Rare metal beryllium is an important mineral resource, which plays an important role in the development of high-tech industries. There are more than 100 kinds of minerals containing metallic beryllium element in nature, and more than 20 kinds are common. Among them, beryl (the content of beryllium oxide accounts for 9.26% ~ 14.40%), hydroxysiliconite (the content of beryllium oxide accounts for 39.6% ~ 42.6%) %) and silicon beryllium (43.60% to 45.67% beryllium oxide content) are the three most common beryllium-containing minerals. As raw materials of beryllium, beryl and beryllium are beryllium-containing mineral products with high commercial value. Although there are many types of beryllium-bearing ores in nature, most of them are associated with associated deposits. There are three types of deposits corresponding to the three common beryllium-containing mineral products: the first type is beryl granite pegmatite deposits, which are mainly distributed in Brazil, India, Russia and the United States; the second type is hydroxysilicon beryllium in tuff. Stone layered deposits; the third type is the rare metal deposit of siliceous beryllium in the syenite complex. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Materials Protection Committee has identified high-purity beryllium metal as a strategic key material. The United States is the country with the most abundant beryllium resources in the world, with about 21,000 tons of beryllium ore reserves, accounting for 7.7% of global reserves. At the same time, the United States is also the country with the longest history of utilizing beryllium resources. Therefore, the supply and demand situation of the beryllium ore industry in the United States and its changes have an important impact on the supply and demand pattern of the world beryllium ore industry. For this reason, this paper analyzes the supply and demand pattern of the beryllium ore industry in the United States, and then studies the main industrial policies of the beryllium ore industry in the United States, and extracts relevant inspirations, and puts forward relevant suggestions to promote the development of the beryllium ore industry in my country.

1 The supply and demand pattern of the beryllium ore industry in the United States

1.1 Analysis of the supply situation of the beryllium ore industry in the United States

     2020 data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that the global reserves of beryllium resources have been identified more than 100,000 tons, of which about 60% are located in the United States. In 2018, the U.S. beryllium mine production (metal content) was about 165t, accounting for 68.75% of the global total production (metal content). The Spor Mountain region of Utah, the Butte region of the McCullough Mountains in Nevada, the Black Mountain region of South Dakota, the Sierra Blanca region of Texas, the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska, and the Utah region The Golden Mountain area is the area where beryllium resources are concentrated. The United States is also the country with the largest reserves of beryllium silicate in the world. The Spo Mountain deposit in Utah is a typical representative of this type of deposit. The proven beryllium metal reserves have reached 18,000 tons. Most of the beryllium resources in the United States come from this deposit.

     American Materion has a complete industrial system of beryllium ore and beryllium concentrate mining, production and manufacturing, and is a global industry leader. The upstream of its beryllium industry chain is to mine and screen the raw ore of the mine, and obtain the main raw materials hydroxysilicon beryllium (90%) and beryl (10%). Beryllium hydroxide; most of the beryllium hydroxide is converted into high-purity beryllium oxide, metal beryllium and beryllium alloys through different processing techniques downstream of the industrial chain, and some are sold directly. According to 2015 data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the downstream products of the U.S. beryllium industry chain include 80% beryllium copper alloy, 15% metal beryllium and 5% other minerals, which are produced in the form of foil, rod, sheet and tube. Beryllium products enter the consumer terminal.

1.2 Analysis on the Demand of U.S. Beryllium Ore Industry

    The United States is the largest consumer of beryllium minerals in the world, and its consumption accounts for about 90% of the total global consumption. In 2018, the total consumption of beryllium in the United States (metal content) was 202t, and the external dependence (ratio of net import to apparent consumption) was about 18.32%.

     The U.S. beryllium industry chain has more diverse consumer terminals, including industrial components, aerospace and defense, automotive electronics, consumer electronics, telecom infrastructure, and energy industries. Different downstream products enter different consumer terminals. About 55% of beryllium metal consumer terminals are used in the military industry and natural science industry, 25% are used in the industrial component industry and commercial aerospace industry, 9% are used in the telecommunications infrastructure industry, and 6% are used in the industry. In the medical industry, another 5% of the products are used in other industries. 31% of beryllium copper alloy end consumption is used in the industrial component industry and commercial aerospace industry, 20% in the consumer electronics industry, 17% in the automotive electronics industry, 12% in the energy industry, 11% in the telecommunications infrastructure industry , 7% for the home appliance industry, and another 2% for the defense and medical industries.

1.3 Analysis of Supply and Demand Changes in U.S. Beryllium Ore Industry

     From 1991 to 1997, the supply and demand of the beryllium ore industry in the United States were basically in a balanced state, and the net import dependence was less than 35t.

     From 2010 to 2012, the supply and demand situation of the beryllium ore industry in the United States fluctuated significantly, especially in 2010, the consumption reached a peak of 456t, and the net import volume reached 276t. Since 2013, the supply and demand situation of the beryllium ore industry in the United States has slowed down, and the net import has been small. In general, the supply and demand situation of beryllium mineral products in the United States is mainly affected by the international situation and domestic economic policies. Among them, the output of beryllium mine in the United States is greatly affected by the world oil crisis and financial crisis, and the change in demand is obviously affected by its economic development and its policies.

