Bauxite and Alumina Statistics and Information

Insights and Data

Pictured: bauxite

Statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and material flow of bauxite and alumina.

Full view of Bauxite sample — Bauxite, seen above, is aluminum ore. Aluminum is one of the most used metals on the planet, finding roles in transportation, construction, packaging, electronics, and other consumer goods.

Overview

Bauxite is a naturally occurring, heterogeneous material composed primarily of one or more aluminum hydroxide minerals, plus various mixtures of silica, iron oxide, titania, aluminosilicate, and other impurities in minor or trace amounts. The principal aluminum hydroxide minerals found in varying proportions with bauxites are gibbsite and the polymorphs boehmite and diaspore. Bauxites are typically classified according to their intended commercial application: abrasive, cement, chemical, metallurgical, refractory, etc. The bulk of world bauxite production (approximately 85%) is used as feed for the manufacture of alumina via a wet chemical caustic leach method commonly known as the Bayer process. Subsequently, the majority of the resulting alumina produced from this refining process is in turn employed as the feedstock for the production of aluminum metal by the electrolytic reduction of alumina in a molten bath of natural or synthetic cryolite (Na₃AlF₆), the Hall-Héroult process.

Publications

Mineral Industry Surveys

Mineral Commodity Summaries

We are currently in the process of transitioning our datasets to the USGS ScienceBase platform to improve long-term accessibility, documentation, and version control. As part of that transition, we have temporarily paused public posting of our Minerals Yearbook (MYB) tables but will resume publication of them when the process is complete. Users subscribed to the automatic notification will be informed as each MYB becomes available. Thank you for your patience.