The element was discovered by Nicolas Louis Vauquelin in 1798 while examining an emerald in beryl form but was not isolated until 1828. This silver-colored, brittle metal is one of the lightest structural materials. Stiffer than 1010 steel, beryllium is also highly conductive. Automobile air bags, for example, use pricey beryllium-copper alloys to ensure deployment. Although solid beryllium poses no health hazard, inhaling beryllium particles or fumes can produce acute or chronic lung disease.
Beryllium is found in a variety of countries on five continents.
The largest producers in 1998 were the United States, China, Russia and Kazakhstan. The U.S. Geological Survey's Office of Minerals Information estimated 1998 world mine production of bertrandite ore at 330,000 tonnes. Brush Wellman Inc., Cleveland, is the United States' only domestic processor of beryllium ore, and the world's primary beryllium ore processor and supplier of beryllium products although China and Kazakhstan also process the metal. Brush Wellman reported it produced 113,000 dry tonnes of diluted bertrandite ore with a 0.234-percent beryllium content in 1998, up about 3 percent from the year before. The company's mine in Juab County, Utah, contained 7,747,000 dry tonnes of proven bertrandite reserves at the end of 1998.