# Where does beryllium come from?

Source: Commodity Origins, https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/beryllium/ — data JSON: https://commodityorigins.com/data/commodities/beryllium.json — license CC BY 4.0 (upstream data keeps its license; see Sources below).

Beryllium comes mainly from the United States, which produced 230 tonnes in 2025, 53% of the world's 430 tonnes (USGS MCS). Brazil (19%), China (18%) and Nigeria (9.3%) follow; the top five together supply 100%. The biggest exporter of unwrought beryllium (HS 811212) is Kazakhstan (89% of world export value in 2024, CEPII BACI). Beryllium is mined mainly from two minerals, bertrandite and beryl, and in the USGS data the largest producer is the United States, where USGS says one company in Utah mines bertrandite, so the mining map and the export map of beryllium look nothing alike.

*A light, stiff metal mined from the minerals bertrandite and beryl and used mainly as beryllium-copper alloys and in aerospace, defense and electronics parts.* Also called: Be, beryllium metal, bertrandite, beryl, beryllium copper.

## Where does beryllium come from?

| Rank | Country | Production 2025 (tonnes) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 230 | 53% |
| 2 | Brazil | 80 | 19% |
| 3 | China | 77 | 18% |
| 4 | Nigeria | 40 | 9.3% |
| 5 | Mozambique | 3 | 0.7% |
| 6 | Madagascar | 1 | 0.2% |
| 7 | Rwanda | 1 | 0.2% |
| | Rest of world | 0 | <0.1% |
| | World | 430 | 100% |

Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026.

In 2025 United States was the largest producer in the data, with 230 tonnes of beryllium content, 53% of the world's 430 tonnes (USGS MCS). Brazil followed with 80 tonnes (19%) and China with 77 tonnes (18%), so those three account for 90% of the total. Nigeria comes next with 9.3%, and Mozambique, Madagascar and Rwanda are credited with 0.7%, 0.2% and 0.2%. 7 countries are listed, and world output changed -1% on the previous year.

The ranking is unusual because of what is mined where. USGS says one company in Utah mined bertrandite ore and converted it, along with imported beryl, into beryllium hydroxide. The ore comes from an epithermal deposit in the Spor Mountain area, which USGS describes as a large bertrandite resource that is being mined, and USGS adds that the United States has very little beryl that can be economically hand sorted from pegmatite deposits. The USGS chapter does not name the company. Materion's annual report for 2025 describes the world's largest bertrandite ore mine and refinery as located in Utah, supplying hydroxide to its own beryllium businesses and for sale.

The table needs careful reading. USGS labels the 2025 column as estimated and says it made significant revisions to the 2024 figures for Mozambique, Nigeria and the United States. It notes that Kazakhstan and Portugal may have produced beryl ore, but that information was inadequate to estimate their output, so neither appears in the table. USGS's footnote says the figures are based on a 4% beryllium content of bertrandite and beryl sources, and the basis for each country's figure is not stated. The country figures add to slightly more than the rounded world total, which is why the shares sum to a little over 100%.

USGS publishes no reserves figures in its data table for beryllium. In the text beside the table it says that proven and probable bertrandite reserves in Utah total about 19,000 tons of beryllium content, and that world beryllium reserves were not available. This page therefore carries no reserves table and no world reserves total. USGS does estimate world identified resources at more than 100,000 tons, with about 60% in the United States, mostly in Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas and Alaska.


## Who exports and imports beryllium?

Beryllium ore is converted to hydroxide and then to metal and alloys in a handful of plants; the trade line here is the unwrought metal, not the ore.

### Exporters of beryllium, unwrought, including powders (HS 811212), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kazakhstan | $24.4 million | 89% |
| 2 | France | $1.6 million | 5.9% |
| 3 | Madagascar | $433,010 | 1.6% |
| 4 | United States | $335,764 | 1.2% |
| 5 | Luxembourg | $147,876 | 0.5% |
| 6 | Germany | $136,219 | 0.5% |
| 7 | Hungary | $129,814 | 0.5% |
| 8 | China | $63,926 | 0.2% |
| 9 | Nigeria | $37,443 | 0.1% |
| 10 | Bahrain | $28,152 | 0.1% |
| 11 | United Kingdom | $20,007 | 0.1% |
| 12 | Sweden | $6,908 | <0.1% |
| 13 | South Korea | $2,322 | <0.1% |
| 14 | Singapore | $1,903 | <0.1% |
| 15 | South Africa | $661 | <0.1% |

### Importers of beryllium, unwrought, including powders (HS 811212), 2024

| Rank | Country | Value (US$) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | $23.5 million | 86% |
| 2 | United States | $1.7 million | 6.1% |
| 3 | Germany | $1.3 million | 4.9% |
| 4 | Spain | $269,546 | 1% |
| 5 | Italy | $129,389 | 0.5% |
| 6 | France | $121,614 | 0.4% |
| 7 | Hungary | $63,029 | 0.2% |
| 8 | Japan | $51,993 | 0.2% |
| 9 | Poland | $51,317 | 0.2% |
| 10 | Singapore | $35,098 | 0.1% |
| 11 | India | $33,401 | 0.1% |
| 12 | Kuwait | $28,152 | 0.1% |
| 13 | Israel | $26,838 | 0.1% |
| 14 | Thailand | $22,802 | 0.1% |
| 15 | Indonesia | $12,622 | <0.1% |

Source: CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601).

