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The mineralogy of Beryllium

General Properties
Symbol:	Be
Atomic Number:	4
Standard atomic weight (A_r):	9.012182(3)
Electron configuration:	[He] 2s²

Photos

<	Pure beryllium bead	>

Atomic Properties
Electronegativity (Pauling scale):	1.57
Atomic Radius:	112 pm
Ionic Radius:	45 pm (+2)
1st Ionization energy:	900 kJ/mol
Oxidation States:	2

Physical Properties
Standard State:	solid
Bonding Type:	metallic
Melting Point:	1560 K
Boiling Point:	2743 K
Density:	1.85 g/cm³
Metal/Non-Metal:	alkaline earth metal

Main isotopes of Beryllium
Isotope	% in Nature	Half Life	Decay type	Decay product
⁷Be	trace	43.12d	ε	⁷Li
⁹Be	100%	stable
¹⁰Be	trace	1.36×10⁶y	β−	¹⁰B

Main ions of Beryllium
Name	Ion	Example minerals
beryllium	Be²⁺	Beryl, Chrysoberyl
fluorine-beryllate complex	BeF⁺
fluorine-beryllate complex	BeF₃^-
fluorine-beryllate complex	BeF₄^2-
	[Be(OH)₄]^2-
	[Be(H₂O)₄]²⁺

Other Information
Year Discovered:	1797
Discovered By:	Louis Nicolas Vauquelin
Year Isolated:	1828
Isolated By:	Friedrich Wöhler Antoine Alexandre Brutus Bussy Friedrich Wöhler & Antoine Bussy
Named For:	from the mineral beryl
CPK color coding:	#C2FF00
External Links:	Wikipedia WebElements Los Alamos National Laboratory Theodore Gray's PeriodicTable.com

Simple Compounds and Mineral Names
Nitrides	beryllium nitride	Be₃N₂	+2
Sulfides	beryllium sulphide	BeS	+2
Selenides	beryllium selenide	BeSe	+2
Tellurides	beryllium telluride	BeTe	+2
Hydrides	beryllium hydride	BeH₂	+2
Hydroxides	beryllium hydroxide	Be(OH)₂	+2
Fluorides	beryllium fluoride	BeF₂	+2
Chlorides	beryllium chloride	BeCl₂	+2
Bromides	beryllium bromide	BeBr₂	+2
Iodides	beryllium iodide	BeI₂	+2
Oxides	beryllium oxide	BeO	+2
Carbonates	beryllium carbonate	BeCO₃	+2
Borates	basic beryllium borate	Be₂BO₃OH	+2	Hambergite
Nitrates	beryllium nitrate	Be(NO₃)₂	+2
Sulfates	beryllium sulfate	BeSO₄	+2
Phosphates	beryllium phosphate	Be₃(PO₄)₂	+2
Silicates	beryllium silicate	Be₂SiO₄	+2	Phenakite

Mineral Diversity of Beryllium
4. Oxides	13 valid mineral species
5. Carbonates	1 valid mineral species
6. Borates	6 valid mineral species
8. Phosphates, Arsenates, Vanadates	36 valid mineral species
9. Silicates	73 valid mineral species
Total:	129 valid species containing essential Beryllium

Minerals with the greatest weight % of Beryllium
Bromellite	BeO	36.03 %
Clinobehoite	Be(OH)₂	20.95 %
Behoite	Be(OH)₂	20.95 %
Hambergite	Be₂(BO₃)(OH)	19.21 %
Sphaerobertrandite	Be₃(SiO₄)(OH)₂	17.66 %
Phenakite	Be₂SiO₄	16.37 %
Berborite	Be₂(BO₃)(OH,F)·H₂O	16.11 %
Beryllite	Be₃(SiO₄)(OH)₂·H₂O	15.80 %
Bertrandite	Be₄(Si₂O₇)(OH)₂	15.13 %
Swedenborgite	NaBe₄Sb⁵⁺O₇	12.31 %

Geochemistry of Beryllium
Goldschmidt classification:	Lithophile
Be²⁺ is commonly concentrated in residual soils and sediments.
Be²⁺ is concentrated in deep-sea ferromanganese nodules relative to seawater.

