Early in the 20th century, the production of beryllium by the thermal decomposition of beryllium iodide was investigated following the success of a similar process for the production of zirconium, but this process proved to be uneconomical for volume production.

[15]
Pure beryllium metal did not become readily available until 1957, even though it had been used as an alloying metal to harden and toughen copper much earlier.

Beryllium could be produced by reducing beryllium compounds such as beryllium chloride with metallic potassium or sodium that had been produced by electrolysis.

Currently most beryllium is produced by reducing beryllium fluoride with purified magnesium that had been produced by electrolysis, itself.

The price on the American market for vacuum-cast beryllium ingots was about $338 per pound ($745 per kilogram) in 2001.

[16] The chemical equation for the key reaction is as follows:

BeF2 + Mg → MgF2 + Be

The mining and production of beryllium is dominated by one American company.

This company smelts its beryllium ore, which contains the mineral bertrandite, and which comes mostly from the company-owned Spor Mountain deposit in the State of Utah.

The smelting and other refining of the beryllium is done in a factory just north of Delta, Utah.

[17]
In 1998, the worldwide production of beryllium was about 344 tonnes, of which 243 tonnes (71%) came from mines and smelters in the United States of America.

By 2008, the world's production of beryllium had decreased somewhat, to about 200 tonnes, of which 176 tonnes (88%) came from the United States.[18][19]
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Chemical properties

Beryllium metal is located above aluminium in the electrochemical series and therefore is expected to show significant chemical activity, however it is passivated by an oxide layer and does not react with air or water even at red heat.

[20] Once ignited however beryllium burns brilliantly forming a mixture of beryllium oxide and beryllium nitride.