Limestone has been used for tens of thousands of years. Crushed limestone was already used as a pigment (white chalk) in prehistoric cave paintings. Lime mortar was used in constructions as early as 10.000 BC in Mesopotamia and in ancient Egypt. The outer walls of the Great Pyramid of Giza (around 2600 BC) were made of Tura limestone. The ancient Romans used lime concrete in the construction of the Pantheon.

The name “Calcium” is derived from the Latin word calx. The Romans used this term to denote lime, limestone, chalk, and mortar made from lime.

The silvery, relatively soft and light metal was first isolated in 1808 by Sir Humphry Davy, after he distilled mercury from an amalgam produced by the electrolysis of a mixture of lime and mercury oxide.

The most commonly used calcium compound across various industries is calcium carbonate, also known as limestone, which is inexpensive and versatile.

It is the main component of the most important building materials: cement, mortar, and concrete. Calcium carbonate is used in the paper industry as a filler or coating to achieve smoothness and brightness. In agriculture, limestone is used to improve acidic soils.

Calcium oxide, also known as quicklime, is produced by heating the raw material calcium carbonate. Calcium oxide is used in steel production, water treatment, and chemical manufacturing.

Calcium hydroxide (slaked lime) is used in wastewater treatment, leather tanning, and mortar production.

Calcium sulfate (gypsum or plaster) is another application in the building materials industry. Calcium chloride is used in road de-icing agents, food preservatives, concrete accelerators, and drying agents.

Pure calcium metal is used as an alloying element for aluminum, copper, lead, magnesium, and other base metals, as a deoxidizer for certain high-temperature alloys, and as a getter in vacuum tubes.

The production volumes of calcium metal are relatively low compared to other metals, ranging from 10.000 to 20.000 tons annually.

Calcium is a very abundant element in the Earth’s crust and occurs in numerous minerals, many of which are economically significant.

The most common sources of calcium are carbonate minerals such as calcite, found in limestone, marble, and chalk. Calcium is also present in sulfate minerals like gypsum and anhydrite, in phosphate minerals such as apatite, and in silicate minerals including wollastonite, plagioclase feldspar, and grossular.

The main producing countries of calcium metal are China, Russia, France, and the USA.

Limestone (calcium carbonate) is a substitute for lime (calcium oxide) in many applications, such as agriculture, flux production, and sulfur removal. Limestone contains fewer reactive substances, reacts more slowly, and may have additional disadvantages compared to lime depending on the application. However, limestone is significantly cheaper than lime.

Calcined gypsum is an alternative material for industrial plasters and mortars.

Cement, cement kiln dust, fly ash, and lime kiln dust are potential substitutes for some construction applications of lime.

Magnesium hydroxide is a substitute for lime in pH regulation, and magnesium oxide is a substitute for dolomitic lime as a flux in steel production.

Cadmium was discovered around the year 1820. The chemists Carl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner, Friedrich Strohmeyer, and the physician Johann Roloff independently came across the element at roughly the same time.

For a long time, cadmium sulfides and selenides were used as pigments, ranging in color from yellow to reddish-brown. Cadmium yellow, for instance, was detected in Claude Monet’s painting "Bordighera."

Starting in 1925, Bayer AG began industrial production of cadmium yellow. Until 1980, cadmium yellow was the official color of the German Federal Post Office. Even today, the yellow mailboxes in Germany still bear this color.

Early reports from the 19th century already pointed to the harmful health effects of the metal. Nevertheless, cadmium iodide was used at the time to treat swollen joints and frostbite.

The majority of cadmium produced is used in rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries (NiCd batteries). These batteries provide essential emergency power functions to ensure the safety of passengers in the event of a power outage in subways, high-speed trains, and aircraft.

In consumer products, the use of NiCd batteries has been banned in the EU since 2017.

Larger quantities of cadmium are also used for corrosion-resistant coatings (cadmium plating) on steel, aerospace components, and fasteners. However, their use is restricted in the EU due to associated health risks.

Another economically valuable compound is cadmium sulfide (CdS), a bright yellow pigment known as cadmium yellow. It is used in high-quality paints and artist pigments due to its color stability.

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is used in thin-film photovoltaic cells, the second most common solar technology after silicon. The market leader in this field is the U.S. company First Solar.

Approximately 24,000 tonnes of refined cadmium are produced globally each year.

