Beryllium

Overview

Beryllium has a density of only 1.85 g/cm³, yet it melts at 1,287 °C. Alloyed with copper or nickel, it is used in springs, gyroscopes and electrical contacts. As a metal it is used in high-speed aircraft, missiles, spacecraft and satellites, and in nuclear reactors as a neutron reflector or moderator.¹

Its supply chain is unusually concentrated in the United States, which mines most of the world's beryllium and refines it domestically. Beryllium is also hazardous to work with: its dust and fumes can cause an incurable lung disease.²¹ Both the United States and the EU list beryllium as critical. It is not a strategic raw material under EU law.³⁴

Where it comes from

Beryllium occurs in about 30 minerals. The two that matter commercially are beryl, a beryllium aluminum silicate whose gem forms include emerald and aquamarine, and bertrandite, a beryllium silicate.¹

One company mines bertrandite at Spor Mountain in Utah. It converts the ore, together with imported beryl, into beryllium hydroxide. Some of that hydroxide goes to the company's plant in Ohio to be made into metal, oxide and beryllium-copper master alloy.² Proven and probable bertrandite reserves in Utah hold about 19,000 t of beryllium. World reserves are not available.²

World mine output was an estimated 430 t of contained beryllium in 2025, and the United States produced 230 t of it. Brazil, China and Nigeria account for most of the rest. Kazakhstan and Portugal may also have produced beryl, but data are insufficient for estimates.²

• United States230 t · 53%
• Brazil80 t · 19%
• China77 t · 18%
• Nigeria40 t · 9%
• Other countries5 t · 1%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 430 t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Beryllium

Identified world resources exceed 100,000 t, and about 60% of them are in the United States.² The EU's 2023 assessment found that the United States supplied 88% of global beryllium and 60% of the beryllium the EU sources.⁵

What it is used for

US apparent consumption was about 230 t in 2025. Based on sales revenue, consumer electronics took about 29% of beryllium products and aerospace and defense 24%, followed by industrial components, automotive electronics and energy.²

{{chart:end-uses}}

Alloy strip and bulk products, mostly copper-beryllium, are the most common processed forms and are used in every application area. Unalloyed metal and beryllium composites go mostly to defense and scientific uses.² Thin beryllium foil is used in X-ray lithography.¹

Grades and forms

Beryllium is used in three main forms: alloys (mainly copper-beryllium), unalloyed metal and composites, and beryllium oxide ceramics. All are made from beryllium hydroxide.²

Trade and policy

The United States has been a net exporter of beryllium since 2023. In 2025, estimated exports fell 43% and imports fell 34%. Exports of metal to Canada, China, France and Germany dropped sharply.² Imports in 2021–24 came mainly from Kazakhstan (31%), Latvia (25%) and Japan (19%).²

Domestic supply has strong defense backing. In 2010 a public-private partnership under Title III of the Defense Production Act re-established US production of beryllium metal, and the Department of War supports domestic supply for defense needs.²

Worker safety rules strongly shape how beryllium is handled. Inhaling its dust or fumes can cause berylliosis, also called chronic beryllium disease, an incurable lung inflammation, and beryllium compounds are carcinogenic.¹ OSHA estimates that about 62,000 US workers in about 7,300 establishments are potentially exposed.⁶ Its standard limits airborne beryllium to 0.2 µg/m³ averaged over 8 hours and 2.0 µg/m³ over 15 minutes. Exposure assessment and medical surveillance start at an action level of 0.1 µg/m³.⁷ Similar guidelines cover beryllium in air, water and other media internationally and at state level.²

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Beryllium is recovered from new scrap generated in manufacturing and from old scrap. Detailed data are not available, but recycling may supply 20% to 25% of total consumption. The main US producer runs a take-back program that recovers about 40% of the beryllium in new and old alloy scrap.²

Beryllium is used where its properties are essential, so substitutes usually cost performance. Composites, high-strength aluminum, pyrolytic graphite, silicon carbide, steel or titanium can replace the metal in some uses. Other copper alloys and phosphor bronze can stand in for copper-beryllium, but with substantially reduced performance. Aluminum nitride or boron nitride can replace beryllium oxide.²

Sources

1. Beryllium: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Beryllium. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

3. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

4. Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

5. Study on the Critical Raw Materials for the EU 2023, Final Report. European Commission, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

6. Beryllium overview. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

7. 29 CFR 1910.1024, Beryllium. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