The only customs line this site tracks for beryllium is HS 811212, unwrought beryllium (HS 811212). It covers unwrought metal and powders. It does not cover ore, oxide and hydroxide, beryllium-copper master alloy, beryllium-copper strip, scrap or finished parts, which USGS lists under other US tariff lines. A leading exporter on this line therefore says nothing about who mines beryllium.

In 2024 Kazakhstan was the largest exporter of this line with 89% of world export value ($24.4 million), ahead of France (5.9%), Madagascar (1.6%), the United States (1.2%) and Luxembourg (0.5%), on total world trade of $27.4 million (CEPII BACI). On the import side China took 86%, ahead of the United States (6.1%), Germany (4.9%) and Spain (1%).

The line is both small and concentrated. At $27.4 million the whole world's trade in it is small next to the roughly $360 million that USGS puts on US apparent beryllium consumption in 2025, though the two measure different things. One exporter holds most of the value, so the ranking beyond first place rests on small sums: Madagascar is third at $433,010 and the United States fourth at $335,764.

The leader does not appear in the mining table, because USGS could not estimate any output for Kazakhstan. The Ulba Metallurgical Plant, whose voting shares are all held by Kazatomprom, lists beryllium metal, billets and copper-beryllium master alloys among its products, but the customs data cannot say where any feedstock came from. The United States, the largest producer in the data, takes only 6.1% of imports on this line and sends out 1.2% of exports. USGS reports that US imports in 2021 to 2024 came 31% from Kazakhstan, 25% from Latvia and 19% from Japan, but that count combines ore, hydroxide, metal, alloy and articles, so it is not comparable to this line. By weight the line looks different from its value: the largest shipments by weight are from Luxembourg and Madagascar, whose declared values are very low per kilogram, and Kazakhstan's share is a share of value only. The data do not say what those heavy shipments were. USGS also lists a normal trade relations tariff of 8.5% on unwrought beryllium (HS 8112.12.0000) as of 31 December 2025; this is the base rate only and does not include any additional US duties.


## What does beryllium cost?

### How it is priced

This page quotes no beryllium price, because there is no free public series for it on this site. USGS does report a price statistic, but it is a derived figure: an annual average unit value of beryllium-copper master alloy in dollars per kilogram of contained beryllium, calculated from the gross weight and customs value of imports, with the beryllium content estimated at 4%. It is an average of import documents, not a quote a buyer could trade against. USGS shows it more than doubling between 2022 and 2023 and gives no explanation in the chapter.

USGS says the cost of beryllium is high compared with other materials, so it is used only where its properties are crucial. It is sold as several different products, including alloy strip and bulk products, unalloyed metal, composites, oxide and hydroxide, and a price for one form says little about another. The customs value of the unwrought metal line on this page ($27.4 million for the world) is not a market price either. How contracts are written is not published in the sources used here.


## What moves the price of beryllium?

### Defense and aerospace demand

USGS estimates from sales revenues that about 24% of beryllium products were used in aerospace and defense applications in 2025, and says most unalloyed beryllium metal and beryllium composite products went to defense and scientific uses. It also says the US Department of War supports the availability of domestic beryllium to meet critical defense needs. NASA lists the James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror, with 18 segments, as beryllium coated with gold.

### Consumer and automotive electronics

According to USGS, about 29% of beryllium product sales went to consumer electronics and about 9% to automotive electronics in 2025. USGS reports that the leading US producer's net sales in the first half of 2025 were about the same as a year earlier overall, with decreases in the automotive electronics, consumer electronics and life sciences end markets.

### A single US source

USGS says one company in Utah mined bertrandite ore and converted it into hydroxide, some of which went to the company's plant in Ohio. The American mining figure is therefore the output of a single company, not a national aggregate of many operators. USGS also reports that a 2010 public-private partnership under the Defense Production Act reestablished domestic production of beryllium metal.

### Workplace health rules

USGS notes that because beryllium is toxic, regulations cover beryllium in air, water and other media, and industry must carefully control dust, fumes and mists. OSHA's final beryllium rule was published on 9 January 2017 and, after two delays, took effect on 20 May 2017. It set an eight-hour exposure limit of 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter and a 15-minute limit of 2.0, citing increased risk of chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer at the earlier limits.

