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Beryllium is not a metal that is often encountered everyday. Although more abundant in the earth's crust than silver, it is more expensive and difficult to produce. The metal itself is very rarely seen, a grey metal formed mainly by powder metallurgy when used as a metal, but more commonly appears as a minor constituent in alloys. Its name comes from the common mineral beryl, which as emerald and aquamarine is an important gemstone, and its chemical symbol is Be. It is also called glucinium, symbol Gl. Glycium and glycinium have been variant spellings.
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