Pub. 4 2014 Issue 2

21 MINING FOCUS If you have a cell phone, then you probably use it to send text messages; most people do. About 73 percent of people with cell phones send text messages, but the percentage is higher for people who are younger. Holding one wasn’t that different than trying to pick up a brick and talk into it. But our culture loves thin, light cell phones, tablets, and laptops. The big goal seems to be taking something thin and light, and then making it even smaller. Beryllium, a silver-grey metal and the fourth element on the periodic table, is the miracle-metal that makes it possible. Most of us don’t think much about beryllium, but if you have a cell phone, then you carry beryllium around in your pocket or your purse every day — because cell phones use it. The battery contacts, electronic connectors and other metal pieces are made using copper beryllium alloys. Beryllium conducts electricity and can handle heat, which makes it possible for engineers to make small, dense parts. Beryllium is two-thirds the density of aluminum, making it one of the lightest metals around. What’s more, it lasts, resists corrosion when things get hot, is not magnetic, and has a “spring memory” that prevents electrical disconnections and stops the beryllium from shattering or breaking. Where does it come from? Only three countries in the world mine beryllium ores and makes beryllium products from them: the U.S., China, and Kazakhstan. Utah is a mining state because of its abundant resources, but you may be surprised that one of the largest beryllium reserves in the world is found near Delta — the only place in the Western Hemisphere where ever-useful beryllium is mined. Technology continues to advance As people use cell phones and tablets more and more to communicate, we will continue to rely on beryllium and other mined minerals. Communications technology is constantly changing and advancing. The one constant is that mining must be there to provide the necessary materials to make it all work. X