### Recycling

USGS says recycled beryllium may account for as much as 20% to 25% of total beryllium consumption, though quantities were not available. USGS says the leading US producer managed a recycling program in 2025, recovering approximately 40% of the beryllium content of new and old beryllium alloy scrap.

### Substitution

USGS lists substitutes for beryllium metal and composites, including certain composites, high-strength aluminum, pyrolytic graphite, silicon carbide, steel and titanium. For beryllium-copper it lists other copper alloys, such as phosphor bronze, though it says substitution can substantially reduce performance.

### Government critical-mineral policy

Beryllium is on the 2025 US critical minerals list, which the Interior Department and USGS released in November 2025 with 60 minerals, and on the European Commission's 2023 list of 34 critical raw materials. A listing is a government assessment, and this page does not claim a shortage.

## How is beryllium produced?

Los Alamos National Laboratory says beryllium is found in some 30 minerals, with beryl and bertrandite its most important commercial sources. USGS describes the American chain in three steps. A company in Utah mines bertrandite ore and, with imported beryl, converts it into beryllium hydroxide. Some hydroxide is shipped to the company's plant in Ohio, where it is converted into metal, oxide and beryllium-copper master alloy, and some is sold.

Separately, Materion, which describes its Utah operation as the world's largest bertrandite ore mine and refinery, says in its 2025 annual report that its Elmore, Ohio plant relies on that mining operation for beryllium hydroxide. The USGS chapter does not name the company, and this page does not equate the two.

USGS says beryllium alloy strip and bulk products are the most common forms of processed beryllium and are used in all application areas, while most unalloyed beryllium metal and composite products are used in defense and science.

Los Alamos National Laboratory describes beryllium as one of the lightest metals and much stiffer than steel. It was first identified in 1798 and first isolated, as small grains of metal, around 1828, and the laboratory says beryllium metal did not become widely available to industry until 1957. The mine figures on this page are beryllium content, not ore tonnage.


## What is beryllium used for?

USGS gives end-use shares based on sales revenues for 2025. About 29% of beryllium products were used in consumer electronics, 24% in aerospace and defense, 17% in industrial components, 9% in automotive electronics, 8% in energy applications, 2% in semiconductor applications, and 11% in other applications. These are shares of sales revenue, not of tonnage.

Alloy strip and bulk products are the most common form. Los Alamos names springs and tools among the uses of beryllium-copper alloys, and lists aerospace parts, nuclear technology, X-ray windows, particle detectors and structural materials for spacecraft and high-speed aircraft among the uses of the metal. NASA lists the Webb telescope's primary mirror as 18 beryllium segments coated with gold.


## Supply chain and chokepoints

The chain runs from bertrandite or beryl to hydroxide, from hydroxide to metal, oxide or master alloy, and from there to strip, bulk products and components. The mining is led by the United States in the data, trade in unwrought metal is led by Kazakhstan with 89% of export value, and China takes 86% of imports of that metal. Each fact concerns a different stage, so they should not be added together into a single ranking. For the United States, USGS reports that apparent consumption in 2025 was 230 metric tons and that the country was a net exporter in 2023, 2024 and 2025, but notes that from 2023 it no longer includes government stock changes in apparent consumption.

Outside the US the sources used here show little. Kazakhstan has a producer, Ulba, and USGS says Kazakhstan may have produced beryl. China is credited with 18% of mining and 86% of imports of unwrought metal, and the sources do not show who supplies it, so this page does not say.

That is the critical-mineral question for beryllium: not whether the metal is rare, since USGS estimates identified resources above 100,000 tons, but where each step is done, and USGS's statement that one company mined and processed the American supply. Beryllium is on the 2025 US critical minerals list and on the EU's 2023 list. The [critical minerals](/critical-minerals/) hub explains what those lists are, and the [glossary entry](/glossary/critical-mineral/) defines the term. See also [tungsten](/commodities/tungsten/), another minor metal.


## Key companies

- Materion: bertrandite miner and refiner in Utah, and beryllium metal and alloy maker in Ohio, United States, listed (MTRN)
- Ulba Metallurgical Plant: producer of beryllium metal, billets and master alloys, all of whose voting shares are held by Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan

