facility was completed in 2011, and up to two-thirds of its output was to be allocated for defense and other government-related end uses.
The United States imported approximately 34% of the beryllium raw materials it used in 2011, including beryllium metal and other processed beryllium materials used in manufacturing; two-thirds of this material came from Russia and Kazakhstan.
The trend (at least up until 2010) reported by the USGS indicated strong demand. In the first half of 2010, Materion reported a 62% increase in shipments of bulk beryllium-copper alloy products, compared to the first half of 2009. Beryllium product sales in the key markets of aerospace, automotive electronics, ceramics, computers and telecommunications were substantially higher than the previous year. Recently though the demand has levelled off with sale revenues essentially flat from 2010 to 2012.
Pricing
Pricing is usually set between the mine and the production facility based on the usual factors of supply and demand. Increased demand led to increasing prices for beryllium over the last decade. Based on the beryllium content in imported beryllium-copper master alloy, an alloy for which there is a reliable reported price, the USGS estimated the average annual unit value of contained beryllium in beryllium-copper master alloy US$/lb as:
The Players
The names to conjure with in the mining and processing of Beryllium are Materion (Ohio/Utah), IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. (Canada but plants in US), Belmont Metals (New York), Applied Materials, NGK Metals Corporation (Tennessee), American Beryllia (New Jersey), Esmeralda de Conquista Ltda (in Brazil), Ningxia Orient Tantalum Industry Co (China), Fuyun Hengsheng Beryllium Industry Co (China), and Grizzly Mining Limited (a Zambian gem miner).