Sphalerite is the most economically important zinc ore mineral and also contains small amounts of cadmium. Cadmium is primarily obtained from zinc ores and concentrates.

The leading production countries are China, South Korea, Canada, and Japan.

Korea Zinc is considered the most important cadmium producer. Other major players include Nyrstar (Trafigura), Teck Resources (Canada), Hindustan Zinc (India), Glencore (Switzerland), and Boliden (Sweden). In China, the Zhuzhou Smelter Group is regarded as the leading cadmium producer.

In the EU, the recycling rate for cadmium is estimated at around 30 percent.

Batteries with other chemical compositions, particularly lithium-ion batteries, can replace NiCd batteries in many applications.

Where the surface properties of a coating are not critical (e.g. for fasteners in aircraft), coatings such as zinc-nickelcan replace cadmium in many coating applications.

Cerium sulfide is used as a substitute for cadmium pigments, primarily in plastics. Barium stabilizers can replace barium-cadmium stabilizers in flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) applications.

Thin-film technologies based on copper indium gallium diselenide and perovskite materials continue to be researched, but are not yet commercially viable.

Bismuth has been known since very early times because it occurs both in native form and in compounds. However, it was long not clearly recognized as a distinct metal and was often confused with lead, antimony, and tin.

It is suspected that long before its official discovery, bismuth was used in mines as a pigment for silver-colored writings and miniature paintings. For this purpose, bismuth was smelted from bismite or bismuth ochre. In the 14th century, it was discovered in elemental form in the Saxon Ore Mountains.

By the mid-15th century, bismuth gained importance as an alloying component for printing types. Adding bismuth both lowers the melting point and makes the printing types harder and more resistant to wear.

Bismuth was recognized as a distinct element after the mid-18th century by the chemists Claude François Geoffroy and Johann Heinrich Pott.

The largest application areas for bismuth are found in the metal industry, pharmaceuticals (especially as Pepto-Bismol), cosmetics, and the chemical industry. Due to its antiseptic properties, it is used in burn ointments. In eyeshadows, lipsticks, and nail polishes, it provides a pearlescent shimmer.

Metallic bismuth is mainly used in alloys, to which it imparts special properties such as a low melting point and expansion upon solidification. Bismuth is therefore a useful component of type metal alloys, which produce clean castings. It is also an important component in low-melting alloys. These so-called fusible alloys are used in fire detectors and sprinkler systems.

A bismuth-manganese alloy has proven effective as a permanent magnet.

In solders, ammunition, fishing weights, and radiation shielding, bismuth is increasingly used as a lead substitute due to its non-toxicity.

Another emerging market could result from the development of new classes of semiconductors, thermoelectric materials, and topological insulators. Furthermore, bismuth could be relevant for the advancement of quantum computers.

Around 18.000 tons of bismuth are produced globally each year, with most of it coming from China, which holds about an 80 percent market share. Other mining and production countries include Laos, South Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.

Native bismuth is rare in nature. The most common bismuth-containing ores are bismuthinite (bismuth glance), bismite (bismuth ochre), and wismutite.

Bismuth deposits are often associated with lead, zinc, tin, and silver ores. It is found, for example, in tungsten ores in South Korea, lead ores in Mexico, copper ores in Bolivia, and both lead and copper ores in Japan.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has taken a leading role worldwide in both the mining and refining of bismuth.

Commercial bismuth is mostly obtained as a by-product during the smelting and refining of lead, tin, copper, silver, and gold ores.

The largest active mine producing bismuth is the Shizhuyuan Polymetallic Mine in the Chinese province of Hunan, operated by Hunan Nonferrous Metals. Bismuth is mainly obtained as a by-product during tungsten processing.

Other significant producers include Zhuzhou Keneng New Material, Hunan Jinwang Bismuth Industrial, Yunnan Tin Group (YTC) in China; Met-Mex Peñoles in Mexico; Masan High-Tech Materials in Vietnam; 5N Plus in Canada; Belmont Metals in the USA; Comibol in Bolivia; and Korea Zinc in South Korea.

In fusible alloys, bismuth can be replaced by the much more expensive indium or gallium. Cheaper tin-lead alloys are also an option, but their toxicity must be taken into account.

In radiation shielding, it can be substituted by tungsten, lead, or depleted uranium.
Instead of Pepto-Bismol, aluminum/magnesium hydroxide (antacids) or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) can be used in pharmaceuticals.