## Timeline

- 1798: Vauquelin identifies a new element in beryl. Los Alamos National Laboratory records that the French chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin found a new element in beryl and emerald in 1798, which was later named beryllium after the mineral. (https://www.lanl.gov/science-engineering/periodic-table/element/beryllium)
- 1828: Wöhler and Bussy isolate the metal. According to Los Alamos, Friedrich Wöhler and Antoine Bussy independently isolated beryllium metal around 1828, using potassium and beryllium chloride, but only as small grains that were hard to work. (https://www.lanl.gov/science-engineering/periodic-table/element/beryllium)
- 1931: The company later renamed Materion is incorporated in Ohio. Materion's annual report for 2025 states that the company was incorporated in Ohio in 1931, and it describes the world's largest bertrandite ore mine and refinery as located in Utah. (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1104657/000110465726000011/mtrn-20251231.htm)
- 1957: Beryllium metal becomes widely available to industry. Los Alamos National Laboratory says beryllium metal did not become widely available to industry until 1957, long after the element's discovery and first isolation. (https://www.lanl.gov/science-engineering/periodic-table/element/beryllium)
- 2010: US domestic beryllium metal production is reestablished under the Defense Production Act. USGS reports that in 2010, a public-private partnership under Title III of the Defense Production Act with the leading US producer reestablished domestic production of beryllium metal. (https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2026/mcs2026-beryllium.pdf)
- 2011-03: Brush Engineered Materials becomes Materion. The company announced on 18 January 2011 and made effective on 8 March 2011 a change of its name to Materion Corporation, with its New York Stock Exchange ticker changing from BW to MTRN. (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001104657/000129993311000170/exhibit1.htm)
- 2017-01: OSHA publishes its final beryllium rule. The rule was published on 9 January 2017 with exposure limits of 0.2 micrograms per cubic meter over eight hours and 2.0 over 15 minutes. OSHA delayed its effective date twice, and a notice of 21 March 2017 (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-03-21/pdf/2017-05569.pdf) moved it to 20 May 2017. The rule text sets 12 March 2018 as the date from which most general-industry obligations became enforceable. (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-09/html/2016-30409.htm)
- 2025-11: The United States adds beryllium to its 2025 critical minerals list. The Interior Department and USGS released the final 2025 list in November 2025 with 60 minerals, and beryllium is on it, described as used for metal alloys in aerospace and defense. (https://www.usgs.gov/news/science-snippet/interior-department-releases-final-2025-list-critical-minerals)

## Frequently asked questions

### which country produces the most beryllium

United States mined 230 tonnes of beryllium content in 2025, 53% of the world's 430 tonnes (USGS MCS). Brazil was second with 19% and China third with 18%. USGS says one company in Utah mines the bertrandite ore. The 2025 figures are estimates, and USGS says Kazakhstan and Portugal may also have produced beryl but could not estimate their output.

### what is beryllium used for

According to USGS, in 2025 about 29% of beryllium product sales went to consumer electronics, 24% to aerospace and defense, 17% to industrial components, 9% to automotive electronics, 8% to energy applications and 2% to semiconductors. USGS calls alloy strip and bulk products the most common forms of processed beryllium, and says most unalloyed metal and composites go to defense and science. Separately, NASA lists the primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope as beryllium coated with gold (https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/fact-sheet/).

### how much beryllium is left

USGS publishes no world reserves figure for beryllium in its data table and says world reserves were not available. It reports proven and probable bertrandite reserves in Utah of about 19,000 tons of beryllium content, and estimates world identified resources at more than 100,000 tons, about 60% of them in the United States. This page therefore shows no reserves table.

### does kazakhstan mine the most beryllium

Not on the evidence here. Kazakhstan led exports of unwrought beryllium (HS 811212) in 2024 with 89% of world export value, on world trade of $27.4 million (CEPII BACI), but it is not in the USGS production table, where USGS says Kazakhstan may have produced beryl but could not estimate it. That customs line covers unwrought metal and powders only, not ore, hydroxide or alloys, so it shows who ships the metal, not who mines.

### why is there no beryllium price on this page

This site has no free public price series for beryllium. USGS reports an annual average unit value for beryllium-copper master alloy, calculated from import customs data with the beryllium content estimated at 4%, but that is an average of import documents rather than a market quote. Beryllium is sold as several different products, so one price would not describe the others.

### who mines beryllium in the united states

USGS says one company in Utah mined bertrandite ore and converted it, with imported beryl, into beryllium hydroxide, and that some of the hydroxide went to the company's plant in Ohio. It does not name the company. Separately, Materion's annual report for 2025 describes the world's largest bertrandite ore mine and refinery as located in Utah, supplying hydroxide to its beryllium businesses.

## Sources

- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, MCS 2026, fetched 8 October 2026. License: Public domain (US Government work). https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/mineral-commodity-summaries
- CEPII BACI international trade database (HS22, V202601), BACI HS22 V202601, fetched 6 September 2026. License: Etalab Open Licence 2.0. https://www.cepii.fr/CEPII/en/bdd_modele/bdd_modele_item.asp?id=37

Text last reviewed 2026-10-07. The text is written with AI assistance and checked against the cited data; figures are computed by scripts from the sources (https://commodityorigins.com/about/#how-ai-is-used). Cite as: Commodity Origins, "Where does beryllium come from?", https://commodityorigins.com/commodities/beryllium/.