As the largest producer of beryllium ore products in the United States, in 2017, Materion Company’s proven reserves of beryllium feldspar in Juab County, Utah, the United States were 7.37 million tons, of which the average beryllium content was 0.248%, and the beryllium-containing ore was about 18,300 tons. Among them, Materion Company Has 90% of the proven mineral reserves. Therefore, the future supply of beryllium mineral products in the United States will still occupy the leading position in the world. In the first quarter of 2018, Materion’s beryllium-rich high-performance alloys and composites segment saw a 28% increase in value-added sales compared to 2017; in the first half of 2019, Materion The company reported that its net sales of beryllium alloy strip and bulk products, as well as beryllium metal and composite products, increased by 6% year-over-year in 2018, a marked decrease in growth. According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), this paper forecasts the supply and demand of beryllium mineral products in the United States in 2025, 2030 and 2035. It can be seen that from 2020 to 2035, the production and consumption of beryllium ore products in the United States will be unbalanced, and its domestic production of beryllium ore products is still difficult to fully meet its needs, and the gap will tend to expand.

2. Analysis of the trade pattern of the beryllium ore industry in the United States

2.1 The trade of beryllium mineral products in the United States has changed from export-oriented to import-oriented

     The United States is both a major exporter of beryllium mineral products and an importer of beryllium mineral products. Through international trade, primary beryllium products from all over the world flow to the United States, and the United States also provides beryllium semi-finished products and beryllium finishing products to other countries in the world. Data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows that in 2018, the import volume (metal content) of beryllium mineral products in the United States was 67t, the export volume (metal content) was 30t, and the net import (metal content) reached 37t.

2.2 Changes in major trading partners of U.S. beryllium mineral products

     In recent years, the main exporters of beryllium products in the United States are Canada, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and other countries. In 2017, the United States exported beryllium mineral products to Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan and other countries, accounting for 56%, 18%, 11%, 7%, 4% and 4% of its total exports, respectively. Among them, the US unwrought beryllium ore products (including powder) are exported to Argentina 62%, South Korea 14%, Canada 9%, Germany 5% and the UK 5%; the US beryllium ore waste exporting countries and regions and Canada accounted for 66%, Taiwan, China 34%; U.S. beryllium metal export destination countries and accounted for 58% in Canada, 13% in Germany, 8% in France, 5% in Japan and 4% in the United Kingdom.

2.3 Changes in the import and export prices of beryllium mineral products in the United States

     The beryllium ore products imported by the United States are more diverse, including beryllium metal, beryllium ore and concentrate, beryllium copper sheet, beryllium copper master alloy, beryllium oxide and beryllium hydroxide, unwrought beryllium (including powder) and beryllium waste. In 2017, the United States imported 61.8t of beryllium ore products (equivalent to metal), of which beryllium metal, beryllium oxide and beryllium hydroxide (equivalent to metal) and beryllium copper flakes (equivalent to metal) accounted for 38% of the total imports, respectively. 6%, 14%. The imported gross weight of beryllium oxide and beryllium hydroxide is 10.6t, the value is 112 thousand US dollars, and the import price is 11 US dollars/kg; the import gross weight of beryllium copper sheet is 589t, the value is 8990 thousand US dollars, and the import price is 15 US dollars/kg; The metal import price was $83/kg.

3. Analysis of U.S. Beryllium Industry Policy

3.1 U.S. beryllium industry export control policy

     The United States is one of the first countries to apply export control to domestic and foreign affairs and to serve its core national interests. The Trade Control Act of 1949 laid the foundation for the modern U.S. export control system. In 1979, the “Export Administration Law” and “Export Control Regulations” controlled the export of dual-use materials, technologies and related services, and proposed that the export volume of mineral products should be in a reasonable proportion to its own mineral product storage. Export licenses in the United States include general licenses and special licenses. General licenses only need to submit an export declaration to the customs; while special licenses must submit an application to the Ministry of Commerce. Before approval, all products and technical information are prohibited from export. The form of issuance of export licenses for mineral products depends on factors such as the category, value and export destination country of the commodity. Specific mineral products that involve national security interests or are directly prohibited from export are not within the scope of export licenses. In recent years, the United States has carried out a series of reforms to export control policies, such as the Export Control Reform Act passed in 2018, which extends export controls to the export, re-export or transfer of emerging and basic technologies. According to the above regulations, the United States only exports pure metal beryllium to specific countries, and stipulates that the metal beryllium originating in the United States cannot be sold to other countries without the consent of the US government.

