Domestic production and use

1. A company in Utah mined bertrandite ore, which it transformed, along with imported beryl and beryl from the National Defense Stockpile, into beryllium hydroxide.
2. Some of the beryllium hydroxide was shipped to the company’s plant in Ohio, where it was converted into beryllium copper master alloy, metal, and/or oxide, and some was sold.
3. Estimated beryllium expenditure of 90 tons was valued at about $25 million, based on the estimated unit value for beryllium-copper master alloy. About 45% of beryllium use was predictable to be in computer and telecommunications products

Recycling

Beryllium was used mostly from new scrap generated during the manufacture of beryllium products. Detailed data on the quantity of beryllium recycled are not available, but may represent as much as 10% of apparent consumption.

Substitutes

1. Because the cost of beryllium is high compare with that of other materials, it is used in applications in which its properties are crucial. Graphite, steel, and titanium may be substituted for beryllium metal in some applications, and copper alloys containing nickel and silicon, titanium, or other alloying elements or phosphor bronze alloys (copper-tin-phosphorus) may be substituted for beryllium-copper alloys, but these substitutions can result in substantially reduced performance.
2. In some applications, aluminum nitride or boron nitride may be substituted for beryllium oxide.

World Resources