Elemental Abundance for Beryllium
Crust (CRC Handbook)	2.8 x 10^-6	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Kaye & Laby)	2.0 x 10^-6	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Greenwood)	2 x 10^-6	mass fraction, kg/kg
Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)	1.500 x 10^-6	mass fraction, kg/kg
Upper Crust (Ahrens/Taylor)	3.000 x 10^-6	mass fraction, kg/kg
Sea Water (CRC Handbook)	5.6 x 10^-12	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
Sea Water (Kaye & Laby)	6 x 10^-13	mass per volume fraction, kg/L
The Sun (Kaye & Laby)	4.0 x 10^-7	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Kaye & Laby)	7.0 x 10^-7	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1
Solar System (Ahrens)	7.30 x 10^-7 (9.5%)	atom mole fraction relative to Si=1 (% uncertainty)

Element association of Beryllium in the Mineral World
This table compares the known valid mineral species listed listed with Beryllium and the other elements listed based on the official IMA formula. Note that unlike other sections on this page this includes non-essential elements. The first data column contains the total number of minerals listed with Beryllium and the element listed for that row. The second data column lists this number as a percentage of all minerals listed with Beryllium. The final data column compares this percentage against the percentage of all minerals that contain the element listed in each row. Click on a heading to sort.

Element	Valid Minerals listed with element and Beryllium	% of Be minerals	Relative to % in all minerals
Oxygen	133 minerals with Be and O	100.00%	23.60% higher
Silicon	78 minerals with Be and Si	58.65%	112.42% higher
Hydrogen	76 minerals with Be and H	57.14%	2.59% higher
Calcium	60 minerals with Be and Ca	45.11%	81.45% higher
Aluminium	41 minerals with Be and Al	30.83%	54.38% higher
Phosphorus	33 minerals with Be and P	24.81%	102.35% higher
Sodium	31 minerals with Be and Na	23.31%	24.81% higher
Iron	25 minerals with Be and Fe	18.80%	16.23% lower
Manganese	19 minerals with Be and Mn	14.29%	22.82% higher
Potassium	18 minerals with Be and K	13.53%	36.00% higher
Magnesium	17 minerals with Be and Mg	12.78%	4.44% lower
Boron	14 minerals with Be and B	10.53%	108.17% higher
Fluorine	14 minerals with Be and F	10.53%	32.98% higher
Lithium	12 minerals with Be and Li	9.02%	354.06% higher
Yttrium	8 minerals with Be and Y	6.02%	162.20% higher
Barium	7 minerals with Be and Ba	5.26%	13.91% higher
Cerium	7 minerals with Be and Ce	5.26%	71.47% higher
Titanium	6 minerals with Be and Ti	4.51%	35.21% lower
Zinc	6 minerals with Be and Zn	4.51%	20.44% lower
Caesium	6 minerals with Be and Cs	4.51%	746.21% higher
Arsenic	4 minerals with Be and As	3.01%	76.73% lower
Tin	4 minerals with Be and Sn	3.01%	64.75% higher
Neodymium	4 minerals with Be and Nd	3.01%	244.75% higher
Sulfur	3 minerals with Be and S	2.26%	89.77% lower
Chlorine	3 minerals with Be and Cl	2.26%	69.51% lower
Scandium	3 minerals with Be and Sc	2.26%	458.50% higher
Chromium	3 minerals with Be and Cr	2.26%	23.56% higher
Zirconium	3 minerals with Be and Zr	2.26%	6.92% lower
Antimony	2 minerals with Be and Sb	1.50%	73.48% lower
Lanthanum	2 minerals with Be and La	1.50%	10.81% higher
Lead	2 minerals with Be and Pb	1.50%	86.02% lower
Thorium	2 minerals with Be and Th	1.50%	138.67% higher
Carbon	1 mineral with Be and C	0.75%	90.75% lower
Vanadium	1 mineral with Be and V	0.75%	84.33% lower
Rubidium	1 mineral with Be and Rb	0.75%	830.83% higher
Strontium	1 mineral with Be and Sr	0.75%	73.10% lower
Ytterbium	1 mineral with Be and Yb	0.75%	675.69% higher
Uranium	1 mineral with Be and U	0.75%	85.27% lower

Periodic Table

2He

3Li

4Be

Show/hide current element

Default Categories CPK Electronegativity Atomic Radius Lowest Oxidation Highest Oxidation Crustal Abundance Goldschmidt Mineral Species Minerals with Be Relative Frequency

Lithium << Beryllium >> Boron

Most widespread minerals containing Beryllium
This list of minerals containing Beryllium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Beryllium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Most widespread minerals containing Beryllium

This list of minerals containing Beryllium is built from the mindat.org locality database. This is based on the number of localities entered for mineral species and is therefore slanted towards minerals interesting to collectors with less coverage of common rock-forming-minerals so it does not give an undistorted distribution of Beryllium mineral species. It is more useful when comparing rare species rather than common species.