3.2 Encourage capital export to control the supply of overseas beryllium products

     The US government actively supports the export of capital mainly by multinational mining companies, and encourages these companies to vigorously carry out mineral exploration, mining, processing, smelting and marketing activities to occupy, master and control foreign beryllium ore production bases. For example, the U.S. controls the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Kazakhstan by means of capital and technology, making it the largest supply base for plated ore products in the United States. Kazakhstan is an important country in the world capable of mining and extracting beryllium ore and processing beryllium alloys. Urba Metallurgical Plant is a large-scale comprehensive metallurgical enterprise in Kazakhstan. The main beryllium ore products include beryllium materials, beryllium products, beryllium Copper master alloy, beryllium aluminum master alloy and various beryllium oxide parts, etc., produce 170-190t/a of beryllium ore products. Through the penetration of capital and technology, the United States has successfully turned the Urba Metallurgical Plant into a supply base for beryllium products and beryllium alloys in the United States. In addition to Kazakhstan, Japan and Brazil have also become major suppliers of beryllium products to the United States. In addition, the United States has also actively strengthened the establishment of cooperative alliances with other countries rich in mineral resources. For example, in 2019, the United States reached ten mining alliances with Australia, Argentina, Brazil and other countries to ensure the stable supply of domestic mineral products.

3.3 U.S. beryllium mineral product import and export price policy

By comparing the import and export prices of beryllium metal in the United States, it is found that in the international trade of beryllium ore products, the United States can not only export beryllium metal to other countries and regions in the world at a high price, but also obtain beryllium metal from other countries at a lower import price. It is the strong government involvement of the United States in its key minerals. The U.S. government frequently establishes cooperative alliances with other countries in the world, in an attempt to control the international beryllium mineral price through alliances and agreements, and maximize its own interests. In addition, the United States has also attempted to reconstruct the international political and economic structure in its favor through trade frictions and weaken the pricing power of other countries in mineral products. As early as the 1990s, the United States signed a series of trade protection agreements with Japan through the “301 investigation” and anti-dumping investigations to control the amount of semiconductor raw materials imported from Japan to the United States and to monitor the prices of Japanese products exported to the United States.

4. Inspiration and advice

4.1 Revelation

     To sum up, it is found that the industrial policy of the United States towards the strategic mineral resource beryllium resources is based on the political and economic security of the country, which gives my country a lot of inspiration. First, for strategic mineral resources, on the one hand, we must base ourselves on domestic supply, and on the other hand, we must optimize the allocation of resources on a global scale by creating favorable international trade conditions; It is an important starting point for the global optimization and allocation of mineral resources. Therefore, giving full play to the foreign investment function of private capital and vigorously promoting the technological innovation level of strategic mineral resources is another important way to improve the security of my country’s strategic mineral resources. Conducive to the country’s international voice is an important way to maintain the security of a country’s strategic mineral resources supply. Through the establishment of close alliances with relevant countries, the United States has greatly enhanced its right to speak and control the pricing of strategic mineral resources, which deserves our country’s great attention.

4.2 Recommendations

    1) Optimize the prospecting route and strive to increase the reserves of beryllium resources in my country. The proven beryllium in my country is dominated by associated minerals, mainly associated with lithium, niobium and tantalum ore (48%), followed by rare earth ore (27%) or tungsten ore (20%). Therefore, it is necessary to find independent beryllium ore in the beryllium associated mining area, especially in the tungsten mining area, and make it an important new direction of beryllium ore exploration in my country. In addition, the comprehensive use of traditional methods and new technologies such as geophysical remote sensing can optimize my country’s mineral exploration technology and ore prospecting methods, which is conducive to improving the effect of beryllium ore exploration in my country.

    2) Build a strategic alliance for technological innovation to improve the competitiveness of beryllium high-end products. The application market of beryllium ore products in my country is relatively backward, and the international production competitiveness of high-end beryllium ore products is weak. Therefore, the use of scientific and technological innovation to improve the international market competitiveness of beryllium ore products is the future direction of efforts of my country’s beryllium ore product manufacturers. The uniqueness of the scale and strategic position of the beryllium ore industry determines that the transformation and upgrading of the beryllium ore industry must rely on the strategic cooperation between the government and enterprises. To this end, relevant government departments should actively promote the establishment of strategic alliances between the government and enterprises, further increase investment in scientific and technological innovation and policy support for relevant enterprises, and strengthen cooperation with enterprises in beryllium ore product research and development, pilot testing, incubation, information, etc. Work closely to promote the transformation and upgrading of beryllium ore products, and build a production base for high-end beryllium products in my country, so as to improve the international market competitiveness of beryllium ore products.

    3) With the help of countries along the “Belt and Road”, improve the international voice of my country’s beryllium mining industry. The lack of my country’s right to speak in the international trade of beryllium mineral products leads to the poor conditions of international trade of beryllium mineral products in China. To this end, according to the changes in the international geopolitical environment, my country should make full use of the complementary advantages of countries along the “Belt and Road” with my country in resources, strengthen mining investment in countries and regions along the route, and carry out all-round resource diplomacy. In order to effectively deal with the threat posed by the Sino-US trade war to the effective supply of my country’s strategic mineral products, my country should strengthen strategic alliances with countries along the “Belt and Road”,