Aluminum is one of the most widely used metals, do you know how aluminum is extracted and produced?

Bauxite is a rock composed of oxides of aluminum and other minerals and is the world's main source of aluminum. After mining, bauxite is refined into alumina, which is then converted into aluminum. Aluminum usually goes through three stages from ore to metal:

The first stage: bauxite mining

Bauxite is usually mined in open-pit mines, and just three countries - Australia, China and Guinea - account for 72% of global bauxite production.

Australia is by far the largest producer of bauxite and is home to the Wippa Mine, the world's largest bauxite mining enterprise.

Guinea is the third largest producer of bauxite, with more than 7 billion tonnes of bauxite reserves, more than any other country. In addition, Guinea is the world's largest exporter of bauxite, with 76% of its bauxite exports going to China.

Once the bauxite is mined, it is sent to refineries around the world to produce alumina, which marks the second stage of the production process.

The second stage: alumina production

In the 1890s, Austrian chemist Karl Joseph Bayer invented a revolutionary method of extracting alumina from bauxite. Today, more than 100 years later, about 90 percent of alumina refineries still use the Bayer process to refine bauxite.

There are four key steps in the Bayer process: 1) refining, 2) screening, 3) deposition and 4) roasting.

China is the world's second largest producer and largest importer of bauxite and supplies more than half of the world's alumina.

Several major bauxite producers, including Australia, Brazil and India, are the largest alumina producers, although none of them match China's.

Alumina is used in several industries, including plastics, cosmetics and chemical production. Of course, much of it is shipped to smelters to produce aluminum.

The third stage: aluminum production

Alumina is converted to aluminium by electrolytic reduction. In addition to alumina itself, another mineral called cryolite is key to the process, along with a lot of electricity.

In aluminum smelting facilities, hundreds of electrolytic cells are filled with molten cryolite. Alumina is poured into these cells, and a strong current of electricity breaks the chemical bond between the aluminum and oxygen atoms. The result of electrolysis is that the pure aluminum liquid settles at the bottom of the electrolyzer and is then purified and cast into various shapes and sizes.

China dominates global aluminum production and is the largest consumer. Neighbouring India, with only a tenth of China's output, is in second place.

As is the case with alumina production, some countries that produce bauxite and alumina also produce aluminium, such as India, Australia and Russia.

About a quarter of the aluminum produced each year is used in the construction industry. Another 23% is used in car frames, wires, wheels and other parts of the transportation industry. Aluminum foil, cans and packaging are also another major end-use, accounting for 17% of consumption.

The wide application of aluminum makes it one of the most valuable metal markets. In 2021, the global aluminum market size was about $245.7 billion and is expected to nearly double to $498.5 billion by 2030 as consumption grows.