A Unique Metal with a History in Colorado
Jim Burnell, CPG -11609
Beryllium is a metal with properties useful to industry. It is six times stiffer than steel and 30% lighter than alumi- num. Beryllium maintains its physical properties over a large range of both high and low temperatures. Beryllium has high thermal diffusivity (that is, it does not hold heat), it doesn’t spark, and it is virtually transparent to x-rays.
Those characteristics make beryllium valuable for use in connectors, springs and switches in electrical and electronic equipment; x-ray equipment; nuclear reactor rods and control rods; trigger mechanisms in nuclear weapons; and numerous other defense, aerospace and electronics applications (McKay, 2011; Vulcan, 2008;
www.geology.com; Sabey, 2006).
The U.S. is currently the world’s leading producer of beryllium and only 10% of the country’s 220 metric tons of consumption came from imports in 2012 (USGS Commodity Reports, 2013). The Spor Mountain bertrandite deposit in Utah is the main source and the U.S. maintains some beryllium in its strategic stockpile.
Beryllium is sold only in alloy form, of which alloys of copper, nickel and aluminum are the most common (Sabey, 2006). The price per pound of berylli- um-copper master alloy with 65% con- tained beryllium ranged in 2008 through 2012 from $159 per pound to $209 per pound. The current price of beryl- lium is not available. World reserves, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS Commodity Reports, 2013) are not defined.
Beryllium is found predominantly in the minerals beryl and bertrandite. While most beryllium in the world is currently produced from the aforemen- tioned bertrandite deposits in Utah, Colorado has historically been a major producer of beryllium from beryl. Meeves (1966) attributes significant production of beryllium to nine counties in the state. These are presented in pounds of the mineral beryl through 1963:
Boulder – 2925 Chaffee – 49,805 Clear Creek – 8796
Douglas – “some” El Paso – “some” Fremont – 1,086,946 Jefferson – 108,152 Lake - 311 Park – 61,566.
In Colorado, most beryllium occurs as beryl in pegmatites. Vanderwilt (1947) detailed beryl occurrences (and produc- tion) as coming mainly from the Eight Mile Pegmatite District in Fremont County, in particular, the Devils Hole Pegmatite. Other production came from the Crystal Mountain Pegmatite District in Larimer County. By 1960, Del Rio (1960) noted production from a number of sources, but extended the occurrences to Grand County (Green Ridge and High Lonesome Pegmatites) and the famous Brown Derby Mine of Gunnison County (Quartz Creek Pegmatite District).
By the late 1950s, Park County became the most significant beryllium producer in the world and that was from a non-pegmatite source. In fact, beryllium has been the primary product of the Lake George (aka Badger Flats District) and Mountaindale Districts in Park County. The most important prop- erty was the Boomer Mine. Siems (1963) estimated production between 1956 and 1960 of 778 short tons of 8% BeO, 336 short tons of 5% BeO, and 1078 short tons of 2-4% BeO. Additional production was achieved from the Redskin Gulch, Mary Lee, and China Wall Mines.
The beryllium in Park County occurs with tin and tungsten in greisens asso- ciated with granitic intrusions. Veins, pipes, and more complex greisens occur in the Precambrian Redskin Stock (granodiorite) with some in the Silver Plume Granite (Hawley & Griffitts, 1968). Beryllium is mostly contained in beryl, but some bertrandite and even rare euclase occurs. Most of the commer- cial mineralization has been shown to be shallow, with the Boomer developed to a depth of 150 feet (Meeves, et al, 1966; Hawley, 1969). The Boomer Mine was last listed as active in 1970 (Blake, 1970), although the property was purchased by
the International Beryllium Corporation around 2008.
While the probability seems small that beryllium production will resume in Colorado, the state does have a history of production and it may well be worth some exploration activity. Nonetheless, the potential for sample collecting is always there.
References:
Blake, Norman R., 1970, A Summary of Mineral Industry Activities in Colorado, 1970; Colorado Bureau of Mines, Denver.
Hawley, C.C. 1969, Geology and Beryllium Deposits of the Lake George (or Badger Flats) Beryllium Area, Park and Jefferson Counties, CO; U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 608-A.
Hawley, C.C. and Griffitts, W.P., 1968, General Geology and Petrology of the Precambrian Crystalline Rocks, Park and Jefferson Counties, Colorado; U.S. Geological Survey Prof Paper 668-B.
McKay, Joel, 2011, Rare Find; Business in Vancouver, July 5-11, 2011.
Meeves, H.C., 1966, Non-Pegmatitic Beryllium Occurrences in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Four Adjacent States; U.S. Bureau of Mines Report of Inv. 6828.
Sabey, Phillip, 2006, Beryllium Minerals in Kugel, Jessica Elsea; Trived, Nikhil C.; Barker, Jones M.; and Krukowski, Stanley T., editors, in Industrial Minerals and Rocks; Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Littleton CO.
Siems, P.H., 1963; Beryllium; Colorado School of Mines Mineral Industries Bulletin Vol. 6 No. 3.
Vanderwilt, John W., 1947, Mineral Resources of Colorado, Colorado Mineral Resources Board, Denver.
Vulcan, Tom, 2008, Beryllium: Bombs and More (Much More); Hard Assets Investor, 01 Dec 2008; hardassetsin-
vestor.com
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