GEOLOGY AND RESOURCES OF BERYLLIUM IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

Beryl is obtained from relatively small mines and has petroleum sulfonate ia a promising future method of concenration. Other beryllium minerals that have been marketed are chrysoberyl and bertrandite. Helvite is a potentially valuable mineral in some contact metamorphic deposit. Beryllium has also been detected as a minor constituent of baby rock-forming minerals. and volaties in rocks belonging to the late phases of magmatic processes. A few granites and feldspathoidal rocks contain as much as 01.1 %. Higher concenrations occur chiefy in granitic pegmatites, but are also on a few contact metamorphic deposits and quartz veins. In zoned pegmatites beryl may appear in several units, but ordinarily it is most abundant in some single zone. It is richest in outer zones containing quartz, plagioclase, and plagioclase with or without muscovite, perthite, amblygonite, or spodumene; and in zones that are contiguous to quartz cores. The very large bodies of spodumene-rich pegmatite in the tin- spodument belt of the Carolinas contain approximately 04.% beryl. A George, Colorado. Beryl also appears in other quartz-rich ntain tungsten and tin. A few tactite deposit in the western states contain beryllium in helvite, commonly accompanied by fluorine and tungsten. Known pegmatite deposits in the United Statesmore » with 1.0% or more beryl have reserves of approximately 9,000 tons of beryl. Lower grade deposits with 0.2 to 1.0 % beryl, mostly in the tin-spodumene belt to Carolinas, contain at least 200,000 tons of beryl. (auth)« less