Name	Formula	Crystal System	Mindat Localities
Beryl	Be₃Al₂(Si₆O₁₈)	Hexagonal	5215
Bertrandite	Be₄(Si₂O₇)(OH)₂	Orthorhombic	741
Phenakite	Be₂SiO₄	Trigonal	409
Chrysoberyl	BeAl₂O₄	Orthorhombic	399
Bavenite	Ca₄Be₂Al₂Si₉O₂₆(OH)₂	Orthorhombic	308
Helvine	Be₃Mn²⁺₄(SiO₄)₃S	Isometric	291
Gadolinite-(Y)	Y₂Fe²⁺Be₂Si₂O₁₀	Monoclinic	216
Milarite	K(◻H₂O)Ca₂(Be₂Al)[Si₁₂O₃₀]	Hexagonal	178
Euclase	BeAl(SiO₄)(OH)	Monoclinic	149
Hydroxylherderite	CaBe(PO₄)(OH)	Monoclinic	137

Photos
Beryl Bald Mountain, Ossipee, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA Bertrandite Dörfel Quarry, Dörfel, Schlettau, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany Phenakite Phenakite Mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, Kyaukme District, Shan State, Myanmar Chrysoberyl Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka District, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar Beryl Bald Mountain, Ossipee, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA Bertrandite Dörfel Quarry, Dörfel, Schlettau, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany Phenakite Phenakite Mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, Kyaukme District, Shan State, Myanmar Chrysoberyl Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka District, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar Beryl Bald Mountain, Ossipee, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA Bertrandite Dörfel Quarry, Dörfel, Schlettau, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany Phenakite Phenakite Mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, Kyaukme District, Shan State, Myanmar Chrysoberyl Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka District, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar

Photos

Beryl

Bald Mountain, Ossipee, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA

Bertrandite

Dörfel Quarry, Dörfel, Schlettau, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany

Phenakite

Phenakite Mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, Kyaukme District, Shan State, Myanmar

Chrysoberyl

Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka District, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar

Beryl

Bald Mountain, Ossipee, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA

Bertrandite

Dörfel Quarry, Dörfel, Schlettau, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany

Phenakite

Phenakite Mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, Kyaukme District, Shan State, Myanmar

Chrysoberyl

Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka District, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar

Beryl

Bald Mountain, Ossipee, Carroll County, New Hampshire, USA

Bertrandite

Dörfel Quarry, Dörfel, Schlettau, Erzgebirgskreis, Saxony, Germany

Phenakite

Phenakite Mine, Khetchel village, Molo quarter, Momeik Township, Kyaukme District, Shan State, Myanmar

Chrysoberyl

Lac Alaotra Chrysoberyl Pegmatites, Ambatondrazaka District, Alaotra-Mangoro, Madagascar

Localities with greatest number of different Beryllium mineral species

1	Poudrette quarry (De-Mix quarry; Demix quarry; Uni-Mix quarry; Carrière Mont Saint-Hilaire; MSH), Mont Saint-Hilaire, La Vallée-du-Richelieu RCM, Montérégie, Québec, Canada	21 Be minerals
	Ilímaussaq complex, Kujalleq, Greenland	18 Be minerals
3	A/S Granit Quarry, Tuften, Tvedalen, Larvik Commune, Vestfold, Norway	15 Be minerals
4	Saga 1 Quarry, Sagåsen, Auenlandet, Porsgrunn, Telemark, Norway	14 Be minerals
5	Pitkyaranta mining district, Pitkyarantsky District, Republic of Karelia, Russia	14 Be minerals
6	Foote Lithium Co. Mine, Kings Mountain, Cleveland County, North Carolina, USA	13 Be minerals
7	Tuften, Tvedalen, Larvik Commune, Vestfold, Norway	13 Be minerals
8	Xianghualing Mine, Xianghualing Sn-polymetallic ore field, Linwu Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China	13 Be minerals

