Primary Applications
Transportation, packaging, construction, electrical transmission, aerospace
Mining Significance
Aluminum is produced mainly from bauxite, an ore composed largely of aluminum hydroxide minerals rather than from a single aluminum mineral. Bauxite is refined to alumina using the Bayer process, followed by electrolytic reduction in the Hall-Héroult process to produce aluminum metal. Ore mineralogy, reactive silica, iron content, and energy requirements strongly influence refinery and smelter economics.