In cosmetic products, the pearlescent effect can be achieved using mica-based pigments instead of bismuth oxychloride.

In fishing weights, bismuth can be replaced with steel, tin, or the more expensive tungsten.

The element beryllium was discovered in 1798 by the French chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin in the minerals beryl and emerald. In the 1920s, copper-beryllium alloys were first used in German telephone switchboard relays.

The first commercially successful process for producing pure beryllium was developed in 1932, initially used in medical X-ray windows.

Beryllium oxide ceramics were employed in insulating circuits of radio tubes.

In the 1940s, the element found its place in the defense industry: in high-precision gyroscopic navigation and targeting instruments for the navy and air force, and in nuclear weapons as a neutron moderator.

After World War II, demand for beryllium increased for use in telecommunications technologies, the automotive industry, and aerospace. A heat shield made of beryllium was onboard the Mercury space capsule during the first manned space flight in 1961.

In the 1990s, new beryllium materials such as aluminum-beryllium metal matrix composites were developed. The applications of beryllium increasingly shifted from defense, aerospace, and aviation toward automotive electronics, IT, and energy production.

Nickel-beryllium alloys in crash sensors improve the functionality of life-saving airbags.

Worldwide consumption of beryllium remains low. In 2024, an estimated 360 tons were produced. Of this, 21 percent is used in defense, aerospace, and aviation, 20 percent in industrial components, and 15 percent in the automotive industry. In the EU, beryllium is classified as a critical raw material.

The majority of globally produced beryllium (about 80 percent) is used in copper alloys. The reliability of copper-beryllium alloys enables high-performance, electrically conductive connections for critical systems such as aircraft and medical electronics, airbag and anti-lock braking systems in vehicles, as well as fire suppression systems. In mobile phones and electronic devices, beryllium extends the device lifespan.

As a pure metal, beryllium is used in medical X-ray windows and in highly precise navigation and targeting systems for the military.

Beryllium ceramics are employed in photovoltaic cells, significantly increasing their efficiency.

Beryllium also plays a role in nuclear research and power generation, serving both as a neutron moderator in nuclear power plants and as a neutron source. The experimental fusion reactor ITER in southern France is lined with beryllium plates that act as a protective layer. Beryllium is also essential for nuclear weapons production. Therefore, the United States enforces strict export controls on beryllium.

Beryllium-containing alloys, in their solid form as found in end products, pose no special health risks. However, certain processing methods generate dust particles that, if inhaled, can cause serious lung diseases.

There are about 30 known minerals containing beryllium. For economic mining, beryl and bertrandite are relevant. Beryl contains between three and five percent beryllium but is harder than bertrandite, which complicates refining. Therefore, most beryllium mines today exploit bertrandite deposits despite their lower beryllium content (0,3–1,5 percent).

More than half of the world’s beryllium production comes from the USA. The largest deposit is located in the state of Utah and is operated by Materion. The proven and probable bertrandite reserves in Utah total approximately 19,000 tons of beryllium.

Worldwide known beryllium reserves are estimated at over 100,000 tons, with 60 percent located in the USA. The largest deposits in the USA are found at Spor Mountain in Utah, McCullough Butte in Nevada, Black Hills in South Dakota, Sierra Blanca in Texas, Seward Peninsula in Alaska, and Gold Hill in Utah.

Beryllium production in the USA includes mining, ore processing, manufacturing, distribution, and recycling of beryllium-containing products. Japan does not mine beryllium ores but imports them for its refineries. In Kazakhstan, beryllium is refined from large stockpiles dating back to the Soviet era.

China has significantly increased its beryllium production in recent years, more than tripling it between 2015 and 2021. Given its strategic importance for defense and the military, China established a "Strategic Alliance for Technological Innovation in the Chinese Beryllium Industry" in 2020.

Since beryllium is expensive compared to other materials, it is used in applications where its properties are critical. In some cases, certain metal matrix or organic composites, high-strength aluminum alloys, pyrolytic graphite, silicon carbide, steel, or titanium can replace beryllium metal or beryllium composites.

Copper alloys with nickel and silicon, tin, titanium, or other alloying elements, or phosphor bronze alloys (copper-tin-phosphorus) can substitute for beryllium-copper alloys, although this may result in significant performance reductions.

Aluminum nitride or boron nitride can replace beryllium oxide.