The "elastic ***" among copper alloys - beryllium copper alloy
Beryllium is a sensitive metal that is of great concern to major military powers in the world. After more than 50 years of independent development, my country's beryllium industry has basically formed a complete industrial system. In the beryllium industry, the metal beryllium is the least used but the most important. It has key applications in the fields of national defense, aerospace, and strategic nuclear energy. It is a strategic and critical material related to the world. Resources; the beryllium copper alloy with the largest usage and total market volume is widely used in industrial fields. The United States imposes an embargo on pure beryllium and beryllium-copper master alloys from China. Beryllium copper alloy is a non-ferrous alloy elastic material with excellent comprehensive properties. It is called "elastic ***" and has high strength, high hardness, corrosion resistance, high electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, It has excellent properties such as small elastic hysteresis, non-magnetic, and no sparks during impact. Therefore, the main application of beryllium is beryllium copper alloy. It is estimated that 65% of the beryllium in the market exists in the form of beryllium copper alloy.
1. Overview of foreign beryllium industry
Currently, only the United States, Kazakhstan and China have complete beryllium industrial systems on an industrial scale from beryllium ore mining, extraction metallurgy to beryllium metal and alloy processing. The scale of the beryllium industry in the United States is the largest in the world, representing the world's beryllium production technology level. It has an absolute advantage in the world's beryllium industry and is in a leading and leading position. The United States controls the global beryllium industry trade by supplying beryllium raw materials, semi-processed materials, and final products to many beryllium product manufacturers in the world, including the United States and abroad. Japan is limited by the lack of beryllium ore resources and does not have full industrial chain capabilities. However, it has advanced technology in secondary processing and plays an important role in the global beryllium industry.
American Materion Company (formerly Brush Wellman) is the world's only comprehensive integrated manufacturer capable of producing all beryllium products. There are two main subsidiaries. One subsidiary produces beryllium alloy, beryllium copper alloy plates, strips, wires, tubes, rods, etc. in the industrial field; the other focuses on high-precision applications such as national defense, and its production includes nuclear purity grade, structural grade, and instrument grade. and optical-grade beryllium materials, as well as high-value beryllium-aluminum alloys used in aerospace applications. Nippon NGK Corporation is the world's second largest beryllium copper manufacturer, formerly known as NGK Metal Corporation. It began producing beryllium copper alloy in 1958 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Insulator Co., Ltd. (Nippon Gaishi). In 1986, Nippon Insulator Co., Ltd. purchased the beryllium copper division of the American Cabot Company and changed its name to NGK Corporation, thus forming a situation to compete with the American Materion Company in the field of beryllium copper. Gengko Metals is the world's largest importer of beryllium oxide (the main import sources are Materion Company of the United States and Urba Metallurgical Plant of Kazakhstan). The current annual production capacity of NGK is estimated to be more than 6,000 tons of beryllium copper. The Ulba Metallurgical Plant was the only beryllium smelting and processing plant in the former Soviet Union and now belongs to Kazakhstan. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the production of beryllium at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant was highly confidential and little was known about it. In 2000, the Urba Metallurgical Plant received a US$25 million investment from the American company Materion. Materion provided funding for beryllium production in the first two years of the Urba Metallurgical Plant, updated its equipment, and provided some new technologies in return. Urba Metallurgical Plant provides Materion with beryllium products, mainly including metal beryllium ingots and beryllium copper master alloy (delivery period is until 2012). In 2005, the Urba Metallurgical Plant completed this five-year investment plan. The annual production capacity of the Urba Metallurgical Plant is 170-190 tons of beryllium products, and the annual production capacity of beryllium copper master alloy is 3,000 tons. The annual production capacity of products reaches 1,000 tons. Urba Metallurgical Plant invested in and established a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai, China: Urba Metallurgical Products (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the import, export, re-export, and sales of the company's beryllium products in China, East Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions. After years of development, Wuzhong Metallurgical Products (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. has become one of the very important beryllium copper master alloy suppliers in China, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. In mainland China, it occupied more than 70% of the market share at its peak.
2. Overview of China's beryllium industry
After decades of development, China's beryllium industry has formed a complete industrial system from ore mining, extraction and metallurgy to beryllium metal and alloy processing. The main market products currently distributed in the beryllium industry chain include: beryllium compounds, metal beryllium, beryllium alloys, beryllium oxide ceramics and metal beryllium-based composite materials. Major enterprises include state-owned enterprises such as Oriental Tantalum and Minmetals Beryllium, as well as smaller private enterprises. In 2018, China produced 50 tons of pure beryllium. The United States has banned the metal beryllium and beryllium copper master alloy from China. The smallest but most important thing used in the industrial chain is beryllium metal. Metal beryllium is mainly used in the fields of national defense, aerospace, and strategic resources. The most critical national defense application is in strategic nuclear missiles. In addition, it also includes satellite frame parts and structural parts, satellite mirrors, rocket nozzles, gyroscopes and navigation and weapon control components, electronic packaging, data communication systems and high-power laser mirrors; nuclear-grade metal beryllium is also used Research/experimental nuclear fission and fusion reactors. The largest usage in the industrial chain is beryllium copper alloy. According to statistics, more than 80% of beryllium hydroxide is used to produce beryllium copper master alloy (beryllium content 4%). The master alloy is diluted with pure copper to produce beryllium-copper alloys with various components with a beryllium content of 0.1~2%, including various types of beryllium-copper alloy profiles (rods, strips, plates, wires, and pipes). Finishing enterprises These profiles are used to process components used in consumer electronics and other industrial fields. The production of beryllium-copper alloy is generally divided into two parts: upstream and downstream. The upstream is ore mining, extraction and smelting into beryllium-containing beryllium-copper master alloy (the beryllium content is generally 4%); the downstream is the use of beryllium-copper master alloy as an additive, adding copper It is further smelted and processed into beryllium copper alloy profiles (tubes, strips, rods, wires, plates, etc.). Each alloy product will be subdivided into different grades due to poor performance.
2. Summary
In the beryllium copper master alloy market, production capacity is concentrated in a few companies, with the United States occupying a dominant position. The technical threshold for the production of beryllium copper alloy is relatively high, and the entire industry is relatively concentrated. Each subdivided brand or category has only a few suppliers, or one super manufacturer. Due to the scarcity of resources and the lack of technology, Materion of the United States occupies a leading position. Japan's NGK and Kazakhstan's Urbajin Metallurgical Plant also have strong strength, and domestic enterprises are lagging behind. In the beryllium copper alloy profile market, domestic products are concentrated in the mid-to-low-end field, and there is a large substitution demand and price space in the mid-to-high-end market. Whether it is beryllium copper master alloy or beryllium copper alloy profiles, domestic companies are still in the catching-up stage. Their products are mainly in the mid-to-low-end market, and the price is often half or even lower than that of American and Japanese products. The reason is still limited by the stability of smelting technology and process. On the one hand, this means that when domestic production and manufacturing costs are low, if certain beryllium copper smelting technology is mastered or integrated, the product is expected to enter the mid-range market with a price advantage. High-purity beryllium (99.99%) and beryllium-copper master alloy are key raw materials that the United States bans from exporting to China.