Important ores of Beryllium

Name	Formula	Crystal System
Beryl	Be₃Al₂(Si₆O₁₈)	Hexagonal
Bertrandite	Be₄(Si₂O₇)(OH)₂	Orthorhombic

Photos
Beryl Shengus, Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan Bertrandite North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA Beryl, etc. Trenton Quarry, Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine, USA Bertrandite Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China Beryl Shengus, Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan Bertrandite North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA Beryl, etc. Trenton Quarry, Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine, USA Bertrandite Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China Beryl Shengus, Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan Bertrandite North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA Beryl, etc. Trenton Quarry, Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine, USA Bertrandite Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China

Photos

Beryl

Shengus, Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Bertrandite

North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA

Beryl, etc.

Trenton Quarry, Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine, USA

Bertrandite

Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China

Beryl

Shengus, Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Bertrandite

North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA

Beryl, etc.

Trenton Quarry, Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine, USA

Bertrandite

Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China

Beryl

Shengus, Roundu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Bertrandite

North Sugarloaf Mountain locality, Bethlehem, Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA

Beryl, etc.

Trenton Quarry, Topsham, Sagadahoc County, Maine, USA

Bertrandite

Yaogangxian Mine, Yaogangxian W-Sn ore field, Yizhang Co., Chenzhou, Hunan, China

Other significant minerals containing Beryllium

Name	Formula	Crystal System
Chrysoberyl	BeAl₂O₄	Orthorhombic
Hambergite	Be₂(BO₃)(OH)	Orthorhombic
Phenakite	Be₂SiO₄	Trigonal

Photos
Chrysoberyl Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil Hambergite Tamponilapa, Sahatany Valley, Ibity, Antsirabe II District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar Phenakite Rio Piracicaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil Chrysoberyl, etc. Birileiten, Spitz, Krems-Land District, Lower Austria, Austria Chrysoberyl Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil Hambergite Tamponilapa, Sahatany Valley, Ibity, Antsirabe II District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar Phenakite Rio Piracicaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil Chrysoberyl, etc. Birileiten, Spitz, Krems-Land District, Lower Austria, Austria Chrysoberyl Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil Hambergite Tamponilapa, Sahatany Valley, Ibity, Antsirabe II District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar Phenakite Rio Piracicaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil Chrysoberyl, etc. Birileiten, Spitz, Krems-Land District, Lower Austria, Austria

Photos

Chrysoberyl

Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Hambergite

Tamponilapa, Sahatany Valley, Ibity, Antsirabe II District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

Phenakite

Rio Piracicaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Chrysoberyl, etc.

Birileiten, Spitz, Krems-Land District, Lower Austria, Austria

Chrysoberyl

Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Hambergite

Tamponilapa, Sahatany Valley, Ibity, Antsirabe II District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

Phenakite

Rio Piracicaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Chrysoberyl, etc.

Birileiten, Spitz, Krems-Land District, Lower Austria, Austria

Chrysoberyl

Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil

Hambergite

Tamponilapa, Sahatany Valley, Ibity, Antsirabe II District, Vakinankaratra, Madagascar

Phenakite

Rio Piracicaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Chrysoberyl, etc.

Birileiten, Spitz, Krems-Land District, Lower Austria, Austria

Spotted a mistake/omission? - These pages are a work in progress, so please send all comments/corrections to jolyon@mindat.org. Thank you.

Constants and physical property data from:

Lide, David R. - Ed. (2005) CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics - A Ready-Reference Book of Chemical and Physical Data (85th ed.). CRC Press.
National Physical Laboratory (2005) Kaye and Laby Online (discontinued). https://web.archive.org/web/20190506031327/http://www.kayelaby.npl.co.uk/
Kaye, G. W. C.; Laby, T. H. (n.d.) Tables of Physical and Chemical Constants and some Mathematical Functions. Longmans, Green, and Co.
Greenwood, N.N.; Earnshaw, A. (1997) Chemistry of the Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth–Heinemann.
Ahrens, Thomas J. - Ed. (1995) Global Earth Physics - A Handbook of Physical Constants - AGU Reference Shelf No. 1. American Geophysical Union.
Railsback, L. Bruce (2003) An earth scientist's periodic table of the elements and their ions. Geology, 31 (9) 737 doi:10.1130/g19542.1
Emsley, John (2001) Nature's Building Blocks - An A-Z Guide to the Elements. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

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